Rise of Empires: Ottoman

[Drunk Monk]

A docudrama about Mehmed the conqueror and the fall of Constantinople. It’s a bit of history that I don’t know that much about. Akin to Age of Samurai http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=6117 each ep has a series of expert talking heads and then actors depicting the major points of history and the battles. These must be a lot of fun for the actors because they only have pivotal scenes and then a lot of battlefield action. 

Season 1 is 6 eps; im 2 deep. Season 2 drops tomorrow. 

S1e1 sets up Mehmed with the death of the sultan. It also brings in the cannon maker who pitches a giant cannon - like 27’ long to lob a a cannonball nearly 2 hards in diameter. It’s needed to break the walls of Constantinople which begin with a moat then rise three walls with killing fields between each obstacle. 

E2 is a flashback to Mehmed’s upbringing which is harsh. Torn from his mom and life as a child, put in charge of a city under a strict tutor who whips him, and so on… oh what a bummer it is to be heir to the throne. It also introduces the Genovese mercenary Longo. 

The acting is adequate for the history they are telling. The battle scenes are sanguineous and muddy, not stellar but satisfying. The costumes seem accurate. The history is fascinating because I don’t know it and it’s presented in a way that isn’t at all dry; it’s soaked in blood. It’s made in Turkey with Turkish actors and experts so it feels authentic.

D00M recommended so far.

[Greg]

John Julius Norwich is my goto for a history of Byzantium. I usually disdain docudramas. The acting throws me out of the story because of the cheese factor. But I might check this out because I do like that history.

[Drunk Monk]

The acting is no more cheesy than so many sword swinging fantasy series, but it’s a fair cop. I wouldn’t be watching this for the acting.

[Drunk Monk]

2 more eps in and wow, what a brutal siege. This moves back and forth through time to fill in the backstories in a colorful way. A scot mercenary appears and he’s quite in character. The move to get the Turk fleet into the golden horn is absurd yet brilliant because it worked. Nevertheless, like moving the giant cannon, it’s an amazing feat of ancient engineering and one of the talking heads makes a great comment about how ancient wars were won by engineering. I’m rather enjoying the history lesson.

2 more eps to go for s1, but s2 just dropped 6 more eps today.

[Drunk Monk]

S1 done.

E5 got celestially auspicious with a blood moon and lightning striking the main temple, the largest building in the world at the time. The conquest of Constantinople was prophesied with the name of Constantine and his mum so why would they even adopt those names if the prophesy said they would bring the fall.

E6 season finale - the inevitable conquest is achieved in a bloody final assault. It marks the fall of the Roman Empire and the first time in history when cannons defeated walls. Sad to see the fate of some mighty warriors but satisfying to watch some of the traitorous ones meet their fate. Mehmed claims the throne (not a spoiler considering it’s part of recorded history over a half millennia old). I assume season two will be about the expansion of Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire. I’ll check that out next year.

The production values are decent overall and the balance between reenactment and expert talking heads worked well for me. D00M recommended.

[cranefly]

Believe it or not, I watched 6 episodes tonight.  But major blunder.  It defaulted to season 2.  Oops.   So I'm done with what you haven't seen, DM.  Not to spoil things, but I doubt you'll notice a let-up in the brutality in S2.  Learned a lot of things I didn't know.

I'll watch S1 real soon, but probably next year.

[Drunk Monk]

What is with you and the binging lately?

[cranefly]

What is with you and the binging lately?

I was legitimately curious to see what happened next.  I had no idea Vlad played such a major role in history.  You know, the ole "I can quit anytime.  I'll just do one more."

[Drunk Monk]

Wait… Vlad is in s2? Way to spoil it, bro.

Just kidding. I look forward to that seeing how so many characters met their demise at the end of s1.

The auto-flip to the next ep irritates me. I like reading credits and I’ve slept through flips which is really confusing sometimes.

[cranefly]

I finished the two seasons ass-backward.  Interesting blend of fact and fiction.  I believed the scenes supported by the talking heads, questioned those that were not discussed--such as when Mehmed charges ahead of his troops and gets shot off his horse for his troubles, or the introduction of romances for some characters.

All in all, a good blend.

Recommended.

[Drunk Monk]

S2e1 unlocked. This season is all about Vlad the Impaler. I know more about Vlad than the Ottoman Empire for some odd reason. This season is off to a solid start because it’s Vlad Dracula, and that’s just compelling. I’m excited for s2.

The costuming in this show is fantastic. It seems very authentic but what do I know about historic ottoman attire? 

I found the gratuitous Turkish delight a bit distracting. Does that candy go back that far?

[Drunk Monk]

S2e2: I’m liking s2 a little better because it’s about this epic rivalry. S2 was about the siege of Constantinople, which was more history/fact bound. S2 is more personal. There’s less talking head and more focus on the character arcs and development. It’s likely more fictional, but it’s more entertaining. Plus the actor playing Mehmed has settled into his role better. I wasn’t as appreciative of him in s1. And I like the actor playing Vlad Dracula. It makes me wonder why so few vampire stories don’t capitalize on the historic Vlad more, as he’s more ruthless than any Dracula depiction I can think of. I can never get past how impaling worked. So vicious.

[Drunk Monk]

2 more deep. 2 more to go.

Vlad’s bio warfare and tossing pig carcasses in the wells was brilliant. Evil, yet brilliant. I don’t quite see how anyone could survive impaling in the 15th century, not even for a short period.

[Drunk Monk]

Done. E5 was a lot of action in the night attack. Radu, Vlad’s brother, finally gets his alliances sorted. The finale ep felt a bit drawn out as details were ironed out. But the end point was satisfactory. I’d watch another season if it became available. It was an entertaining history lesson. D00M recommended.