# TV shows set in historical eras **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 27, 2007, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640 "2007-03-27T03:05:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Opus1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/858c86/32.png) [@Opus1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opus1)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/1 "2007-03-27T03:05:45Z")
I saw an ad for the new Showtime series “The Tudors” today. Cable TV also has Deadwood and Rome. But other than that, I can think of very few shows set in the past. There have been a handful set in the very recent past (Mash, Happy Days, That 70’s Show), and a bunch of Westerns, many of which bore only a vague resemblance to any actual time period, but little else. Why is this? Since the very start of the movie industry, there have been epics set in ancient Rome, Biblical times, the Civil War, etc. 2 Questions: Why the relative paucity of historical TV shows? Can you think of some examples of shows set in various eras? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/2 "2007-03-27T03:10:00Z")
My WAG is the farther back in time you set a movie/TV series the more you need to spend on props, costumes, research, etc. ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/3 "2007-03-27T03:16:50Z")
[QUOTE=Opus1] I saw an ad for the new Showtime series “The Tudors” today. Cable TV also has Deadwood and Rome. But other than that, I can think of very few shows set in the past. There have been a handful set in the very recent past (Mash, Happy Days, That 70’s Show), and a bunch of Westerns, many of which bore only a vague resemblance to any actual time period, but little else. Why is this? Since the very start of the movie industry, there have been epics set in ancient Rome, Biblical times, the Civil War, etc. 2 Questions: Why the relative paucity of historical TV shows? Can you think of some examples of shows set in various eras? [/QUOTE] BlackAdder. Funny as hell, did what? Elizabethan? WW1? A Christmas Carol. Very funny. Lots of codpiece jokes. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/4 "2007-03-27T03:42:17Z")
British television does this more often than American. _House of Elliott_, various iterations on the Robin Hood theme, _Blackadder_, etc. On American TV, probably the oldest period you get is WWII (_Homefront_), other than Westerns. Once you hit the 50s and 60s, there are more choices (_Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, American Dreams, I’ll Fly Away_). ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/5 "2007-03-27T04:26:29Z")
In the last ten years the US has had two awful sitcoms. One was set in Lincoln’s time and the other was set aroung the time of the Salem witch trials. Both had “What were they thinking?” premises. I forget their names. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/6 "2007-03-27T04:29:21Z")
There was also Young Indiana Jones (1910s?) and set in the 1890s The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/7 "2007-03-27T04:33:14Z")
Well, Mel Brooks offered _When Things Were Rotten_, and _Covington Cross_ lasted all of 13 episodes. Medieval just doesn’t resonate with the veiwing public. ---
**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:** [March 27, 2007, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/8 "2007-03-27T04:38:04Z")
I can think of _Ivanhoe_. Also shows about WWII, such as _Combat!_, _12 O’Clock High_, _The Rat Patrol_, and _McHale’s Navy_. I’d say TV shows about actual historical persons and events may be a bit of a hard sell for American audiences. Twenty six episodes about Louis XVI and Marie, and you know they’re going to get topped in the end anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/9 "2007-03-27T04:39:08Z")
I liked Daniel Boone… > **[Daniel Boone (disambiguation)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Boone_%28TV_series%29)** > > Daniel Boone (1734–1820) was an American pioneer and hunter whose frontier exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. > Daniel Boone or Dan Boone may also refer to: And reruns of F Troop… > **[F Troop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F_Troop)** > > F Troop is a satirical American television Western sitcom about U.S. soldiers and American Indians in the Wild West during the 1860s. The series originally aired for two seasons on ABC. It debuted in the United States on September 14, 1965, and concluded its run on April 6, 1967, with a total of 65 episodes. The first season of 34 episodes was broadcast in black-and-white and the second season was in color. > The series relied heavily on character-based humor, verbal and visual gags, slapstick,... ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/10 "2007-03-27T04:41:42Z")
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99] Twenty six episodes about Louis XVI and Marie, and you know they’re going to get topped in the end anyway. [/QUOTE] And there’ll be whining about spoilers. “Julius Caesar gets killed? You shoulda boxed that!” [Rome, HBO, 2006] ---
**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:** [March 27, 2007, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/11 "2007-03-27T04:45:22Z")
The first half of the sole series of [It’s About Time](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059997/) qualifies, I think. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/12 "2007-03-27T04:49:11Z")
[QUOTE=Fern Forest] In the last ten years the US has had two awful sitcoms. One was set in Lincoln’s time and the other was set aroung the time of the Salem witch trials. Both had “What were they thinking?” premises. I forget their names. [/QUOTE] I believe the first was called _The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer_, often listed as one of the worst ideas for a sitcom ever. And then there was the British sitcom about the Jewish couple who moved in next door to the Hitlers, whose title is one of my all-time favorites: _Heil Honey, I’m Home!_ (No, this is not a joke.) ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/13 "2007-03-27T05:01:10Z")
Parts of Dark Shadows the 60’s/early70’s soap opera, were set in the 1800’s and I think also the 1700’s. There was an Australian show called Luke’s Kingdom that got airplay here around '79/'80. It was set during the settlement era - 1800’s? There’s also a Canadian show called The Campbells, which is about settlers. We also had The Whiteoakes Of Jalna which ran twenty-odd episodes on the CBC in the early Seventies and covered 1850 to 1950. Don’t forget umpteen episodes of The Road To Avonlee about Anne of Green Gables. It’s set in the very early 1900’s. Hey, what about Little House On The Prairie?! Can’t believe I’m the first on that one! Oh, and Dr Quinn. That isn’t really a Western. Finally, what about all the various Agatha Christie series and Sherlock Holmes? Argh! Almost forgot all the Ancient Hero stuff! You know, Xena, Hercules, Beastmaster, all that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/14 "2007-03-27T05:11:25Z")
