Remember the wonderful BBC programs like I, Claudius and Edward the King and The First Churchills? Long, multi-episodic shows. Adherence to the source material (with Robert Graves' book being *very* well done while remaining fiction).
It CAN be done well!
Yes, so true. I think one issue is how they prioritize budgets for such productions. Research and consultation with reputable experts costs serious money - funds that compete with salaries, eye-catching ‘period’ costumes, and elaborate locations, furnishings and sets. The other issue is the unstated mission of productions. Today in the era of instant gratification, it is more than ever about some faceless corporate investors seeing an instant profit rather than ensuring an iconic, superior production that will captivate future audiences and pay royalties for decades to come.
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