TheLittleSongbird Love historical period dramas, the cast seemed promising and Philippa Gregory's books do entertain and intrigue even with the creative licenses. This particular period of history is a fascinating one (am not an expert on it, when younger the period that most sparked my interest was the Tudors, but there is a lot to be fascinated by) and has enough to it to deserve a series based upon it. 'The White Queen' is an uneven series with some fairly big things that work against it. It is not hard to see why it won't click, and hasn't clicked, with some, and no the historical inaccuracies (a great many and some do pose a detriment to some of the drama and characterisation where it doesn't always ring true) does play a factor but is only part of why it's polarising. 'The White Queen' however for me was a well-made and interesting series with a good deal of good qualities, so can definitely see both sides of the argument.It doesn't start off particularly promisingly. The first two episodes do have good points but were also pretty ropy, being dull and soap-operatic. It was in these episodes where characterisation could be particularly sketchy and one-sided, there was a sense early on where it felt there were too many characters and it was not always easy to tell who was who at first, and where the writing was most stilted and anachronistic. The writing throughout did have a tendency to be rather too melodramatic and soapy, but the first two episodes in particular where it would feel more in place in a modern soap opera but felt odd here. Some parts felt awkward and gimmicky and not all the acting works. Didn't think that much of David Oakes and James Frain, whose characters came over as overdone, hammy caricatures rather than compellingly real. Amanda Hale fares worst, her over-acting is enough to make one's jaw drop to the floor in shock and unintentional amusement. However, 'The White Queen' does look great. It's beautifully shot throughout, the scenery and production design take the breath away and the costumes, regardless of questions of authenticity in details, are suitably sumptuous. The music is beautifully haunting and has a character and presence while being subtle enough to not be intrusive. The main theme is memorable. Although the writing is far from perfect, there are entertaining and intriguing moments as well as thought-provoking and poignant ones. After a patchy start, 'The White Queen's' storytelling becomes richer, layered and clearer and the same goes for enough of the writing of the characters and the deeper relationships between them. Things get better paced too where it feels more eventful and goes at a relentless but not rushed pace. With a few obvious exceptions, the acting is good. Faye Marsay and Rebecca Ferguson are very touching, while Anneurin Barnard and Max Irons are good fits for their characters. In support, Caroline Goodall, Michael Maloney and particularly Janet McTeer are the standouts. Concluding, uneven but interesting and gets better if stuck with. 7/10 Bethany Cox

s3276169 The White Queen like so many, many drama's with an historical bent is good entertainment but little else. As someone with a background in history I often smile at this kind of drama which, in my opinion, has more in common with Cinderella than historical fact. The bones of history are present but the overlay is pure 21st century. The nobles and the locals are all well scrubbed, healthy types, who live in spick and span, charming rustic dwellings and walk down more or less immaculate streets. The reality was not so romantic. Disease was rife not helped by human waste and garbage dumped in streets, rats were endemic and houses were unsafe, dirty places with layers of rotten straw on floors and dodgy fireplaces that often burnt the dwellings down. Not surprisingly the people of this world riven with diseases and nutritional issues that extended to the largely carnivorous, nobility.Suffice to say it was a stinky, less than glamorous world. Casting these considerations aside, The White Queen, whilst occasionally high brow and a bit corny, is mostly quite watchable. It does in its own chocolate box way follow the historical script and its well acted with a good cast. An enjoyable romp. Seven out of ten from me.

SnoopyStyle Ostensively, this is based on three books written by Philippa Gregory; The White Queen, The Red Queen, and The Kingmaker's Daughter.First, the White Queen/Queen Elizabeth (Rebecca Ferguson) who marries Edward IV (Max Irons) after his overthrow of the old ineffective King Henry VI and the cruel Bad Queen/Margaret of Anjou. Elizabeth had lost her husband defending the old King. Edward won the crown with his brothers Richard (Aneurin Barnard) and George (David Oakes) and cousin Warwick (James Frain). Neither the mother of the three brothers nor Warwick like the new queen claiming she practices witchcraft which she does.The second is the Red Queen/Lady Margaret Beaufort (Amanda Hale) who is the mother of Henry Tudor. She burns with the conviction that her son will one day be King. She chaffs at all the slights imparted on her son and stays close to court waiting for an opportunity.The third is Anne Neville (Faye Marsay), the daughter of Warwick and eventual wife to Richard. Her mistrust of Queen Elizabeth would ignite a whole series of internal family struggle after the death King Edward.This is kind of like a prequel to The Tudors. If you like scheming and backstabbing, this has loads of that. This series likes to go with more the point of view of the women of court. It doesn't have any big battles or big set pieces. That's perfectly fine. There is still plenty of drama to be had. Rebecca Ferguson is quite good at the center stage. It is James Frain who steals much of the scenes. His presence is overwhelming and rises above everybody. He also has a great part. In fact, there are a lot of great performances from everybody. It helps that the Royal soap opera is so rich.

leyspoon This will make you very angry if you're watching this and you have any common sense. King Edward is so naive that it makes you want to cut the t.v. off; he doesn't have any will to protect his family from the treacherous schemes of his family and others who want to kill him for a spot on the throne. Furthermore, this is a sickening amount of incest going on in this series..I mean come on, the writer could have salvaged princess Elizabeth's character by keeping her a virgin and waiting on Henry Tudor (King-to-be)which she had plans on marrying him and becoming Queen anyway, instead of sleeping with her uncle, who stole the throne right from up under her brother. Oh, and don't get me started on Margaret Beauford and Lady Anne ....can you say retards?! Lady Beauford had great acting but the writing made me want to choke her in scene she appeared, same thing for Anne. I don't know about the writers of this one. They all need to sit back and learn a thing or two about dramas before anyone ever gives them a job like this again.