Production
The first episode was broadcast on 19 February 1971, beginning on screen in the year 1549 with the then Princess Elizabeth's difficult ascent to the throne of England nine years later. The final episode was shown on 24 March, the 368th anniversary of the Queen's death.
The series was a follow-up to the successful Six Wives of Henry VIII of 1970. Bernard Hepton as Cranmer, Basil Dignam as Bishop Gardiner, John Ronane as Thomas Seymour, and Rosalie Crutchley as Catherine Parr, reprised their roles in Elizabeth R.
In February, 1972, Elizabeth R first aired in the United States on Masterpiece Theatre which was hosted by Alistair Cooke on PBS. In the summer of 1972, it was rebroadcast with commercials on the New York local station WOR-TV Channel 9.
Glenda Jackson's tour de force performance in the title role won her 2 Emmy Awards - for Best Actress in a Drama Series and Best Actress in a Movie/TV Special (for the episode "Shadow in the Sun"). The series itself won the Emmy for the Best Dramatic Series in 1972 (the first British TV series ever to win the American TV award, before Upstairs, Downstairs carried the award two years later). At around the same time, Jackson also played the part of Elizabeth in the film Mary, Queen of Scots.
Costume designer Elizabeth Waller recreated many of the historical Elizabeth's actual gowns for Glenda Jackson, adapting them from a number of the Queen's famous, official portraits.
Elizabeth R also starred many well-known television actors, including Malcolm McFee, Michael Williams, Margaretta Scott, John Woodvine, James Laurenson, Angela Thorne, Brian Wilde, Robin Ellis, Robert Hardy and Peter Egan.
It was parodied in Monty Python's Flying Circus when they portrayed the cast on motor-scooters and speaking Engrish. Therefore the title was changed to "Erizabeth L".
Released on DVD by BBC/Warner in 2001.
The show is rated PG in New Zealand for its violence.
Read more about this topic: Elizabeth R
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