The Winter King

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MalcC

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For those Bernard Cornwell fans.....
The Winter King adaption is being shown in the UK on ITVX
It's based on King Arthur for those who haven't read the series.

I've watched the first two episodes, and I'm hooked already.

Malc
 
Cheers Malc ..that will be good to see

Mind you I thought ITVX was one of those channels only for very late at night ...lol

Boudicca is coming on Netflix on 30/12 apparently

Happy viewing

Nap
 
Cheers Malc ..that will be good to see

Mind you I thought ITVX was one of those channels only for very late at night ...lol

Boudicca is coming on Netflix on 30/12 apparently

Happy viewing

Nap
Nap, you can watch ITVX anytime. Just finished episode 3 :).
Don't have Netflix. :(

Malc
 
2B293CB500000578-3187442-image-a-5_1438899749005.jpg
There is only ONE King Arthur.
("Arfur")
 
I was never a fan of that particular Arthur, and I'm sure he won't be making an appearance in the Winter King,
although it would be rather novel. :D

Malc
 
Just watching winter king , it’s quite good but a black merlin? Looks very out of place in the Arthur story. But hey is supposed to be set post Roman and of course they would have been some ex roman soldiers, slaves, traders left behind. But a black Druid merlin just a bit too much of a virtue signalling which seems to be the in thing at the moment .

Still is a good bit of escapism and we don’t get a lot of that on tv at the moment.

Steve

TFB Miniatures Team
 
For those Bernard Cornwell fans.....
The Winter King adaption is being shown in the UK on ITVX
It's based on King Arthur for those who haven't read the series.

I've watched the first two episodes, and I'm hooked already.

Malc

Right Malc based on your recommendation I just watched the lot and thoroughly enjoyed the production. However having been left with a whole load of loose ends if there isn't subsequent series I will hold you personably responsible ;)
D
 
Almost finished the Winter King, very enjoyable.

I'm reading The Uhtred series, by Bernard Cornwell, currently on book 5 and part of the story is set in the town where I live which was a Viking settlement.

Malc
 
Just watching winter king , it’s quite good but a black merlin? Looks very out of place in the Arthur story. But hey is supposed to be set post Roman and of course they would have been some ex roman soldiers, slaves, traders left behind. But a black Druid merlin just a bit too much of a virtue signalling which seems to be the in thing at the moment .

Still is a good bit of escapism and we don’t get a lot of that on tv at the moment.

Steve

TFB Miniatures Team

Yeah I would have wanted to watch it until you said that.
Wasn't Merlin Welsh? Didn't the Romans see the Druids off? Weren't the Roman's Auxiliaries North African rather than Sub-Saharan?
Doesn't practically the whole of the Arthurian Cycle as we now know it come from Mallory, French or German literature - Why does the cultural appropriation argument only go one way.
There's only one real reason for this casting choice- Diversity and inclusion - and I'm, for one, sick of it ruining modern Film and Television.

David
 
Totally agree with you, it really does not help tell the story. They should keep it as the story has been told. I watched it all was ok it sort of lacks armies. The forts only ever seem to have a dozen men guarding them. They talk about thousands of saxons landing you get to see about ten.

It just lacks depth, will I watch the second series yes just to find out what happens and hope they expand on the whole thing. It’s no game of thrones that’s for sure .

Steve

TFB Miniatures Team
.
 
It's just a bit of quasi histo/fantasy entertainment nothing more.
Either watch it or don't but it's certainly not worth trying to analyse it or interpret it from within an historical context.
As for a black actor as Merlin who really cares? Was it a competent performance? if it was, thats fine by me.
 
Hi Del I agree it is a fantasy / History series and yes maybe reading too much into it . But it’s what your used to, merlin is the old long beard gray haired old wise welsh wizard. The new guy did a reasonable job in the parts he was in. I watched it all so it must have sparked my interest. And I will be watching the next series.

Steve
 
I read the Cornwell Arthurian series since 2003 and was hooked. The story and imagined settings seemed to invite the idea to put it on film. I accept that a film usually does not entirely follows the novel in every detail and that the characters might differ from my imagination while reading the book. Nevertheless the obvious efforts to include people of color in every cast whatever the story is about keeps me from ruining my imagination and wasting time in front of a screen. Bernard Cornwell puts some effort in the description of Sagramore as a rare exception and the special attention he draws due to his unusual skintone and looks. - Maybe the next cast for Uncle Tom's cabin should have Tom Hanks playing Uncle Tom? And Halle Berry could do Scarlett O Hara and Will Smith Rhett Butler? I like all these great actors but they don't physically fit for every role and historical setting. Cheers Martin
 
It's just a bit of quasi histo/fantasy entertainment nothing more.
Either watch it or don't but it's certainly not worth trying to analyse it or interpret it from within an historical context.
As for a black actor as Merlin who really cares? Was it a competent performance? if it was, thats fine by me.

DEL I'm not saying you shouldn't enjoy it , just saying why I wouldn't.

Why do I care about the Race change?
1) There's no real reason to do it, other than the obvious political "message" that dictates it's O.K. established White characters to Black or Asian.
Someone else recently said there are many fantastic books by black authors dealing with the experiences of Black people in Britain but the BBC never makes films based on them. They can, however force anti British Imperialism propaganda into an Agatha Christie adaption with impunity.
It's the attempted indoctrination of "it must have black actors in it" - ( it's hardly ever Chinese for some reason) - that bothers me not which race it is.
This is happening all over the place from depictions of Regency Aristocracy and Medieval Mythology to The Little Mermaid, and even to Snow White! In a recent and terrible horror film (Overlord) a Black Sergeant was depicted leading a WWII U.S Airborne group
which itself composed of both white and black troops, - this at a time when The U.S forces were still focebly being segregated - I couldn't help thinking this was only helping erase a terrible period of U.S. policy that should not be forgotten for posterity sake.

This is now even affecting what films are eligible for awards.
O.K. I don't give a damn about the Oscars myself; but it means for example, that if you now want to remake something like The Dam Busters, filmmakers would have to make half the bomber crews Black or Asian to be even considered for nomination by the Oscar committee. If you are O.K. with that - fine - I think its ridiculous.

2) The more versions of a character you get the, more confusing it will ultimately be as to which is the correct one. Until recently everybody just knew Sherlock Holmes was always a white guy - soon we'll be having to argue the case.

3) I don't care if a film depicts the wrong number of buttons on a uniform but I do expect historical subjects (fantasy or not to respect it's source material and/or author).

Please don't call me racist for this. I have no objection to Black actors where appropriate, in contemporary films, American films or Sci-Fi (or even if Ridley Scott had featured Dumas in Napoleon) - fine, but when it's forced into period dramas when little actual representation existed at the time I can't help but recognise that I am being lectured to.

A recent case in America saw a young boy being called out as racist for cultural mis-appropriation; having his face blackened at a Football match and wearing Native American Headdress. It turned out that he was actually a Native American boy face painted half black and half red - his team colours! (The Chiefs)!
This is the sort of situation all this mucking about with race swapping is resulting in. But swapping White to Black is supposed to be acceptable? That to me is hypocritical.

Rant done
David
 
I think it's a time we're going through. Times change and we move on, if we over analyse what is simply entertainment and not historical fact or even speculation where do we draw a line.
Shows such as It Aint Half Hot Mum, films like Carry on up The Kyber and even Shakespearean theatre, Olivier and many other white actors 'blacked' up raised little comment. Whilst being entertained by them hopefully we have moved on from there and can accept that it shouldn't mattera jot about the colour of a actors skin. I'm just glad they didn't 'white' up the perfectly competent actor who played Merlin.
D
 
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