07-07-2010, 03:33 PM
Quote:.... Apart from all that I just found it a load of old cobblers to be honest.
Sadly, I would have to agree! Aerial shots of Newstead (excavated by Curle around the year 1900), with some very fanciful lines drawn on the picture to indicate that the fortress was 'enormous' (ditto for Ardoch) didn't help. A quoted force size of 40,000 seems a little unlikely - as this would equate to around 8 legions (or combinations of legions and auxiliaries) - and where would dear Septimius get THAT number of troops from? I think that Trajan took a similar force into Dacia in 104 - but that was more than 100 years previous when the Empire was at its height!
There was no attempt to explain what happened to Geta, or why SS brought his two 'lads' along with him. Nothing to describe what Caracalla did after Pa died. According to the programme, "the dynasty ended with Caracalla". Oh yes, in terms of blood relationships true, but what about Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus (not to mention his somewhat odd Ma, Julia Mamaea)? I can't remember the Mrs (Julia Domna) being mentioned either - but maybe I was asleep by then? Crucially, the programme never made any serious attempt to see if it could discover (or, at least, present) a cogent arguement for SS invading 'Scotland' in the first place. There was a passing reference to the governor of 'Britannia' asking for help because those nasty barbarians were acting up there in the frozen wastes of Caldeonia but this was not examined in any great detail. Three (out of 40,000, ye faith) crazed legionary soldiers wandering around the Highlands/Bogs and being duffed up by some understandably p*ss*d off locals is hardly a basis for an interesting programme.
I don't know if the same people did the Trafalgar episode (which I thought was excellent) and the other two (which I haven't seen) were the same as those that did this sad little effort - but they fell into the usual trap that we have noted before in discussions here, namely (a) repeat things ad nauseam because the people who look at these things cannot remember what was said either side of the advert break (they think), (b) find a dubious 'supposition', which sudddenly becomes a 'fact' and © construct a whole scenario on this 'fact', which then becomes gospel. Couple this with repeated use of the very same clip (or, sometimes, clips) of film, which bear very little (i.e. 'no') relationship to the story being unfolded before us. All of this was depressingly presented here. Where did they get the 'fact' of the size of this army from? How do they 'know' what SS was actually 'thinking' about things. And so on. I don't know why I watch this Channel 4 tosh every time they put it on. I should know what to expect by now. "Hope springs eternal", I suppose! Just once, I wish that those responsible at Ch4 for these programmes would try and do a proper job and treat the audience like adults instead of retarded children. Too much to ask for? Sadly - probably.
Mike Thomas
(Caratacus)
visne scire quod credam? credo orbes volantes exstare.
