# Holy Crap! They're making Pillars of the Earth into a miniseries! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 17, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474 "2010-04-17T19:07:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/1 "2010-04-17T19:07:55Z")
Story [here](http://www.the-pillars-of-the-earth.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12&Itemid=20). This could be good… if it doesn’t suck. It’s got Ian McShane, that’s a good sign! ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/2 "2010-04-17T20:31:44Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Ian McShane I’m there. What is it? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/3 "2010-04-17T20:52:40Z")
Ken Follet novel about building a church in England in the . . . (memory . . . straining . . . ) . . . 1100s. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/4 "2010-04-17T21:34:23Z")
One thing I remembered was a Fleece Faire and fire don’t mix. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/5 "2010-04-17T22:19:02Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Ken Follet novel about building a church in England in the . . . (memory . . . straining . . . ) . . . 1100s. Watch as Ian places a stone…! And another…! And grout…! And another stone…! Go Ian! Go! (Not anymore to the story than that, perhaps?) ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/6 "2010-04-17T23:43:18Z")
Awesome! When does it come out? How many episodes in the serial? Maybe I’m blind, but I looked all over that site and didn’t see the answers to those questions. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/7 "2010-04-18T01:27:39Z")
It’s not already in existence? The kid they said will replace Orlando Bloom in POTC IV has it listed on his IMDB page. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/8 "2010-04-18T14:16:34Z")
Couldn’t figure out what cable channel is doing this? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/9 "2010-04-18T14:35:03Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Couldn’t figure out what cable channel is doing this? According to the webpage, Starz. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/10 "2010-04-18T15:25:20Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Watch as Ian places a stone…! > > And another…! > > And grout…! > > And another stone…! > > Go Ian! Go! > > (Not anymore to the story than that, perhaps?) Heh, for me when I see Pillars of the Earth, I go “I will use my Mason to convert 2 sand into 1 Victory Point” There’s a board-game based on this novel, if anyone is wondering about the sentence above. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/11 "2010-04-18T17:31:44Z")
> [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](#): > > Heh, for me when I see Pillars of the Earth, I go “I will use my Mason to convert 2 sand into 1 Victory Point” > > There’s a board-game based on this novel, if anyone is wondering about the sentence above. Yes but…what is the story? Is there someone trying to stop the person from building the building? Is it a romantic tale where the main character just happens to be building a building between sessions of romancing his babe? I have to imagine that there is some sort of action besides physically building a building. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/12 "2010-04-18T19:01:11Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > According to the webpage, Starz. Guess I missed that bit. Not a subscriber, so I’ll wait for the reviews. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/13 "2010-04-18T19:36:52Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Yes but…what is the story? Is there someone trying to stop the person from building the building? Is it a romantic tale where the main character just happens to be building a building between sessions of romancing his babe? I have to imagine that there is some sort of action besides physically building a building. I read it when it first came out – loved Follett at the time. From what I remember, it’s romantic/historical fiction centered around the construction of a cathedral. The story follows several generations of builders, financiers, etc. I thought the novel was a bit light on characterization. Every one was a type. It’s one of those books where you could read the Reader’s Digest version and not miss anything. The miniseries has been available in Europe. There might even be a region 2 DVD already, but I haven’t checked. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/14 "2010-04-18T21:24:44Z")
POTE is not “about” building a cathedral any more than Star Trek is about a spaceship. It’s a setting in a fictional town in England where the story takes place over several decades. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/15 "2010-04-18T21:30:55Z")
What **squeegee** said. It’s also got[spoiler]the assassination of Thomas Becket, and the consequences suffered by Henry II. Also the introduction of the flying buttress into English architecture, and the invention of commodities futures.[/spoiler] No, really! ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/16 "2010-04-19T02:59:41Z")
The cast list on Wikipedia is encouraging: > [@](#): > > Ian McShane as “Waleran” > Donald Sutherland as “Bartholomew” > Rufus Sewell as “Tom Builder” > Matthew Macfadyen as “Prior Philip” > Sarah Parish as “Regan Hamleigh” > David Oakes as “William Hamleigh” > Robert Bathurst as “Percy Hamleigh” > Hayley Atwell as “Aliena” > Sam Claflin as “Richard” > Eddie Redmayne as “Jack” > Liam Garrigan as “Alfred” > Skye Bennett as “Martha” > Gordon Pinsent as “the Archbishop” > Natalia Worner as “Ellen” > Anatole Taubman as “Remigius” > Goetz Otto as “Walter” > Jody Halse as “Johnny Eightpence” > David Bark Jones as “Francis” Has anyone else read the sequel, World Without End? My partner and I are about half way through but I can’t say it’s grabbing me in the same way. [This PDF](http://www.ken-follett.com/images/trees/POTE_WWE_character_tree_v2.pdf) of the character relationships in both books is coolness itself. > [@squeegee](#): > > POTE is not “about” building a cathedral any more than Star Trek is about a spaceship. It’s a setting in a fictional town in England where the story takes place over several decades. Yes it is, it’s the central running theme that carries the entire storyline. Everything - _everything_ - in the book revolves around it. The “story takes place over several decades” because that’s how long it takes to build the cathedral. The title is a reference to it. [Wikipedia says it is](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pillars_of_the_Earth). The freakin’ _author_ [says it is](http://www.ken-follett.com/bibliography/the_pillars_of_the_earth.html). ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/17 "2010-04-19T03:56:57Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Yes it is, it’s the central running theme that carries the entire storyline. Everything - _everything_ - in the book revolves around it. The “story takes place over several decades” because that’s how long it takes to build the cathedral. The title is a reference to it. [Wikipedia says it is](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pillars_of_the_Earth). The freakin’ _author_ [says it is](http://www.ken-follett.com/bibliography/the_pillars_of_the_earth.html). Nonsense. The wikipedia entry says whatever the last wiki editor thought was true. Follett says no such thing in your link. In any case, the story is _set_ in a town building a cathedral, but it is _about_ the lives of the characters in that setting. Yes, the theme is about the church as a civic project, but the story diverges many times from that theme. Please tell me: is _Buffy_ “about” Sunnydale High? Is _Apollo 13_ “about” a spacecraft? Is _Avatar_ “about” Pandora? Is _Casablanca_ “about” Casablanca? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/18 "2010-04-19T04:29:18Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Has anyone else read the sequel, World Without End? My partner and I are about half way through but I can’t say it’s grabbing me in the same way. I’ve read World Without End. It was pretty damn good until about halfway through when the plague hits. That just depressed me. You gotta take this kind of writing for what it’s worth. It’s very much “popcorn fiction,” along the lines of something like Desperate Housewives. Oh yeah, and (I don’t think this is a spoiler, really), there’s very little payoff for the mystery that is set up in the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/19 "2010-04-22T07:26:44Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Yes but…what is the story? Is there someone trying to stop the person from building the building? Is it a romantic tale where the main character just happens to be building a building between sessions of romancing his babe? I have to imagine that there is some sort of action besides physically building a building. I guess there is, going by some of the random event cards. Besides what already have been mentioned, there’s opposition to the building of the church, greedy clergy, and a love triangle of sorts. The building of the cathedral is just the backdrop. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474/20 "2010-04-22T13:59:12Z")
I didn’t really care for the book (I disliked Follett’s writing style) but I love medieval England, and the details about building the cathedral were fascinating. It might make a good mini-series. I’ll watch for it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-theyre-making-pillars-of-the-earth-into-a-miniseries/536474.md?page=2)