Actually, Queen Elizabeth the First, as depicted in the BBC mini-series Elizabeth R, is pretty capable of some nasty things as well, and would be pretty willing to have people killed to suit her needs.  She, after all, has the power to have people's heads chopped off, and that would include Mary, Queen of Scots, who was her own cousin.   The reason Mary was killed, from what I could gather, was because she was a threat to the English throne.  So forget about the people, I don't  want to be kicked off the throne and lose my crown!  Good God, that's the most important!

 Glenda Jackson plays the monarch in what is one of a number of quite popular British dramas of the era, up there with Upstairs, Downstairs, I, Claudius, and others.  She plays the queen in a somewhat conflicting light; she alternates between being a noble figurehead for the country and being just a plain cranky person.  Of course, all leaders would probably flip-flop between being wise and nasty ; you would too if you ran an entire country.

 There are six episodes in the series, and each one wisely focuses on a particular portion of her life.  The first episode, for example, involves her coronation and the intrigue leading up to it, while the final episode, set about 4 + decades later, obviously ends with her death.   The nature of the episodes are similar to plays.  This is not a soap opera, but six plays.  The production values, typical of the BBC at the time, are pretty cheap; everything is shot on video, and exterior shots are used only when absolutely necessary (but there are a number of outdoor shots that are obviously shot on a set, as in the fifth episode when Elizabeth rallies the troops).

 The facts of the production ensure that it will not necessarily be difficult to get bored and restless.  Like I said, these shows are more like dry and static plays than movies (or even American-style TV).   Yet there is a lot of content that will interest people who enjoy such stories or such historical events.   For me, personally, I received a lot of amusement from the whole religious angle.   Even a person with little knowledge or retaining of history (such as myself) knows that Henry VIII, in order to get a divorce, banished the Catholic Church, which was the predominate church at the time and which of course forbade divorce, and set up The Church of England.  And this series suggests that this act resulted in numerous conflicts within the kingdom.   Elizabeth herself naturally grew up in the Church of England, and sees this as the true religion, to a certain extent.  But she is certainly not as crazy as her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots (who tries a few times to gain her "rightful" claim to the English throne), who is not very liberated when it comes to faith.  After all, she's Catholic!

 The series doesn't even try to make any Catholic in to  a  fair individual.  Most all of the Catholics are depicted as schemers; people who want to shove their faith in everybody's faces (or use their faith as their excuse, I think) in order to gain power.  This is most apparent in the fourth show, when King Philip from Spain tries to take over England.   Both the religious and secular folk who work behind the scenes make their plans, and while I forgot the context of the conversation, I do remember one of the religious members saying something to the effect that "it is state matters, not theology, that you want discussed".   In my opinion, however, I don't think I can see the difference; the theology is justification for the sorts of political decisions made.

 But not all is perfect and squeaky-clean within the kingdom either, of course.  The queen does have supreme power, or at least plays at it, (and she does demand a few heads roll just to show it), but it is apparent that the people in the back room are the ones who frequently make the real decisions around here.   This is most glaring during the episode in which Mary is finally removed of the nuisance of her own head;  Elizabeth herself seems to hem and haw throughout, but the back room guys are a little more direct.   One thing that is a little admirable is how well the "cabinet", if that's what you'd want to call it, has its nose to the grindstone when it comes to routing out the dastardly Catholics.  A couple of Catholics manage to infiltrate the kingdom, hoping to save Queen Mary from forever being holed up in a room that protects her from her own wishes to overthrow the kingdom.   Throughout the entire episode, Elizabeth’s back room guys know every move that these traitors make, even using a former Catholic troublemaker against them.    Of course, this ensures that the episode has virtually no suspense, but, hey, you still got to admire those guys for at least being able to keep the kingdom from coming unglued, even if they severly undercut Elizabeth’s role as a ruler of divine right.

 Elizabeth’s heart seems filled with the strength and responsibility of the kingdom, and talks a lot about being married to England.   Well, that’s one way to divert your sexual frustrations, I suppose.  The series depicts subtly and interestingly her relationship with Robert Dudley, who at the begining of the series is a horseman, but who rises up to the level of all the other earls and dukes of the kingdom.   The gossip apparently is that Elizabeth and Dudley were lovers, but the episodes do not wallow in the dirt.   The most passionate scene is when Dudley meets Elizabeth in the bedroom for what seems to be a normal chat, until they share a passionate kiss, yet the series doesn’t say upfront whether these unequals did in fact share a bed at any time.   At the same time, however, these two have a firey and often public relationship, as Dudley does all he can to get into Elizabeth’s heart, and move up the social ladder in the process, while Elizabeth does all she can to keep her composure and her emotions in check, at least when it comes to love.    She obviously can’t marry Dudley, and is pressured by the back room boys to find a suitable match in the world of foriegn royality, all in the name of political stability.  It is somewhat of a tragedy that she, the supposedly most powerful person in England, cannot in fact follow her heart in love -- another undercutting of her supposed power, in my book.

 I didn’t mind this series too much, although it was pretty easy to get bored occassionally.  Elizabeth R is not the type of series for those expecting lots of action; this is a purely historical affair for those who are more interested in facts than melodrama.    Most British drama of this era is naturally for specialized tastes only, but at the same time, I’m not totally convinced by this particular series as I am by Upstairs, Downstairs, a series with equally low production values but with more compelling characters, and stories.     I still think that Elizabeth R is worthwhile even just as a time capsule of a much different kind of television, made before our more fast-paced, more slick era.
 
 

Rating: ***