History of Britain

'History of Britain' with Simon Schama is testament to what the BBC can come up with if they try. As someone who was never particularly fascinated with history, and never did well at it in school, I was amazed to find myself religiously tuning in. This documentary charters the history of Britain up to current day, covering the most 'important' aspects and covering them in very 'living' detail. It's not just facts and dates - but little anecdotes, strange bits of information about people that make them 3-dimensional characters rather than portraits in books. This is the TV version of a coffee-table book. At times I feel it is a little too ...

History is dull…. we have all sat at school and endured ceaseless droning upon fascinating topics such as ‘Dynamic Innovations in farming machinery of the 17th Century’ or ‘Taxes in the Middle ages’ - OK, maybe I exaggerate slightly, but you get the idea. The BBC produced a new Documentary, this time retelling the history of Britain, largely revolving round the history of the rulers of England and their exploits. Following on the heels of programmes such as the marvelous ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’, the BBC would really have to pull out all the special effects stops to make it interesting. But not a special effect ...

Simon Schama's "History of Britain" is one of the best historical documentaries I have ever seen. So far we have only seen three out of the 16 episodes but if it carries on in the way it has begun we are in for a real treat right up to Christmas. Basically the series charts the major turning points and significant events in English (and I guess British) history. The first episode began with the first settlement on the Orkney's and took us through Roman Britain. The second episode looked at Anglo Saxon Britain and the battle of Hastings. And then last week we saw the reign of Henry 2nd and his sons, Richard and John, complete with the murder of ...