It has been a while since the BBC really pushed the boat out on the epic history documentary front. Perhaps to make amends it is treating us to possibly the most historian-studded, blue-screen-special-effects-enhanced, rare-documentastic, no-hyperbole-knowingly-under-employed series ever shown on television. Armada: 12 Days to Save England (Sundays, BBC2).
Having clearly spent a lot of money here, the BBC is taking no chances with its demographic spread. For the laydeez, in the Ross Poldark role it has Dan Snow, captured somewhat gratuitously piloting his handsome yacht into the choppy waters of the English Channel. (Just like in 1588! Sort of.) For the dirty old men it has no fewer than three yummy female historians, looking scrumptious in Tudor settings, while telling us about different aspects of Elizabeth’s beauty routine.
For the gamers, it has yet more boysy historians, pushing the English and Spanish fleets around a sandtable, talking tactics in the inevitable historic present (‘But your problem is that your fleet is divided, which means that these ships alone have to be able to try to stop our Armada!!!’).
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