Troy: Fall of a City - TV Review

Sky Atlantic recently released a blockbuster new series Britannia and it was given what I would regard the kiss of death being compared to Game of Thrones, which it wasn’t. I only lasted one episode before I binned it. So the BBC/Netflix drama latest offering Troy: Fall of a City was hopelessly tagged with the now standard Game of Thrones comparison again but unlike Britannia, I may just stick with this one.

Within the first five minutes, the Queen's troubled labour ultimately produces a baby boy, and a young girl foresees the ruin that the child will bring upon their city. Skip forward 20 years, we get the first shag and meet the gods and soon find out Paris – or Prince Alexander, who we are led to believe is a son of a shepherd, is in fact a Prince of Troy, as a baby he was stolen by wolves.

When he comes across the princes of Troy training for the upcoming games, he challenges them, and finds himself brought before the King, where his true lineage is revealed. The rest, as they say, is history. Well. Sort of...

Within what seems days Paris is sent off on a diplomatic trip to Sparta, he meets and falls in love with Queen Helen she of a thousand ships, and she looked the part. His posturing combined with Helen’s furtive glances and whispered asides also created a tantalising erotic charge, which crackled off the screen. However, in the totty stake Helen may be the hottie but its Paris mother that gets me weak at the knees.

Those who are looking forward to the blood and gore may be left feeling disappointed, as violence is almost non-existent in the first episode. The focus is on the human relationships, therefore it may feel a little slow for those who are out for bloodshed. However, too completely bombard viewers with graphic images of slaughter would be a detriment to the series, and would feel entirely too rushed. However, we can expect bloodshed by the bucket load over the next seven episodes with the promise of more sex and intrigue.

I may have liked it but the world of social media (Twitter) had issues and the poor lighting and historical inaccuracies were among the main bugbears. Of course, being the BBC the old whispering dialogue that accompanies all BBC drama these days was aired and Troy seemed to be populated with cockneys.