We'd like to thank Joe McCarthy for the favours he did British television. Thanks to him, a large number of exiled American leftists were in at the birth of ITV, and there was none more influential than Hannah Weinstein. She and others like her established the historical swashbuckler as Britain's superior answer to the Western serial. Their programmes were well researched, politically engaged, and above all bloody good fun. Weinstein herself was responsible for:

The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1956-57)
The Buccaneers (1956-57)
Sword of Freedom (1957)
and the granddaddy of them all:
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-60)

Her disciples gave us:
William Tell (1958-59)
Ivanhoe (1958-59, Roger Moore's stepping stone to glory)
The Adventures of Long John Silver (1958-59)
Sir Francis Drake (1961-62)
Richard the Lionheart (1962-63)
... and more.

This is a wealth of entertainment for which we should all be grateful. And without these series, we might never have had Dick Turpin, Robin of Sherwood, The Scarlet Pimpernel, or Sharpe. They set the template for the British historical adventure series, which is why it was until recently such a strong genre. (read less)

We'd like to thank Joe McCarthy for the favours he did British television. Thanks to him, a large number of exiled American leftists were in at the birth of ITV, and there was none more influential than Hannah Weinstein. She and others like her established the historical swashbuckler as Britain's superior answer to the Western serial. Their programmes were well researched, politically engaged, and above all bloody good fun. Weinstein herself was responsible for:

The Adventures of Sir Lancelot... (read more)