[Closed] Gunpowder

Oh I could tell you ..watched all three episodes..
But I won't 8)

I can't see why the outrage at graphic execution scenes. If you're going to convey the fear of getting caught as a Catholic sympathiser then it's essential not to soften the consequence.
I think most of the outrage was covering up people's disconcertion at seeing a mature woman in the nip.

Yeah but is it any good?

They'll be the haters but really enjoying it here...doing an episode a night and certainly enjoyed second tonight

i thought it was weekly?

nuke - Member
They'll be the haters but really enjoying it here...doing an episode a night and certainly enjoyed second tonight

ahh, I thought it was weekly too! 😆 cheers for that heads up before any spoilers appeared!

tpbiker - Member
i thought it was weekly?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p05j1d43/gunpowder-series-1-episode-2

Missed that so must watch later as I like historical costume drama.

Torture scene or not is not important so long as they are realistic in story line etc. 😛

Disappointing lack of dragons and undead. Will probably end with a bang though....for some guy

I liked it enough to watch more , didn't realise it was all on iPlayer . I didn't think t was to gruesome, in fact that's the whole point isn't it . If they had been tickling their feet then he probably wouldn't of felt the need to blow up parliament.

Ponderous over-explanatory dialogue.

Stagey, overlong scenes. Dull dull dull.

It's no Wolf Hall.

Glaring plot inconsistency at one point. After discovering the trainee priest in the storage box, is it really likely they'd suddenly forget they'd measured the presence of a priest hole only a few seconds before?

You're over-thinking things ..just accept it for what it is 😉
A little bit of drama ..

cheers for that heads up before any spoilers appeared!

😀

Can't for the life of me work out how it's going to end. I'm hoping for the dragons/Stannis Baratheon/Uncle Benjen to turn up and save him as usual.

That thought did occur to me when posting! 😆

I enjoyed it, a good one on the lead up to the 5th, shame there are only 3 episodes. Torture/execution scenes are, apparently, grounded in fact so it's not just for the sake of it.
Kit Harington is also a direct descendent of Robert Catesby from his mother's side so it's no wonder he has taken such an active role. His father's ancestor was sat in parliament they plotted to blow up. Keep it in the family ey.

I didn't watch it, but I'm interested in the history of it. There was a 'letter' in the paper today suggesting it portrayed the Catholics as a persecuted minority, but this might not have been the case?

Horrible Histories also suggests the whole thing was an inside job initiated by James to gain sympathy to bolster his position.

His father's ancestor was sat in parliament they plotted to blow up

You mean 'up which they plotted to blow' surely?

Martinhutch..close ..but you forgot about the bunch of hobbits turning up to save the fairy queen ..whos dad then does a charity gig for the victims ..before becoming a judge on American Idol..

I found it a bit ponderous also.... but [url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b09c6q1w?suggid=b09c6q1w ]Elizabeth I's Secret Agents[/url] was very good I thought.
I'm not one for watching that sort of thing and only started watching while waiting for the wife to get home, but it was great..... very interesting indeed.
A real-life Spooks but with funny costumes.

There was a 'letter' in the paper today suggesting it portrayed the Catholics as a persecuted minority, but this might not have been the case?

It was undoubtedly the case at that particular point in time. Doesn't mean there weren't active Catholic plots against the crown, but it's certain that plenty of innocent Catholics suffered terribly because of the paranoia of successive monarchs.

It should also be pointed out that bloody purges and repression of protestants were carried out in catholic countries and when Queen Mary was on the throne just half a century or so earlier.

And I'd imagine that had any of the Catholic plots succeeded in toppling Elizabeth or James I and installing Mary Queen of Scots or allowing an invasion by Spain/France at the behest of the Pope, the reprisals against protestants would have been severe.

Worth watching the documentary on Tudor spymasters that aired on BBC last night. Really interesting stuff.

Watched the first episode last night.
Quite educational - i'd never heard of execution by squishing before.

never underestimate the ingenuity of the mediaeval types to find new ways of offing their enemies.

But - point of order - being squished (technically 'pressed') wasn't actually meant to be an execution..... it was a means of extracting a confession or in this case getting someone to disavow their catholic faith; if you refused to do that then in the end, sure, you'd have the breath squished out of you but by then you're lost to them anyway, and if you let people off it loses its fear.

Think of that (genuinely) next time you say 'I'm going to have to press you for an answer'

Like the rock under the spine bit though....... pinched I think from St Margaret of Clitherow - just to add a bit of discomfort.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Clitherow

Quite educational - i'd never heard of execution by squishing before.

It's where the term 'pressing' eg 'pressing situation' 'I must press you for an answer' comes from.

EDIT: Beaten to it (which is probably another one). 🙂

A few phrases come from that era / subject matter....

eg: cat's out of the bag / no room to swing a cat

Turned off; from the days before long drop hanging and trapdoors, the condemned would climb a ladder which would then be turned to leave him hanging

I love english and the history of phrases.

Yeah but beware of supposition becoming fact. There might be no real evidence of a link, just someone thought it sounded plausible.

I'm sceptical that 'press for an answer' refers to torture. Seems to me that 'press' simply means to coerce or persuade as in impress, press gang etc.

The same morally outraged ****s are probably the same cretins that would vote to reintroduce the death oenalty.

i'd never heard of execution by squishing before

Doesn't sound so bad when it's called 'execution by squishing'. A bit like 'death by tickling' or something else just as homely. 😀

Is this worth watching then?

Kit Harington is also a direct descendent of Robert Catesby from his mother's side so it's no wonder he has taken such an active role. His father's ancestor was sat in parliament they plotted to blow up. Keep it in the family ey.

Metro ran a 60 second interview with him a few days ago. He stated that being able to make Gunpowder was his reward for the success of GoT.

I made this.

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You're over-thinking things ..just accept it for what it is
A little bit of drama ..

He's not really over-thinking it. It would be nice to have any sort of TV with a dash of intelligence. (As someone already said, it's no Wolf Hall.) Measuring the outside of the building to search for priest holes? Not checking inside the really obvious box covered in candles and stuff? My 14 yr old daughter suggested that the priest would be more effectively hidden by putting a lampshade on his head and standing him in the corner.

Kit Harington is also a direct descendent of Robert Catesby from his mother's side so it's no wonder he has taken such an active role.

I haven't worked it out but wouldn't several million people be able to claim this?

jimjam - Member
Is this worth watching then?

Kit Harington is also a direct descendent of Robert Catesby from his mother's side so it's no wonder he has taken such an active role.

I haven't worked it out but wouldn't several million people be able to claim this?

That's Catholics for you.

Cheers, might give it a look tomorrow.

Wait when does Stranger things 2 come out?

friday!! 🙂

Ah me bollocks I thought it was the 24th.

aye, quite liked it overall, spoiler!!!! It doesn't have a happy ending! 😆

Just watched the final episode tonight. I quite like the decision to put all 3 onto iPlayer

Enjoyed it. Not the best but worth 3 hours of viewing time.

As for grusesome I am certain the reality was a lot lot grimmer.

seosamh77 - Member
aye, quite liked it overall, spoiler!!!! It doesn't have a happy ending!

He should've taken heed of Catholic rule No.1 "Always pull out at the last minute"

I enjoyed it, the only disappointing thing for me was I live quite close to Coughton Court, the place where the plotters rode to after the plot was discovered and there is no mention of that in the programme, I visited Coughton at the weekend and they were doing Gunpowder Plot talks. The venues shown in Warwickshire were also filmed up North which is also disappointing as the buildings are still there in Warwickshire.

harry_the_spider, you are a sick puppy.