Elizabeth R
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Elizabeth R is a BBC television drama serial that was broadcast in six, 85 minute parts on terrestrial channel BBC Two from February to March 1971. Starring Glenda Jackson in the title role, it was a largely accurate, historical portrayal of the life of Elizabeth I of England.
[edit] Series Background
The first episode was broadcast on 19 February 1971, beginning on screen in the year 1548 with the then Princess Elizabeth's difficult ascent to the throne of England ten years later. The final episode was shown on 24 March, the three-hundred-and-sixty-eighth anniversary of the Queen's death.
The series was essentially a follow-on from the successful Six Wives of Henry VIII of 1970. Only Bernard Hepton as Cranmer, John Ronane as Thomas Seymour, and Rosalie Crutchley as Catherine Parr, reappeared in the same roles in Elizabeth R.
The series starred many well-known television actors, including Malcolm McFee, Michael Williams, Margaretta Scott, John Woodvine, James Laurenson, Angela Thorne, Brian Wilde, Robin Ellis, Robert Hardy and Peter Egan.
Although widely viewed as one of the greatest television dramas of all time, Elizabeth R's detractors have pointed out that it is studio bound in comparison with modern productions, but in many ways this is its greatest strength.
Watching it is akin to savouring a live theatre performance. The cast is incomparable and reads like a who's who of the UK stage and screen.
It demands multiple viewings which offer enriched enjoyment every time.
