In 1917, the Russian Revolution breaks out in earnest and Lenin and Krupskaya - now living in exile in Zurich - are both thrilled as the news finally reach them in Switzerland. They long to return to...
The Grand Duke Serge is assassinated by terrorist in Moscow in 1905 and the Tsar sees the need to dismiss his Police Chief and appoint a new one in order to heighten security in St Petersbourg. Tsar ...
In 1908, the Russian Foreign Minister Isvolsky has his mind set on conquering the Dardanelles from the Turks, as the Dardanelles is the only way for the Russian fleet to pass from the Black Sea into ...
The life of Edward VII (1841 - 1910), the King of the United Kingdom. Before becoming the King, he developed a reputation of a playboy, which angered his mother, Queen Victoria. He was a reformer and modernizer, but also an elitist.
When Elizabeth Tudor comes to the throne, her (male) advisers know she has to marry. Doesn't she? Thus starts a decades-long political/ matrimonial game, during an age of high passions and high achievement.
A six-episode dramatization of Henry VIII's relationships with each of his six wives. Each episode is devoted to one wife, and is a complete play in itself.
Stars:
Keith Michell,
Anthony Quayle,
Patrick Troughton
After the murder of her lover Julius Caesar, Egypt's Queen Cleopatra needs a new ally. She seduces his probable successor Mark Antony. This develops into real love and slowly leads to a war with the other possible successor, Octavius.
Director:
Jon Scoffield
Stars:
Richard Johnson,
Janet Suzman,
Rosemary McHale
During the sixteenth century, the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots engages in over two decades of religious and political conflict with her cousin, the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I of England, amidst political intrigue in her native land.
Director:
Charles Jarrott
Stars:
Vanessa Redgrave,
Glenda Jackson,
Patrick McGoohan
A young woman is uprooted from her idyllic village in Southern England, has her eyes opened to class warfare in the industrial North, and receives a surprising marriage proposal.
Stars:
Rosalind Shanks,
Patrick Stewart,
Rosalie Crutchley
Some of the performers playing the Western Europe rulers, are not from Europe, such as Miles Anderson, who is White African , Dennis Lill is from New Zealand, and Gayle Hunnicutt is from the U.S. However, they are of European descent. See more »
Quotes
Tsar Nicholas II:
[Referring to his son, Tsarevich Alexis, who has just left the room]
There goes half my sadness, and a great deal of my joy.
See more »
When this series ran on WTBS in 1979, I was hooked, & was able to catch every episode, save the LAST ONE! The BBC did a good job with it, but I, too, have been fruitlessly hunting for it for many years. I thought it was very well done. Even though they apparently didn't have a grand budget for much exterior shooting, the writing, as I recall, was fairly accurate and represented just what a "family affair" the royal houses of pre-WW1 were. I was particularly interested in this broadcast, especially the last episode, because I had just finished reading "The Secret File on the Tzar", an examination through all the NKVD and KGB files relating to Nicholas II's arrest and final family reunion in the basement. I consider it a minor classic, and, like several others, would like to find a personal copy.
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When this series ran on WTBS in 1979, I was hooked, & was able to catch every episode, save the LAST ONE! The BBC did a good job with it, but I, too, have been fruitlessly hunting for it for many years. I thought it was very well done. Even though they apparently didn't have a grand budget for much exterior shooting, the writing, as I recall, was fairly accurate and represented just what a "family affair" the royal houses of pre-WW1 were. I was particularly interested in this broadcast, especially the last episode, because I had just finished reading "The Secret File on the Tzar", an examination through all the NKVD and KGB files relating to Nicholas II's arrest and final family reunion in the basement. I consider it a minor classic, and, like several others, would like to find a personal copy.