Isabel 

Life of Isabella I of Castile, also known as Isabella the Catholic.

Stars:

Michelle Jenner, Ramon Madaula, Rodolfo Sancho

31 wins & 39 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Michelle Jenner	...	Isabel de Castilla 39 episodes, 2011-2014
Ramon Madaula	...	Gonzalo Chacón 37 episodes, 2011-2014
Rodolfo Sancho	...	Fernando de Aragón 35 episodes, 2011-2014
Jordi Díaz	...	Andrés de Cabrera 32 episodes, 2011-2014
Ainhoa Santamaría	...	Beatriz de Bobadilla 31 episodes, 2011-2014
Sergio Peris-Mencheta	...	Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba 21 episodes, 2012-2014
Lluís Soler	...	Hernando de Talavera 20 episodes, 2013-2014
Elisabet Gelabert	...	Catalina 20 episodes, 2012-2014
Andrés Herrera	...	Pedro de Mendoza 19 episodes, 2011-2014
Pedro Casablanc	...	Alfonso Carrillo de Acuña 17 episodes, 2011-2013
Ernesto Arias	...	Pedro de Peralta 17 episodes, 2012-2013

Storyline

Life of Isabella I of Castile, also known as Isabella the Catholic.

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Plot Keywords:

historical figure | spanish history | 1400s | reconquista | aragon spain | 

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Genres:

Biography | History

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Spain]

Country:

Spain

Language:

Arabic Spanish

Release Date:

10 September 2012 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Isabel, mi reina

Company Credits

Production Co:

Diagonal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Years before playing Gonzalo Chacón in this series, Ramon Madaula starred as the titular character in Pedro I el Cruel (1989), which chronicled the conflict between King Peter I and his brother Henry - both of them great-great-grandfathers of Isabella I - that resulted in the rise to the throne of the House of Trastamara.

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Goofs

Though set in the late 15th century, ruling monarchs are given the treatment "Majesty" through the series. No monarch, in Spain or elsewhere, received this treatment before 1517, when it was invented by Charles V upon his election as Holy Roman Emperor (Charles had already been treated as "Royal Highness" as King in Spain and though that he deserved something that ranked above that once he was Emperor; other monarchs adopted the treatment for themselves later).

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Connections

Followed by The Broken Crown (2016)

User Reviews

Memorable

I gave this 10/10 because I believe that it succeeded completely in its intent, which was presumably to faithfully recount, as dramatically as possible, the rise to power and reign of one of Europe's most important monarchs. At over 39 episodes and more than 2500 minutes in length it is of course hard to be perfect all the time and there are moments when the acting or the scenery is not at 100% what it normally is but that is a minor quibble. If there are a few dodgy displays of cheap CGI scenes then there are a 100 beautiful ones. If there are one or two actors who appear again in different roles, then do remember that this is a relatively small country(compared to the US) with a smaller budget but with an ambition no less than anything conceived in Hollywood.

Two things stand out: The story with its countless subplots which appear at a dizzying rate (especially for the non Spanish speaker), and secondly the acting. Michelle Jenner as Isabel is a beautiful queen, but she does a fantastic job bringing to life the complex personality, so distant from our own time but which ultimately succeeds in turning a backwater kingdom in the middle of the Iberian peninsula into a world empire. Rodolfo Sanchez as Fernando/Ferdinand is also inspired, but for me the two most memorable performances were from two other duos, one at the start and one at the end :Carillo/Pacheco in the first series with their plots and counter plots are pure drama while Juana/Felipe in the third and final series is tragedy in its most bewildering form. Irene Escolar as Juana "la loca" is probably the best of all. You haven't seen intense if you haven't seen Escolar's Juana.

One thing bugs me though: as a non Spaniard who fortunately understands Spanish, I am nevertheless sad that the DVD box set does not come with English subtitles. As a ruler Isabel is there, somewhere in the top 10 of great rulers/tyrants with Napoleon, Lincoln, Genghis, Caesar Augustus and Charlemagne and well ahead of the Tudors or the Borgia in terms of importance in world affairs. Lots of good things, and to be sure bad things: Inquisition, the Discovery of America, the granting of Human rights to the Indians(later ignored by the conquistadors who caused the death of millions) and the financial and legal reforms which laid the foundations of one the greatest empires in History and whose influence is still felt in that 500million speak Spanish today. With such an important person in history, surely someone in the Spanish state television would have the in-site to market this on a world wide basis.