"Gunpowder" - BBC

[LurkingHusband]

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05j1bc9

Anyone looking forward ?

Amwatching this on iplayer. One thing has occurred to me - William Cecil was the one who arranged for Mary Queen of Scots to be beheaded (under Elizabeth Tudor) but then served James I (Mary’s son). I knew that this was the case but it is quite weird seeing him on screen with James.

One thing has occurred to me - William Cecil was the one who arranged for Mary Queen of Scots to be beheaded (under Elizabeth Tudor) but then served James I (Mary’s son).

From my memory of the history, James was at best ambivalent about his mother. Given the nature of the times, he was hell bent on acceding to the English throne, and didn't want anything or anyone - own mother included - to get in the way. He was probably very pleased she was out of Scotland and Not His Problem.

Once she was dead, he had her interred as a Queen.

I enjoyed it. I thought the opening scenes were unbearably tense, and the executions were particularly gory, albeit of the time. I was ok until they started "quartering" the priest at which point I retreated behind the cushion and had to wait until DH gave the all clear.

There was a real air of darkness and menace over it all, and it was interesting to see how authentically grotty all the streets and buildings (and crowd) were, rather than the sanitized historical images that you see sometimes.

Looking forward to next week.

Luv Tyler's acting when her aunt was being executed was weird. She's an odd choice for the role anyway. Shaun Dooley is great. He can be menacing or cuddly!

I thought Liv Tyler was odd too. A bit sort of silent and looming

HolyMerlot Yeah, Tatiana Maslany is amazing, isn’t she and he was very good in The Five. I was stupidly happy when I realised they were a couple!

If it's a co-production with BBC America they probably chose Tyler to appeal as a known name to the American market.

You have to remember that catholicism was an actual threat at that time with the pope advocating the murder of the King and the bull issued by his predecessor calling on catholics to overthrow the monarchy was still in force. That is why they were distrusted. All very brutal and intolerant!

Surely the Cecil in this is Robert Cecil, the son of William Cecil (the right-hand man of Elizabeth 1st)?

Oh and I was taught that we celebrate the foiling of the attempted act of terrorism by re-enacting the execution of Guy Fawkes.
I used to make horribly realistic Guy's, with suitably tortured expressions....

BMW6 is correct that Gatiss is playing Robert Cecil (later 1st Earl of Salisbury) son if William Cecil, 1st Lord Burghley who served Elizabeth and died before her.

Although Robert Cecil did still serve under Elizabeth, just to confuse matters.

Ah, right, thought it seemed odd that it was the same Cecil.

So glad I read this thread before watching; I feel prepared for the gore, now! I'll have to watch for Shaun Dooley alone; he's always brilliant.

Does anyone remember the dramatisation of the story from around 2004? Gunpowder, Treason & Plot. It had Robert Carlyle and Michael Fassbender in it. I actually enjoyed that, though I don't think it got great reviews, but I'm wondering if this is going to be better. I'll catch up tomorrow and find out.

Brahbug exactly.

Finally watched it. It was good , but can’t see what all the complaints are about. There is more violence and gore in the games of thrones and the walking dead. Probably more on you tube! It certainly didn’t put me off my tea. Watching the next one tomorrow.

Can anyone tell me why breaking that poor woman's back resulted in a pool of blood spreading out beneath her?

Possibly the aorta? Snapped the spine, severing the aorta and causing her to bleed out. I may be miles off though

I watched it last night & talked through most of it to break the tension. I don't usually make a good candidate for goggle box but just couldn't stop asking questions - "are the king & that other bloke flirting?" "How are they related - is she his aunt too?" "What's with the stone? Are they trying to paralyse her while suffocating her?" "Where did all that blood come from?!"

Poor DH kept looking at me like I'd lost it while saying "I don't know" in a way that implied he thought we might find out if I shut up long enough to hear anything! I think I'll have some snacks for the next episode - shove something in my mouth every time I feel like wittering on so DH gets to watch in peace!

I've finally got around to watching this and I'm wondering why everyone was saying it was gory.
OK, so the hanging drawing and quartering was gory, but surely expected? Maybe not in the first few minutes, I was expecting it nearer the end of the series, but this is England in the 16th century, with a plot line involving catholics!
It's no worse than a war film.

I think I must have learnt about the gunpowder plot every year in primary school, and a couple of times in secondary school. Was that unusual?

Does anyone remember the dramatisation of the story from around 2004? Gunpowder, Treason & Plot.

There were a few progs around then - 400th anniversary etc.

One of the best was a "mythbusters" style "Would it have worked ?" with Richard "the hamster" Hammond. They had to import the gunpowder as there wasn't enough in the UK. The result ? It would have succeeded - and then some. No one alive for 400m radius if I remember.

"The result ? It would have succeeded - and then some. No one alive for 400m radius if I remember."

I love the what ifs these things throw up. What if it had worked? It would have changed the course of history so much.

400m

that's metres, not miles, btw

I love the what ifs these things throw up. What if it had worked? It would have changed the course of history so much.

Or not ?

The whole plot was based on the unicorn based idea that the moment the nasty King was dead, the oppressed masses would rejoice and welcome a Catholic monarch with rose petals and blowjobs.

I suspect in reality in the moments after the explosion, there would be a pretty rapid reassessment of which side of the divide you were on, and more than likely - religious differences included - people would have rejected the plotters and their engineered outcome.

And that's before you factor in the fact that the other European powers would have to revise their strategies - a Catholic English monarch would have made continental alliances very messy.

In fact, I really wouldn't be surprised if the Monteagle letter was the result of a foreign power (Spain, France) who whilst publicly talked up the anti-English-protestant country, in private were jostling to try and engage England against the other. France did quite well out of the Anglo-Spanish dust-ups. And having a protestant England across the channel from France probably suited Spain, as it tied up armies preventing invasion.

International intrigue - a game the whole world can play. And has. Frequently.