David Drury - Rhodes (x-post amazon)

Back in the nineties i remember watching one or two episodes of this series. This left such an impression on my approximately 12 year old self that i spent the next 15 years waiting for an opportunity to revisit it. I have honestly no idea of what managed to imprint itself in me, but i kept periodically checking the web for any info about this series until it eventually appeared on DVD. This series is absolutely marvellous. The ambitions and the machinations of the british, at the time when they truly had the world at their feet, is incredibly fascinating material. Safe to say that it is treated with a view to accuracy in this series, and everything is as entirely believable as you would expect from british historical drama. Mr Shaw does a powerful performance as the ruthlessly ambitious, and incredibly talented Mr Rhodes. The series does in no way give him an easy time, and many of his dubious affairs come to light over the course of it. At the same time the series steers away from complete and utter vilification to give a complex and enlightening portrait of both the man and his time. For anybody with a shred of historical interest, or a shred of ambition in their being, this series is a must.