The Pillars of the Earth (miniseries)
| The Pillars of the Earth | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Genre | Historical drama |
| Based on |
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett |
| Screenplay by | John Pielmeier |
| Story by | Ken Follett |
| Directed by | Sergio Mimica-Gezzan |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Trevor Morris |
| Country of origin | |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 8 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
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| Running time |
(Episodes) 60 minutes (Full running time) 428 minutes |
| Production company(s) | |
| Budget | $40 million |
| Release | |
| Original network | |
| Original release | July 23 – August 27, 2010 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | World Without End |
| External links | |
| Website | |
(Episodes) 60 minutes
The Pillars of the Earth is an eight-part 2010 TV miniseries, adapted from Ken Follett's novel of the same name. It debuted in the U.S. on Starz and in Canada on The Movie Network/Movie Central on July 23, 2010. Its UK premiere was on Channel 4 in October 2010 at 9pm. In 2011, the series was nominated for 3 Golden Globes, including Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, Ian McShane for Best Actor and Hayley Atwell for Best Actress at the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards.
In 1120, the White Ship catches fire in the English Channel, killing the only legitimate son of King Henry I, and seemingly leaving no survivors. Henry, who is close to death, requires his court to pledge loyalty to his daughter Maud's unborn son. However, Henry's nephew Stephen of Blois, who enjoys close ties with the Church, makes a deal with the Archbishop of Canterbury to be crowned instead. Meanwhile, Lord Percy of Hamleigh and his wife Regan attempt to arrange a marriage for their son William. Percy approaches his rival, Lord Bartholomew of Shiring, to ask for his daughter, Aliena, but is rejected. As a result, William cancels the construction of a new house for himself and Aliena, leaving a master craftsman named Tom Builder unemployed, and unable to support his wife Agnes, his daughter Martha, and his son Alfred. As the four of them travel through a forest, in search of further work, they are robbed by a bandit named Johnny Eightpence, despite the efforts of two strangers, Ellen and her son Jack, to assist them. Suddenly, Agnes goes into labor, having kept her pregnancy a secret, and dies after delivering a son. Without food to feed the baby, Tom leaves him to die, and the baby is retrieved by Johnny Eightpence, who decides to become a monk to support him.
Maud, with the support of Henry's illegitimate son Robert of Gloucester, and Bartholomew, attempt to raise an army to expel Stephen. However, the plan is discovered by Percy, who organizes a raid on Shiring to arrest Bartholomew, who is tried for treason and burned at the stake. Stripped of her nobility, Aliena becomes a wool merchant to pay for her brother Richard's expenses as a knight. Richard goes on to fight for Stephen against Maud's repeated attempts to attack England, using France as a base. Tom, who is now engaged to Ellen, goes to Kingsbridge Priory to find work, but they are disinterested in repairing their badly damaged cathedral. In response, Jack secretly burns the cathedral, so that Tom can be hired to build a new one. Prior Philip needs to continually negotiate with the corrupt Bishop Waleran and others to secure the funds needed for the cathedral's construction.
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