Gunpowder, Treason and Sam

There's a pleasant sight to take in with your cornflakes. Yes, the first dive into Sam's onscreen work is a nice and grim historical drama full of murder, treachery, sex, violence, bloodshed and cursing. And to think, all that on the BBC.

Gunpowder, Treason and Plot dramatised the stories of Mary Queen of Scots and her son James I in a two-part TV film. Both parts are quite interesting (though how real they are is anyone's guess) but I'm just going to focus on the second part - the story of James I - as this is the part which features Sam Troughton.

First off, in case you hadn't guessed from the picture, Sam's character (Thomas Winter) does not meet a pretty end. It's history and all that. So if you're after something warm and cuddly where your fav character ends up getting the girl/house/dog and living happily ever after then give this one a miss. Not to mention the fact that although he starts out like a normal, likeable chap he quickly descends into, shall we say, a bit of a nutcase.

However, if the idea of something dark and historical tickles your fancy then this is definitely your thing. I always like a bit of historical drama - I'm terribly easily influenced by it as I had a bad education - and this is definitely dramatic. The characters are, for the most part, cruel and calculating with countless mental issues too varied to go into. Robert Carlyle as James I was both scary and revolting. It definitely paints an unpleasant picture of his personality and his life - and in all honesty I think the writers have been pretty liberal with the truth. Or the proven truth at least. But then I think that this is the nub of this drama: it's not cold hard fact, it's emotionally charged drama based on fact. And I can appreciate that. You may not agree with the writers' views when you watch it but you can't argue that it isn't both dramatic and (mostly) entertaining. It got a lot of harsh reviews and although I can understand why, I don't think that they're all very fair.

As for Sam's part in particular... well, for a start I was surprised at how much screentime he gets in this, considering his part is only a minor one. Not only that but he gets all the range of emotions from falling in love right through to strangling his lover and dying as a traitor. It's an interesting evolution from a reasonably nice man with decent morals to the psycho he becomes. The transition is perhaps a little quick but that's mostly due to the countless other stories that have to be told at the same time. His ending is of course tragic - as are the endings of all the plotters. WARNING: Not to be watched by the innocent of mind. Sex and violence as mentioned. But more to the point some of the characters are just disturbingly horrible.

Was I glad I watched it? Yes I was. It wasn't the best drama I've ever seen but it kept me interested. I even got to the point where I had my fingers crossed that the gunpowder plot would succeed and the plotters would escape - which is of course completely stupid. But that's how riled up it got me. Also, on a little subnote, the music, especially the main theme for the credits, is absolutely fantastic. It had me humming the tunes for weeks afterwards and I figure that's a pretty good sign.

So a rating for this little dramatic outing? Hmm... difficult...

As a Film/TV Episode: 3.5 out of 5
As a Sam feature: 4 out of 5
WARNINGS: Contains sex, violence and death. And that's just Sam's part.

And if you want a bit more info, check out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/drama/gunpowder/