Saturday, August 14, 2010

{ The Pillars of the Earth }


Ooohhh I just love a good Period Drama and I couldn't have asked for anything better than The Pillars of the Earth....Starz new TV series.

I'm sure many of you have read the book by Ken Follett, I personally haven't but I've heard nothing but great reviews on it. If you have read it then you know what this show is about but for those who haven't, here is a little burb I found online:

It follows the building of a cathedral in a town in England during the 12th century, and the drama that surrounds the project and the characters involved. Getting the cathedral built proves to be more challenging than just stacking stones as there is an ongoing struggle for power between the recently deceased king’s daughter Maud and his nephew Stephen. While some involved, including the corrupt Bishop and the Hamleigh family, use the strife for their own personal and political gain, the people of Kingsbridge, including Tom Builder and Prior Philip, attempt to get their cathedral built. From political drama, to romance and plenty of suspense, the book is more than just a story about a church being built. It’s the classic good versus evil tale where most of the characters fall firmly on one side or the other.


I'm usually a little skeptical of books turned movies and tv shows, just because there are so many examples of a good story turned bad, or a show that deviates so far off from the book that you're left wondering if it's even the same thing.

Yet, I have to admit that I'm an avid book-turned-movie viewer.

When the buzz first started about this production I went online and literally searched dozens and dozens of websites and reviews and thoughts from others eager to watch it too. Then as the trailers started emerging I got even more excited because I started seeing not only what looked to be an outstanding show but littered with familiar amazing actors, all of which I'm a huge fan of.


If you have the Starz channel, you really must give this show a shot and let me know what you think.

For those like me who don't have Starz, you can watch the episodes on Netflix, it uploads a new one every week and you get to watch in HD quality.

You can also watch Episode 1 - Anarchy and Episode 2 - Master Builder on the Starz website.


The scenery, the sets, the characters are all amazing, and I think some of my favorite all time male actors are in this series, like Matthew Macfadyen who potrays the wise, principled Prior Philip, Rufus Sewell as Tom Builder and Donald Sutherland as Bartholomew.

Now of course I'm sure those who read the book may have a totally opinion than mine and may find things on the show that are wrongly depicted or completely different, but I'm watching as a totally new viewer and so I have to go by what I see on screen, and what I see is a really good series, it's suspenseful, it's entertaining and it's definitely going to keep me tuning in each week.

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