Search - New Worlds [Blu-ray] on Blu-ray

Samuel K. (Solvanda)
Reviewed on 11/25/2018...

Four episode 2013 series and sequel to The Devil's Mistress. Seeing that the Tudor and Victorian eras have been continuously mined for drama, it was nice to actually see some bits of rarely covered English history which are still quite relevant today, being about the precursors of the founding fathers, so to speak. This is a time of civil war in England and the same war being carried on in America, foreshadowing what was to come. Thus, the term New Worlds, is not just a colonial reference, but also what slave-like oppressed folk in England were dreaming of. There is much turbulence here, people are at each other's throats. Monarchists vs. Republicans, Protestants vs. Catholics, Colonials vs. Native Americans. There are a lot of folks trying to live quietly, no one permitting them, and the blood running rivers. We also see how one country's problems can bleed over into another, and cause suffering of the innocent.

The dialogue is written in modern English, which in reality would have been more archaic at the time. There is a lot to absorb here, a lot going on, and the tale is not linear. I thought the violence was handled tastefully regarding executions, things being described, rather than portrayed, for the most part. Treason back then was met with one of the worst ways of dying ever devised, and many a previous show hanging about the Tower of London has given us glimpses we'll never get out of our heads.