The Pillars of the Earth--Starz Mini-Series

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dmaul1114

Banned
Anyone else watching this Starz mini-series based on Ken Follet's book? It's airing on Starz, but it's also up on Netflix Instant watch if you don't get Starz. 8 episodes total, with 5 out so far.

Pretty solid. It's basically the story of a group of characters trying to build a cathedral during a war of succession in 12th century England. Solid characters, lots of political intrigue etc. etc.
 
It slows down after that if you want to give the rest a shot. Definitely fast paced, but not nearly as much crammed into each episode as in the first.
 
Yeah, I think it wraps up next Friday (the 27th)--one episode this week, and two next Friday to wrap it up.

Your criticism is valid for sure though--it probably should be more than 8 episodes as there's a lot of "4 years later", "2 years later" stuff where it jumps ahead. But it is much easier to follow after the first episode as you know the characters by that point etc.

It's definitely got the book on my to read soon list though as it feels like they definitely cut a lot of story out.
 
I think they're going to reshow it next week as they work up to the finale next weekend.

I recorded it on a whim and was very impressed with it, knowing that the book isn't small by any stretch.

It's a very good idea to give it 2-3 episodes before tossing it aside. The first episode does throw a lot out there in a short time, and it is hard to keep it all straight. Once you make it past that first one, it settles down nicely without going crazy for too much happening at once.

They re-show it in a couple of episode blocks starting on the 23rd at 11PM ET on Starz.
 
i wasnt a big fan of the book, so i havent watched the series. is it much different from the book? if so, maybe ill like it more.
 
From what I've read on forums, it's pretty close to the book, just with a lot of story cut out.

So I guess if you thought the book had a lot of extraneous plot maybe you'd dig the movie, but otherwise probably not.

I'd think it's pretty rare for someone to not care for a book and like the film adaptation. It's usually book lovers hating the films!
 
The Tudors is probably going to end up ranked above this. The Tudors was badass, shame the shitheels still haven't put it stateside on Blu because of distributions rights clusterfucks.
 
McShane looks too weird without that rockin' Deadwood goatee. He was pure brutality in Deadwood, I don't even think it was intended for him to be such a dominant character but everything inevitably revolved around him.

Plus, he had the best dialog. ""Yeah, with his paws always damp, like a just-shit fuckin' turd."
 
Finished this last night (final 2 episodes debuted on Friday).

Really enjoyed it as a whole. Only gripe would be those stated earlier--does seem like it should have been another few episodes long as they cram too much into a few episodes and no doubt still left out a ton from the book.

But otherwise, I enjoyed the story and it was pretty well down from a directing and acting stand point. Will definitely read the book after finishing up some other stuff on my too read list.
 
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