The labyrinthine and wholly muddled story of the latest Channel 4 offering, 'Labyrinth', seems to be an attempt to meld Dan Brown's 'Da Vinci Code' with Ken Follett's 'Pillars of the Earth'. Whether or not this is the case, the result is so confused as to be neither fish nor fowl; it is rubbish.
While the actors in the medieval scenes wear medieval clothing, the women luxuriate in 21st century makeup; lipstick, eye shadow and plucked eyebrows abound, none of which would have seen the light of day during the 13th century. The men behave as if they are 21st century 'lads' with not a thought for the surroundings in which they are supposed to be. The players in the modern era seem to be an odd assortment of naive youngsters and menacing mafia types, interspersed with the occasional 'femme fatale'; the story has no discernible thread to follow or logic.
All-in-all, this mini-series is the type of pseudo-historical drama of which television production companies should be ashamed. It is drivel. I have not read, and have no wish to read, the original novel written by Kate Mosse and cannot comment on the accuracy with which the novel has been translated to film; the book may well be much better, though I doubt it. It seems to me that the author has drawn inspiration from other sources and the production company has followed suit. The result is something that has no literary or televisual merit though it will probably gain approval from the unwashed masses who more usually find comfort in 'Coronation Street' or 'Eastenders'.
Why-oh-why are we subjected to this tripe?
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