The Last Kingdom - new series for BBC based on Bernard Cornwell's Saxon stories

Finished it this afternoon and thought it wrapped up quite nicely. My history knowledge is terrible so I'm going to go looking for YouTube videos explaining which bits are based on true events... :P
 
Vern1961 said:
There is supposed to be a TV movie but in truth the ending was fairly satisfactory.
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I'm only up to EP8.

I've not read the books and I know very little about them, but i'd think a proper wrap for this series would Aethelstan's reign and the fulfilling of Alfred's vision, which would obviously require another season.
 
Vern1961 said:
There is supposed to be a TV movie but in truth the ending was fairly satisfactory.
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Yeah, I agree: it feels like it tells a full story

Although it's all set against the background of the conflict between the Saxons and Danes and the birth of England; its story is that of (an extremely fictionalised) Uhtred of Bebbanburg. It begins with him losing Bebbanburg, and ends with him capturing it. That feels like a satisfying arc.

I've enjoyed it from start to finish. It's not an absolute classic, and some of it feels kinda repetitive, but overall it's fun, well made, and has a great cast of characters.
 
Darujhistan said:
I'm only up to EP8.

I've not read the books and I know very little about them, but i'd think a proper wrap for this series would Aethelstan's reign and the fulfilling of Alfred's vision, which would obviously require another season.
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I only read part way through the first book, TBH the writing style wasn't quite to my taste and after a half a page devoted in detail to the mechanics of beheading someone it got put in the charity shop donation box!

But all the TV series have been very good. At some point I guess I'll try with the books again.
 
Not sure if spoilers allowed so I will be cautious.

Finally got to end of latest series and is one of the best produced shows I have watched, I did enjoy the ending with a sense of satisfaction.

The only real problem I found is the the pacing at start of every season was great, but then the second part of each season felt like they had to skip a lot and more rushed, so the show really needed more episodes but they did a great job.
 
Great series and I enjoyed it immensely. Bit like a modern day Sharpe, you know the main character will never die but he gets into bad scrapes, almost dies but comes good in the end. Even made me read the recorded history of the time to see how it compares to the fiction in the show.
 
Dont think I have ever watched a tv series where the main character dies (and stays dead).

Thats the weakness of tv and movies, certain things are way too predictable.
 
Subzero85 said:
is it similar or as good as the vikings tv show ?
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It covers a similar period of time, but is a much more conventional story. Vikings is part (very loose) history, part Norse saga, part modern TV series and has the vague narrative and sprawling cast of characters that results in whereas The Last Kingdom is a series based on a series of historical fiction books with a hero set against the background of that period of history. I would say it's neither as good in production not story, but still well worth your time. If you liked Sharpe, you'll probably like The Last Kingdom.
 
I just finished this last night after 2 months of watching it. Overall very impressed.

Glad Ultred didn't end up with another wife, that would have been too repetitive. Some strong characters dying was brave, but worked well still. Felt like some rushing was done as the story developed near the end, seemed like characters riding back and forth across the country every 5mins was no issue. But all good, decent enough ending.
 
Is this worth watching? Or am I going to be annoyed?

I absolutely love the books. Probably my favourite books of all time.

I don't read much but I think it was the Martian. And watching after reading kind of made me feel the film sucked.
 
413x said:
Is this worth watching? Or am I going to be annoyed?

I absolutely love the books. Probably my favourite books of all time.

I don't read much but I think it was the Martian. And watching after reading kind of made me feel the film sucked.
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Cant comment on the books but as i said above the series imo is one of the best Ive seen and it carries right thru all seasons, theres no gradual fall from excellence to sewerage like there was with GOT.

I loved it.
 
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