Emberweave With such a stellar group of British actors, it's amazing how they have managed to ruin Shakespeare. I've seen so many excellent productions, both on stage and on film, but this series stunned me with its awfulness. I watched Richard II, which was boring and grey. The heavy-handed Christ metaphor is not supported by the text and is so obviously shoe-horned in by the director that one wonders why he didn't choose a different story altogether that might have matched his narrow-focus interpretation. Richard is played as such an ethereal, dreamy idiot I'm surprised there wasn't sitar underscoring, along with lava lamps in the castle. It doesn't work with the text. Neither did the St. Sebastian silliness. I certainly enjoy seeing cute gay men, but was this a Shakespeare play or a Herb Ritts photo-shoot documentary? I hung in there for Henry IV parts one and two and they were also dreadful. Where was Henry IV? A better title would have been "The Overly-Extended Drunken Antics of Falstaff". By Part Two I was fast-forwarding through huge swathes of Falstaff nonsense hoping for some sense of interesting story. Instead, people rant and rail with no genuine purpose. I felt nothing for the characters at all and great contempt for the directors. I assume the final shots of Falstaff are supposed to be poignant, but I could not have cared less what happened to that character. This series was such a huge disappointment. I couldn't be bothered to watch the rest of the series. Really, don't waste your time.

ophidian1991 Series was so perfect when suddenly i started watching season 2 half episode 1. OHHH GODS this Margaret of Anjou cast. OHH GODS this persistence of yours to dominate history... from a fair white blonde lady to an african with full african characteristics and 50 years old. I expect to see a movie with Jimmy hendrix being played by a white guy, ohh soz i forgot this would be racism. pitty hollow crown was a good series

Miranda Johnson What makes this selection of History plays so sublime? The glorious Ben Wishaw as Richard II. The equally glorious Tom Hiddlestone as Henry V. The - again - equally glorious Jeremy Irons as Henry IV. The fantastic supporting cast - especially Simon Russell Beale and Julie Walters and Rory Kinnear....Also, the spellbinding music, the authentic locations, the detailed costumes, the sensitive cinematography, the wonderful direction and, of course, the eternally magnificent words.I cannot find enough superlatives to praise these sublime productions. Shakespeare's language, his vision and his political and social world, brought to life by different directors with differing approaches, but with a singular aim - to entertain an audience with the most powerful weapons available - language. For me, they succeeded. To paraphrase the words of another denizen of Shakespeare's limitless imagination, Prospero, these productions: "...are such stuff as dreams are made on;" Thank you, whoever had the common sense to commission and nurture these productions; the best thing I have seen on my television this year. And my 19 year old daughter and 16 year old son agree - I am no wrinkled greybeard, bemoaning the loss of the golden age, but I hope to see more of these productions; stunning gems of real culture and tradition, nestled amidst the dross of reality TV programming and the glorification of idiocy that is typified by the celebrity culture in which we live.My copy of the DVD is on order, and I cannot wait to watch these magnificent productions again. And again and again and again....

Bottlebrush Unfortunately, I didn't manage to watch all three parts of this trilogy, mainly because one was postponed due to a Wimbledon match being played in its stead! Anyway, this is a marvellous production, brilliantly acted, particularly by Tom Hiddleston as King Henry. There's tragedy and humour, both wonderfully portrayed by a string of brilliant actors who know what they are doing.Budgetary constraints prevented the showing of the epic battle scenes (for example at Agincourt) that have become standard in Hollywood, usually with a heavy use of CGI. This did not detract from the production at all, because it is about real acting, including a beautiful use of language. The costumes and locations also worked well.Well done the BBC – may you produce many more such productions, and well done the cast. This production stands out among all the horrible 'reality TV' dross that is spewed out on our screens. I cannot wait to buy The Hollow Crown once it is out on DVD.