| Series cast summary: |
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Ben Chaplin
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Charlotte Riley
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Nora von Waldstätten
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Gwenda
(8 episodes, 2012)
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Oliver Jackson-Cohen
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Rupert Evans
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Tom Weston-Jones
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Tom Cullen
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Blake Ritson
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Sally Bankes
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Madge Webber
(8 episodes, 2012)
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Neil Bell
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Sim Chapman
(8 episodes, 2012)
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Alexandra Gallusz
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Merchant
(8 episodes, 2012)
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Diana Kent
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Rose
(8 episodes, 2012)
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Cynthia Nixon
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Petranilla
(7 episodes, 2012)
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Aure Atika
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Tatiana Maslany
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Sister Meir
(7 episodes, 2012)
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Miranda Richardson
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Mother Cecilia
(6 episodes, 2012)
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Peter Firth
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Sarah Gadon
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Philippa
(6 episodes, 2012)
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Jason Langley
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Matthias
(6 episodes, 2012)
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Sarah Beck Mather
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Annet
(5 episodes, 2012)
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Richard Durden
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Ian Pirie
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Elfric
(5 episodes, 2012)
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Carlo Rota
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Kostja Ullmann
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David Bradley
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Caroline Boulton
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Sister Elisabeth
(4 episodes, 2012)
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Iván Fenyö
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Jude Wright
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Sam (child)
(4 episodes, 2012)
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Megan Follows
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Maud
(3 episodes, 2012)
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André Hennicke
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Joby
(3 episodes, 2012)
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Daniel Ainsleigh
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Duncan Bell
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Saul Whitehead
(3 episodes, 2012)
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Romy Caton-Jones
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Young Joan
(3 episodes, 2012)
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Oliver Doherty
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David
(3 episodes, 2012)
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Oliver Maltman
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John Owens
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Alex Palmer
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John Rado
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Friar Murdo
(3 episodes, 2012)
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Danny Scheinmann
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Jeremiah
(3 episodes, 2012)
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Scott Alexander Young
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John Constable
(3 episodes, 2012)
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Attila Árpa
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Indira Varma
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Mattie Wise
(2 episodes, 2012)
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Andrew Bicknell
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Gerald
(2 episodes, 2012)
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Max Jacob Brownas
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Dan Cade
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Handsome Jim
(2 episodes, 2012)
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Hera Hilmar
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Margery
(2 episodes, 2012)
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Mike Kelly
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Merchant John
(2 episodes, 2012)
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Antal Konrád
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Peter Linka
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Perking
(2 episodes, 2012)
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Victor McGuire
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Gyula Mesterházy
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Guard
(2 episodes, 2012)
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Kevin Moore
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Stewart Scudamore
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Bonaventura Carolli
(2 episodes, 2012)
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Grant Stimpson
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Gregory Longfellow
(2 episodes, 2012)
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I gave this three out of ten and two of those were for Cynthia Nixon's pretty good English accent. As for the rest of this travesty of history and drama, it was a massive disappointment. The 'plot' twists were ridiculous, the characterizations barely two dimensional - pantomime villains and twee 'goodies', with no attempt at depth. Some money obviously went into the sets which were, sad to say, more interesting than the characters. Confusingly, great periods of time flashed by - more than a decade overall - and none of the principal characters aged or changed in any way. There was no sense of pace to the production, or reality for that matter. Worst of all was the usual re-writing of history in the name of 'dramatic license'. The events of Edward III's reign are among the most dramatic in English history, so why fiddle with them? Throughout the series we see only one of Edward III's children, Joan, and that briefly. There is no mention of his other children or, most importantly, of his wife and Queen, Phillipa of Hainault. Instead we have Edward's mother, Isabella of France effectively ruling England, though in reality she had no further part in government after 1330. We even see Isabella participating in Edward's war against her family and mother country ! Edward III is presented as a wimp and mother's boy, when in reality he was one of England's most powerful and effective kings. There are some fine actors in this production, all of whom are totally wasted. I haven't read the book on which it is based, but would like to believe that Ken Follett wasn't responsible for this rubbish, but if that is so, he shouldn't have allowed his name to be associated with this nonsense. If you haven't watched it, don't bother.