The Pillars of the Earth

A pretty entertaining romp despite some flaws in the script and some dubious acting choices. Redmayne steals the show and Atwell is amazingly attractive. Some other strong turns help sell this and it only feels "TV-ish" a few times (with some particularly shitty CGI). Well worth watching for period epic fans.

You could tell that there was something there as far as the source material was concerned, but it didn't quite translate properly from book to screen. Clunky, poorly cast, with some terrible CGI quite often (for a period piece no less). May be worth a watch, but can't recommend you invest 8 hours in this.

The book is regarded as a classic, so I was looking forward to this. After 2 episodes NOTHING grabbed my intention so we dumped the rest of the series.

Bizarre to think this came out a year before Game of Thrones when they seem a generation apart in quality. Where early GoT excelled at squeezing intrigue and tension out of every scene, Pillars telegraphs every move and leaves too many characters feeling two dimensional. Too much time on the external politics and too many shortcuts for this to do the book justice.

Pretty close to the original with some clumsy insertions. Not sure 8 invested hours were justified in the end.

Great TV miniseries with beautiful reconstitution of Medieval England and fascinating characters, such as incestuous Regan Hamleigh (Sarah Parish), the villainous Waleran (Ian MacShane), the mysterious and beautiful Ellen (Natalia Wörner) and many others. It's pure melodrama, one of those irresistible.

Definitely recommended for anyone who, like me, is a big ol' geek for war epics set in medieval times. Parts of the ending feel a bit abrupt and there are some unwelcome supernatural elements (i.e. King Stephen having visions), but it's also got a sweeping scope and plenty of medieval settings eye candy and some very fine performances, including a notable star-making turn from Eddie Redmayne as Jack Jackson. I enjoyed it a good deal.

It's a bit like a diet Game of Thrones, without the magic. Though the story is quite fantasical indeed, coated in plot armor, creative license, and pure fiction. Nevertheless, it is quite enjoyable, and the core performancea are excellent.

Interestingly enough, I don't really recommend this if you are looking for a period show. History is really pushed to the background here and actually the weakest part of the show was medieval economy which got a significant screen time, but was honestly boring. However the show can be a perfect choice to watch with your spouse, because it's both romantic and quite adventerous with lots of heart aches, tragedies and come-backs that can make even hardy men cry. Try it out on a quiet night.