Troy: Fall of a City - season 1
The story of the horse of Troy is something that is probably known by most people. The question is if another movie or show regarding the same story is needed. Over the past few years, shows such as Rome and Spartacus have displayed, for various reasons, that it can provide us with some excellent television. Rome, because the show provides us with an intriguing story within the known story of Julius Caesar with some unknown characters. Spartacus, because it managed to combine a modern perspective on violence with a historically accurate story. Much more accurate than the similarly named Hollywood movie. As Troy: Fall of a City has been co-produced by BBC and Netflix, expectations were a lot higher than normal.
Unfortunately, Troy: Fall of a City hasn't turned out to be what many expected. At the beginning of the episodes it is mentioned that the story is based on Homer's Iliad. By bringing us the horse of Troy it would've also been possible to bring us Odyssey, but it isn't mentioned anywhere. The show's biggest problem is that the story is so well-known, that the writers have to use clever tricks in order to keep things surprising. The show tries this several times, but those surprises, which also deviate from the original story, are disappointing.
In the show Helen (Bella Dayne, Plebs) is a woman who is quite naive and as a result of that she often helps the Greeks to win several wars. Paris (Louis Hunter, The Fosters) is an abandoned prince of Troy, who after years of living as a sheep herder finally returns to the city. His rise to power is incredibly fast. It results in a lot of danger for the city of Troy.
The biggest flaw of the show that it doesn't seem to realize that there should be historical accuracy. There was a discussion about the similarly named movie (2004), where arguments arose that the usage of cavalry was incorrect. The same can be said about the show. Historians state that during wars horses were only used to harness them to chariots. Another downside is that even though Troy had a large wall for that time, in the series it is as leaky as a sieve. One only has to look at how easy it is for several Greeks to get through to agree with me.
The acting isn't incredible either. All of them (with only a couple of exceptions) don't portray their characters very well. An example would be Agamemnon (Johnny Harris, Fortitude). He is pictured as cruel and also a bit dumb. If it were truly like that, not a single Greek would've supported him. The story isn't really exciting either...
In the end the show is just a bit of easy entertainment, and nothing more than that. The greatest epic from the Iliad and the Odyssey has turned into several lazy evenings on the couch. From this perspective the show doesn't really score higher than a four. With some good intentions and less high expectations, it could've also received a meagre six. Troy: Fall of a City does provide us with some entertainment. With these arguments in mind the only fitting grade would be a five.
Unfortunately, Troy: Fall of a City hasn't turned out to be what many expected. At the beginning of the episodes it is mentioned that the story is based on Homer's Iliad. By bringing us the horse of Troy it would've also been possible to bring us Odyssey, but it isn't mentioned anywhere. The show's biggest problem is that the story is so well-known, that the writers have to use clever tricks in order to keep things surprising. The show tries this several times, but those surprises, which also deviate from the original story, are disappointing.
© BBC One
In the show Helen (Bella Dayne, Plebs) is a woman who is quite naive and as a result of that she often helps the Greeks to win several wars. Paris (Louis Hunter, The Fosters) is an abandoned prince of Troy, who after years of living as a sheep herder finally returns to the city. His rise to power is incredibly fast. It results in a lot of danger for the city of Troy.
Remarkable is that several main characters, such as Achilles and Zeus, have been given an African appearance. Modernising a show is fine, but if it's done this way it almost feels a bit like too much political correctness.The greatest epic from the Iliad and the Odyssey has turned into several lazy evenings on the couch.
The biggest flaw of the show that it doesn't seem to realize that there should be historical accuracy. There was a discussion about the similarly named movie (2004), where arguments arose that the usage of cavalry was incorrect. The same can be said about the show. Historians state that during wars horses were only used to harness them to chariots. Another downside is that even though Troy had a large wall for that time, in the series it is as leaky as a sieve. One only has to look at how easy it is for several Greeks to get through to agree with me.
© BBC One
The acting isn't incredible either. All of them (with only a couple of exceptions) don't portray their characters very well. An example would be Agamemnon (Johnny Harris, Fortitude). He is pictured as cruel and also a bit dumb. If it were truly like that, not a single Greek would've supported him. The story isn't really exciting either...
In the end the show is just a bit of easy entertainment, and nothing more than that. The greatest epic from the Iliad and the Odyssey has turned into several lazy evenings on the couch. From this perspective the show doesn't really score higher than a four. With some good intentions and less high expectations, it could've also received a meagre six. Troy: Fall of a City does provide us with some entertainment. With these arguments in mind the only fitting grade would be a five.
