The year in 1291. The place is Acre in the Levant. The situation is the last Crusader state the falls to Islam, marking the end of the Crusading era. But the filmmakers do not concentrate at all on this historical topic. Rather, the major loss is that of the Holy Grail that is fumbled and lost by the band of warrior-monks known as the Knights Templars.
Of course, the cry of the Templars that appears in this film, namely, "We fight for the Grail!" has nothing to do with the historical Knights Templars. These fierce warriors were fighting to retain the great Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. That story would have been much more interesting than a recycling of the Grail legend.
The main focus of the opening episode is the story of Landry, who will take over as the Grand Master of the Templars after the untoward death of Godfrey. But once again, the filmmakers drop the ball by introducing another one of the Arthurian legends into the story. In this version, Landry is like Lancelot, who is engaged in an adulterous affair with Queen Joan. But Joan's husband is Philip IV of France--not the kindly King Arthur, but the greatest enemy of the Knights Templars, Philip IV.
The subplot of the persecution of the Jews in Paris was yet another odd choice on the part of the filmmakers. There was no mission on the part of the Templars to protect the Jews from pogroms. This was yet another plot strand that drew the miniseries away from the historical Knights Templars.
A good opening episode of a historical miniseries should stir up interest in the viewer to become engaged in the medieval world that produced such a unique organization as the Knights Templars. Instead, the program was flat, due to a set of predictable scenes that never got to the heart of the matter in the epic tale of the Crusades.
Of course, the cry of the Templars that appears in this film, namely, "We fight for the Grail!" has nothing to do with the historical Knights Templars. These fierce warriors were fighting to retain the great Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. That story would have been much more interesting than a recycling of the Grail legend.
The main focus of the opening episode is the story of Landry, who will take over as the Grand Master of the Templars after the untoward death of Godfrey. But once again, the filmmakers drop the ball by introducing another one of the Arthurian legends into the story. In this version, Landry is like Lancelot, who is engaged in an adulterous affair with Queen Joan. But Joan's husband is Philip IV of France--not the kindly King Arthur, but the greatest enemy of the Knights Templars, Philip IV.
The subplot of the persecution of the Jews in Paris was yet another odd choice on the part of the filmmakers. There was no mission on the part of the Templars to protect the Jews from pogroms. This was yet another plot strand that drew the miniseries away from the historical Knights Templars.
A good opening episode of a historical miniseries should stir up interest in the viewer to become engaged in the medieval world that produced such a unique organization as the Knights Templars. Instead, the program was flat, due to a set of predictable scenes that never got to the heart of the matter in the epic tale of the Crusades.