For scholars of television history, it shows the transition from studio-bound costume drama to the location-based epics of the late 1980s. For fans of kitsch, it is pure gold: wobbly pillars, painted backdrops, and performances that teeter between Shakespearean tragedy and Carry On Cleo .
The Cleopatras was an ambitious eight-part serial written by Philip Mackie, who intended it to be the "I, Claudius" of the 1980s. the cleopatras 1983 dvd
Before we hunt for the disc, we must understand the quarry. The Cleopatras was not your staid, reverent historical documentary. Conceived by Philip Mackie (creator of The Caesars and The Death of a President ), the series was pitched as a dynastic soap opera. It charted the reign of the Ptolemaic dynasty from Ptolemy XII Auletes to the death of the famous Cleopatra VII (played by Michelle Newell). For scholars of television history, it shows the
This article unpacks the history of the series, the reasons behind its cult status, and the frustrating, labyrinthine reality of its physical media availability. Before we hunt for the disc, we must understand the quarry
The series featured prominent historians of the day, offering insights that remain valuable to students and history enthusiasts alike. The scholarship, while rooted in the understanding of the early 80s, provides a foundational look at the Ptolemaic era that is difficult to find in contemporary programming.
Unlike the 1963 Elizabeth Taylor epic, which focused on the final queen of Egypt, The Cleopatras (1983) was a BBC documentary series that sought to tell the broader story of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Produced by the BBC’s History department, the series was not merely a biography of Cleopatra VII, but a sweeping saga of the entire lineage of the Cleopatra name.