"Monarchy with David Starkey" (2004) TV series 2004-

Directors:

Mary Cranitch
David Hutt

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | unknown

Release Date:

18 October 2004 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary | History

Plot:

A history of the English Crown from AD 400 to today.

Plot Keywords:

Crown | Britain | Civil War | King | Assassination

Cast

David Starkey

...

Himself - Presenter (17 episodes, 2004-2007)

Series Directed by
James Burge		(2 episodes, 2006-2007)
Mary Cranitch		(unknown episodes)
David Hutt		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
David Starkey		(1 episode, 2007)

Series Produced by
James Reid	....	associate producer (3 episodes, 2006-2007)
James Burge	....	producer (2 episodes, 2006-2007)
Mary Cranitch	....	producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
David Sinclair		(5 episodes, 2006)
Andy Price		(unknown episodes)

Series Cinematography by
Jon Wood		(2 episodes, 2006-2007)
Dewald Aukema		(unknown episodes)
Douglas Hartington		(unknown episodes)
Jeremy Humphries		(unknown episodes)
Chris Openshaw		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
Peter Brownlee		(1 episode, 2004)
Jon Everett		(1 episode, 2004)
Denise Perrin		(1 episode, 2006)
Jan Cholawo		(1 episode, 2007)
John Everett		(unknown episodes)
Jane Harris		(unknown episodes)
Sue Outlaw		(unknown episodes)

Series Production Design by
Hamish MacLeod		(3 episodes, 2004)

Series Costume Design by
Jean Arthur		(3 episodes, 2004)

Series Art Department
Roger Tarry	....	carpenter (5 episodes, 2005)

Series Sound Department
Simon Farmer	....	sound (unknown episodes)
George Hitchens	....	sound (unknown episodes)
Richard Lambert	....	dubbing mixer / sound mixer (unknown episodes)
Roger Long	....	sound (unknown episodes)
Gary McIntyre	....	dubbing editor / sound editor (unknown episodes)
Kevin Meredith	....	sound (unknown episodes)
Matt Vowles	....	sound re-recording mixer (unknown episodes)

Series Stunts
Hamish MacLeod	....	sword master (3 episodes, 2004)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Audrey Aquilina	....	assistant camera (1 episode, 2005)
Sam Edmonds	....	assistant camera (1 episode, 2006)
Colin Holloway	....	gaffer (unknown episodes, 2004)

Series Editorial Department
John Everett	....	on-line editor (unknown episodes)
Peter Lynch	....	colorist (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Hamish MacLeod	....	armourer (3 episodes, 2004)
Brian Bero	....	armorer (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Granada Video

Distributors

• Channel 4 Television Corporation (2004) (UK) (TV)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

50 min (20 episodes) | UK:60 min (6 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG (some episodes) | Australia:G (some episodes)

Filming Locations:

Abbaye-aux-Dames, Caen, Calvados, France

Company:

Granada Video

An elegant CliffsNotes version of Britain's kings and queens. Don't blink or you'll miss one

Think of a full-color CliffsNotes combined with one of those Monty Python spoofs of a BBC interviewer and you have a slightly unfair idea of Monarchy. In six episodes of less than an hour each Dr. David Starkey whips us along in a survey of England's...well, Britain's...no, make that the United Kingdom's...queens and kings. Sir David, as he is known in punctilious society, has given us an elegantly written and presented quick tour, sumptuously mounted. There are beautiful location shots of castles and palaces along with actors richly dressed to the purpose looking at us while Starkey tells us what they were plotting. The one great value of the series, to my mind, is the theme he gives his survey, and that is the continuing struggle between the sovereigns, on the one hand, to be supreme, and the barons, followed by the merchant class, on the other, to maintain a tight hold on the power of the purse. That struggle in one form or another gave us the Magna Carta, the grudging acceptance of shared rule along with kingly restraint, the concept of the rule of law, and the rise of the common man, even if, as in the House of Commons, the common man and woman wasn't represented all that well by the landed and mercantile classes who filled the Commons' seats. No matter how you look at it, England is a remarkable story for which the civilized world, which often includes the United States, should be grateful.

But don't expect more from Monarchy than a barely scratched surface. In my view, Starkey did a reasonably fine though fast job of the tumultuous period leading up to Edward the Confessor and the Norman Conquest, the characters and issues of two of the Tudors, Henry VII and Henry VIII, and the issues that led to Cromwell. Everything else for me was a blur. British history is so rich and, because so much of the history of the United States directly draws from it, so accessible to most of us, that I have mixed feelings about Monarchy. For grandparents, it would make a great present for a precocious middle school grandchild. For those reasonably familiar with British history, it simply condenses too much. Starkey uses his theme to effectively frame what he gives us, but what he gives is so little and so without nuance that, for me, it quickly became something to watch while glancing through the newspapers. Starkey doesn't help things by his manner of presentation. He is deadly serious and absolutely without doubt, humor or skepticism. I'd love to see Eric Idle or Terry Jones interview him. With Starkey's reputation for rudeness, it would be quite a show.