**Forever Knight** was a modern vampire/detective show, with a historical B story in many episodes that kinda-sorta paralleled the A story… > **[Forever Knight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forever_Knight)** > > Forever Knight is a Canadian television series about Nick Knight, an 800-year-old vampire working as a police detective in modern-day Toronto, Ontario. Wracked with guilt for centuries of killing others, he seeks redemption by working as a homicide detective on the night shift while struggling to find a way to become human again. The series premiered on May 5, 1992, and concluded with the third-season finale on May 17, 1996. > Nick Knight is a Toronto police detective who works the graveyard shift... ---
**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:** [March 27, 2007, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/15 "2007-03-27T05:12:54Z")
[QUOTE=zoogirl] Argh! Almost forgot all the Ancient Hero stuff! You know, Xena, Hercules, Beastmaster, all that stuff. [/QUOTE] I don’t know about anyone else, but I was kind of latching onto _historical_ in the thread title… ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/16 "2007-03-27T11:11:46Z")
The Flintstones? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/17 "2007-03-27T11:55:45Z")
As I’ve mentioned before, I think that the **Judge Dee** TV movie was made as a pilot for a TV series that, if made, would’ve been set in T’ang period China, which would have been a radical departure for TV. But I suspect the TV executives balked at the idea (and imagined expense, although I bet they could’ve done it cheap) of a weekly costume drama. More’s the pity. They tried to reset the idea in the modern day, with the same star as a detective in modernm-day San Francisco Chinatown, but it flopped. > **[Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders (TV Movie 1974) ⭐ 7.2 | Mystery](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071703/)** > > 1h 40m > **[Khan! (TV Series 1975– ) ⭐ 5.4 | Crime, Drama](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072528/)** > > 1h There have been several mini-series about the Revolutionary War and the Civil War – **Adams Chronicles** , **The Bastard** , **The Rebels** , **The Seekers** , **George Washington** , etc. > **[The Bastard (TV Series 1978) ⭐ 6.8 | Drama, History, Romance](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077212/)** > > 4h > **[The Rebels (TV Mini Series 1979– ) ⭐ 6.4 | Drama, History, War](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079783/)** > > 4h For regular series, there’s **Little House on the Prairie** , **Dr. Quinn** , and a vast number of westerns – \*\*Gunsmoke Bonanza Have Gun, Will Travel Rawhide Broken Arrow \*\*etc., etc. ad nauseum (I didn’t care for Westerns) ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/18 "2007-03-27T11:57:54Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] British television does this more often than American. _House of Elliott_, various iterations on the Robin Hood theme, _Blackadder_, etc. On American TV, probably the oldest period you get is WWII (_Homefront_), other than Westerns. Once you hit the 50s and 60s, there are more choices (_Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, American Dreams, I’ll Fly Away_). [/QUOTE] The BBC is **always** doing historical drama. Recently they announced: - a four-part serial about the life of King Charles II - a two-part drama portrays the wildly excessive Lord Byron as the ultimate rebel - Carrie’s War, which tells the story of London evacuees in Wales during WW2 - He Knew He Was Right, from the novel by Anthony Trollope - To The Ends Of The Earth a three-part adaptation of William Golding’s sea trilogy Just prior to that: - The Other Boleyn Girl takes a fresh look at history with the story of Mary Boleyn - Cambridge Spies is a fresh take on the Cambridge spy ring - Servants, set largely below stairs in an English country house - The Lost Prince tells the little-known story of Edwardian royal, Prince John > **[BBC - Press Office - Historical dramas](https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/11_november/06/historical_dramas.shtml)** > > bbc.co.uk/pressoffice is the online BBC Press Office. This contains the latest BBC press releases; current and archived programme information; biographies of BBC staff; key information to answer frequently asked questions Off the top of my head, previous shows include: Chelmsford 123 (comedy v Roman occupation) The Onedin Line (sailing line) Poldark (Cornish mining saga) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Le Carre spy story) The Forsyth Saga (family drama - emptied the pubs) Upstairs, Downstairs (Family + servants) Tipping the Velvet (Victorian lesbians) Bleak House (Dickens) David Copperfield (Dickens) Pickwick Papers (Dickens) Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen) Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) Treasure Island (Stevenson) There will be quite a lot more! ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/19 "2007-03-27T13:20:02Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] … \*\*Gunsmoke Bonanza Have Gun, Will Travel Rawhide Broken Arrow \*\*etc., etc. ad nauseum (I didn’t care for Westerns) [/QUOTE] Dont’ forget **Kung Fu** and come to think of it, you’re right, let’s just skip westerns, there’s too many of them to mention. I only brought up the above because some of it takes place in China. **I Claudius** , the benchmark for any imperial Rome series. **Here Come The Brides** , set in 1860’s Seattle but not quite a western. That’s all I got right now ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/20 "2007-03-27T13:21:05Z")
There was **[The Americans](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054515/)**, set in the Civil War about two brothers; one fought for the North, the other for the South. **[The Roaring 20s](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053533/)** was about the era in its title. On a lower level of quality, there was the dire comedy **[The Chicago Teddy Bears](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066640/)**, which showed us what Sgt. Shultz did before the war. (Though he knew nothing.) 😉 And, of course **[The Untouchables](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052522/)** was set in the 20s. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640.md?page=2)