I recently came across this mini-series. I had been bugged for years by memories of a few episodes I had watched in primary school, and had been searching on the internet for a while before I found it. I then watched it again, through the eyes of an adult, and I quite liked it.
I remember being quite impressed with it when I was about nine years old, and although as an adult the imperfections of the episodes become obvious, I still think it does a good job of educating children on the Middle Ages, especially within the limited time frame.
A wide range of topics are introduced in three short episodes (20 minutes each), ranged from class differences, to village life, to the crusades and life in a nunnery. These topics are introduced without too much of an 'educational feel' to it, which pleased me. They are for the most part quite subtle, although the story itself is based mostly around class differences and the gap between village and castle life. I was actually surprised by how grown-up the episodes appeared - eight minutes into the first episode, three people had already died, and the language wasn't particularly child-like. It actually reminded me quite a bit of teenage shows these days.
The acting is as you can expect from such a production - not too good, a little static and some characters in particular sound as if they are simply reading their lines - but for the age group and the purpose of the series, it is adequate. All in all, I would say that this is appropriate for children to watch, specifically children with an interest in history.
I remember being quite impressed with it when I was about nine years old, and although as an adult the imperfections of the episodes become obvious, I still think it does a good job of educating children on the Middle Ages, especially within the limited time frame.
A wide range of topics are introduced in three short episodes (20 minutes each), ranged from class differences, to village life, to the crusades and life in a nunnery. These topics are introduced without too much of an 'educational feel' to it, which pleased me. They are for the most part quite subtle, although the story itself is based mostly around class differences and the gap between village and castle life. I was actually surprised by how grown-up the episodes appeared - eight minutes into the first episode, three people had already died, and the language wasn't particularly child-like. It actually reminded me quite a bit of teenage shows these days.
The acting is as you can expect from such a production - not too good, a little static and some characters in particular sound as if they are simply reading their lines - but for the age group and the purpose of the series, it is adequate. All in all, I would say that this is appropriate for children to watch, specifically children with an interest in history.
