Tompeii (Disney+): Tom Hiddleston presents on Pompeii

[wewearshortshorts]

Is anyone else watching it?

I have been so excited to catch this as it got such great reviews.

I was excited about this too. Got halfway through the first episode and had to turn it off. The whole thing is just utterly cringe.

I agree. How did it get made @Hypercatalectic ?

One thing I wonder is that when he ‘time travels’ and makes that ‘Loser’ signal with his fingers, had the production team told him that they would put an egg time over the top (but then just decided to let him make a fool of himself).

I think we are quite spoiled by very high quality BBC documentaries, and the rest of the world just get this dumbed-down rubbish produced by entertainment companies.

I watched the first episode, it made me think of the BBC Education programmes we used to watch at school!

I don't think this is a new documentary, but I caught it on BBC4 last week and very much enjoyed it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b0797yqk/mary-beards-ultimate-rome-empire-without-limit

Agree, I didn’t even finish watching the first episode. Dreadful

We switched on partway and thought it awful. That Mary Beard series is about 10 years old but still on point.

Havent watched it but was planning to - sounds like I should give it a miss…

Shame, I was hoping it would be good. I was encouraged by the fact Hiddleston was taught/supervised by Beard at university.

Where did you see great reviews? Not doubting you, only because the only two I saw were both slating it on the basis of the excessive cringe (but in a really funny way, to the point it actually made me want to watch it for comedy value, whereas before I wasn't bothered despite loving everything rome, pompeii, etc.)

I used to have a bit of a thing for TH but the taylor swift t shirt thing completely turned me off, and now he just gives me the ick.

I had such high expectations because of his level of education and clear subject matter knowledge but it is just awful. I won’t be watching more than one episode.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1E9A5ceyJe/

I think I must have dreamt that there good reviews! Sorry! I went back to a link where he was talking about the programme and thought … this will be good.

What has promise is the recreations and—in the first episode—quite a good explanation of signage and accurate depictions of graffiti.

But he keeps mentioning his university and it makes me think, ‘I bet your university would rather not be associated with this’.

I alo used to find him quite exciting @latetothefisting .

The Night Manager was so cool, and I used to watch videos of him dancing … spinning and thrusting and tapping the soles of his shoes.

But there was that thing when he accepted an award and told people that he had inspired Medecins Sans frontieres, and there was a deafening silence across the room. It’s been downhill since then for me and him (not for him, obviously - he has a lovely life).

The second episode is still silly, but the volcanic bombs are good.

I don’t want this thread to die but … am I the only one watching it?

I thought the Pliny stuff was ok. Not a good as when Natalie Haynes reads it aloud on her podcast, but generally ok.

The soldier bit is demented, but it’s a theory, isn’t it? Please someone! Come and join me in the abyss of Tompeii!!!

Just started watching this. What, and I cannot stress this strongly enough, The Fuck?!?

Still, I imagine all the historians in various fields that have dedicated their careers to Pompeii over centuries are chuffed to bits that Tom Hiddleston has finally turned up to provide all the answers.

Just got to the ‘mystery’ of the Roman Soldier, and how he came to be in Herculaneum with his full wage packet. Was he part of a rescue mission?

No Tom, No. He was very likely just a soldier on leave looking for some ‘company’ in a town that would happily provide it, as military Men have done since God were a Lad. Wrong place, wrong time.

But he is carrying all his tools @CheeseWisely . And he has the exact wage for a Praetorian guard.

And all those people were found in the boat sheds.

Well I don’t question that, but I do think he was more likely there for a good old jolly with his wages and got caught up in it. To be fair the fact that the actor is very very Northern is throwing me off the ‘Roman soldier’ narrative a bit.