Elizabeth R

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Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth I
Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth I

Elizabeth R is an Emmy Award-winning BBC television drama serial of six 85-minute plays starring Glenda Jackson in the title role. It was first broadcast on terrestrial channel BBC Two from February to March 1971, and was later broadcast in America on the premiere season of PBS 's Masterpiece Theatre. The acclaimed series is considered to be a largely accurate historical portrayal of the life of Elizabeth I of England.

Contents

[edit] Episodes

  • The Lion's Cub - The fragile succession hearlds dangerous times for the young Princess Elizabeth. Having narrowly avoided implication in the attempted abduction of the sickly boy, King Edward VI, she becomes the figurehead for a Protestant rebellion when her sister Mary I of England, a devout Catholic, succeeds to the throne.
  • The Marriage Game - The new Queen Elizabeth I is 25 years old - and unmarried. Her council urges her to marry quickly. Only Lord Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, her Master of the Horse, seems to interest the Queen. When Dudley's wife dies under mysterious circumstances, Elizabeth must decide if she really wants to marry, and if so, is Dudley the right choice?
  • Shadow in the Sun - Elizabeth meets her most eligible suitor yet: Francois, Duke of Anjou. A marriage will cement France's sought for alliance with England. Despite the Puritan's rousing opposition in the country, Elizabeth seems taken with the witty and flower-tongued Francois. As her duties as Queen clash with her feelings as a woman, Elizabeth faces her toughest decision.
  • Horrible Conspiracies - As long as Mary, Queen of Scots lives, she is the focus of plotters and revolutionaries. Despite a harsh clampdown against conspiring Catholics, Mary, in domestic exile, inspires an earnest attempt to overthrow Elizabeth. Is the execution of Mary the only way Elizabeth will remain on the throne?
  • The Enterprise of England - Whispers of war fill the air in Elizabeth's court and in Spain. Eager to avenge the death of Mary, Queen of Scots, the infirm King Phillip II of Spain urges an unprepared fleet to sail on England. Even as Elizabeth rebukes the hawks in her council with hopes of peace, the Spanish Armada appears on the horizons of England. Her fate and the future of the country now lie in the hands of Sir Francis Drake and the Navy.
  • Sweet England's Pride - "He is the sun in splendor, he is all our pride." Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, is the people's champion, but he openly disputes the Queen's opinions. Elizabeth 'rewards' his daring feats in Spain with a tougher challenge: to quell the Irish uprising led by O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. But Essex has a rebellion of his own in mind. Can an old and dying Queen face a final challenge to her throne?

[edit] Production

The first episode was broadcast on 19 February 1971, beginning on screen in the year 1548 with the then Princess Elizabeth's difficult ascent to the throne of England ten years later. The final episode was shown on 24 March, the 368th anniversary of the Queen's death.

The series was essentially a follow-up to the successful Six Wives of Henry VIII of 1970. Bernard Hepton as Cranmer, Basil Dignam as Bishop Gardiner, John Ronane as Thomas Seymour, and Rosalie Crutchley as Catherine Parr, reappeared in the same roles in Elizabeth R.

Glenda Jackson's tour de force performance in the title role won her 2 Emmy Awards - for Best Actress in a Drama Series and Best Actress in a Movie/TV Special (for the episode "Shadow in the Sun"). The series itself won the Emmy for the Best Dramatic Series of 1972.

Costume designer Elizabeth Waller recreated many of the historical Elizabeth 's actual gowns for Glenda Jackson, adapting them from a number of the Queen's famous, official portraits.

Elizabeth R also starred many well-known television actors, including Malcolm McFee, Michael Williams, Margaretta Scott, John Woodvine, James Laurenson, Angela Thorne, Brian Wilde, Robin Ellis, Robert Hardy and Peter Egan.

It was parodied in Monty Python's Flying Circus when they portrayed the cast on motor-scooters and speaking Engrish. Therefore the title was changed to Erizabeth L.

Released on dvd by BBC/Warner in 2001.

[edit] In other country

The series was broadcast in only four other country: Netherlands (26 January 1972), Poland (13 Febrary 1972), USA (13 February 1972) and Belgium (7 September 1973).

[edit] Cast

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series

Pulitzer Prize Playhouse (1951) · Studio One (1952) · Robert Montgomery Presents (1953) · The United States Steel Hour (1954) · The United States Steel Hour (1955) · Producers' Showcase (1956) · Gunsmoke (1958) · Alcoa-Goodyear Theatre (1959) · Playhouse 90 (1960) · Macbeth (1961) · The Defenders (1962) · The Defenders (1963) · The Defenders (1964) · The Fugitive (1966) · Mission: Impossible (1967) · Mission: Impossible (1968) · NET Playhouse (1969) · Marcus Welby, M.D. (1970) · The Bold Ones: The Senator (1971) · Elizabeth R (1972) · The Waltons (1973) · Upstairs, Downstairs (1974) · Upstairs, Downstairs (1975)
Complete list: (1951–1975) · (1976–2000) · (2001–present)
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