Television Review: Egypt (2005)
At the turn of the millennium, the BBC seized upon emerging CGI technology to preserve its reputation as the world's premier producer of quality television, crafting prestigious docudramas that recreated distant historical periods with a spectacle previously reserved for Hollywood epics. This ambitious approach allowed the corporation to maintain its position at the forefront of historical programming while operating within increasingly constrained budgets. One notable example of this strategy was the 2002 documentary Building the Great Pyramid, which employed computer-generated imagery to visualise ancient construction techniques in unprecedented detail. This production, in turn, received something of a sequel in 2005 with the six-part miniseries simply titled 'Egypt', later released on DVD under the subtitle 'Rediscovering a Lost World'. Unlike its predecessor which focused on ancient engineering, this series took a different approach to Egyptology, charting the fascinating journey through which this ancient civilisation, lost through centuries of turmoil, wars, invasions, and profound demographic, cultural and religious changes, gradually emerged from obscurity to become known to the modern Western world.
The miniseries distinguishes itself from conventional historical documentaries by not attempting to depict the actual history of Ancient Egypt itself, but rather the process of its rediscovery. It functions as a sequel to 'Building the Great Pyramid' in the sense that both productions explore Egyptology, but where the earlier programme examined ancient construction methods, 'Egypt' focuses on the 19th and 20th century efforts of remarkable individuals who painstakingly pieced together our understanding of this long-lost civilisation. The script, co-written by director Ferdinand Fairfax, presents its narrative as a trilogy, with each segment—comprising two hour-long episodes—centred on a specific pioneering figure whose work fundamentally transformed Egyptology. This structural decision provides a clear framework for what might otherwise have been a diffuse historical survey, allowing viewers to engage with the human stories behind academic discovery.
The first segment focuses on arguably the most famous Egyptologist of all—British archaeologist Howard Carter, portrayed by Stuart Graham. Carter achieved international fame in 1922 with his discovery of the intact tomb of the young pharaoh Tutankhamun, retrieving what was essentially a treasure trove of information about Ancient Egypt. This discovery captured the global imagination in a way few archaeological finds ever have, creating what became known as "Tutmania" across the Western world. The segment attempts to recreate the painstaking excavation process and the dramatic moment of discovery, with Carter's famous reply to Lord Carnarvon's question about what he could see in the tomb—"wonderful things"—serving as a powerful narrative climax.
The second segment shifts focus to Giovanni Belzoni, played by Matthew Kelly, a larger-than-life figure who began his Egyptian adventures as an Italian circus strongman. Unable to adequately support his wife Sarah (portrayed by Lynsey Baxter) and family in early 19th century England, Belzoni travelled to Egypt where he initially worked for antiquities collectors. His physical strength and unconventional methods led to priceless discoveries of temples, graves, and other Ancient Egyptian locations that had been lost for millennia. Belzoni's story represents a fascinating transition point between treasure hunting and systematic archaeology, embodying the spirit of exploration that characterised early Egyptology.
The third and final segment is dedicated to Jean-François Champollion, the French linguist played by Elliott Cowan, who accomplished what many considered impossible—deciphering Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Using the famous Rosetta Stone discovered by French soldiers during Napoleon's invasion of Egypt, Champollion managed to unlock the written language of the pharaohs, transforming Egyptology from speculation into a genuine scholarly discipline. This intellectual breakthrough, perhaps more than any single archaeological discovery, provided the foundation for our modern understanding of Ancient Egyptian civilisation.
Ferdinand Fairfax, a seasoned television director whose previous work included biopics of prominent figures like Winston Churchill and Ian Fleming, generally handles the material with competence. He makes effective use of authentic Egyptian locations, meticulously researched period costumes and props, and occasional CGI to recreate key moments of discovery. The miniseries maintains the same approach established in Building the Great Pyramid, with dramatic reconstructions of Carter's, Belzoni's and Champollion's work followed by explanatory narration from the reliably authoritative Andrew Sachs. Brief flashback-like scenes depicting the lives of Ancient Egyptian pharaohs—Tutankhamun portrayed by Nicola Liberos and Ramesses the Great by Luke Dajahang—provide necessary historical context, though these segments sometimes feel disconnected from the main narrative.
While the series is generally satisfactory as an introduction to Egyptology's history, its segments vary considerably in quality and effectiveness. The first segment on Howard Carter is arguably the weakest of the three. This is largely because Carter, working in relatively peaceful Egypt under tight British control, had the easiest path of the three figures profiled, with so much foundational Egyptological work already completed before him. Consequently, there simply isn't as much inherent drama in his story. The production's attempts to manufacture tension through misunderstandings with Carter's sponsor Lord Carnarvon (played by Julian Wadham) and bureaucratic obstacles from Pierre Lacau (Valentine Pelka), the French director of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, feel contrived and historically superficial. Similarly, the considerable emphasis placed on Carter's relationship with Carnarvon's daughter Evelyn (Alexandra Weaver), portrayed as unusually close despite the significant age difference, ultimately goes nowhere and fails to illuminate either character. This segment suffers from being slow-paced, visually unattractive in comparison to the others, and most critically, failing to capture the sense of wonder that gripped the world public when Carter's discovery was announced a century ago.
In stark contrast, the second segment focusing on Giovanni Belzoni emerges as the strongest portion of the miniseries. This is primarily due to Belzoni's inherently dramatic life story—he was a genuinely larger-than-life figure whose unconventional methods of archaeological exploration, coupled with the adventurous circumstances in which he operated, make him appear like a real-life Indiana Jones decades before the cinematic archetype existed. The script cleverly builds narrative tension around Belzoni's rivalry with Bernardino Lovetti (Joseph Long), a ruthless and controversial antiquities collector, which provides a compelling dramatic framework. Matthew Kelly delivers a standout performance, portraying Belzoni as a complex figure who sometimes had to use his impressive physique as a tool of intimidation, yet manages to create considerable audience sympathy for the character. The presence of his loyal wife Sarah, played with quiet strength by Lynsey Baxter, adds an essential human dimension to Belzoni's story. Particularly effective is the production's conceptual framing of Belzoni and Ramesses the Great as kindred spirits—both larger-than-life showmen separated by more than three millennia—a narrative device that elevates the segment beyond mere historical recounting.
The third segment on Champollion is solid but ultimately more disappointing when compared to the Belzoni portion. The script attempts to generate drama by situating Champollion's story within the context of early 19th century Anglo-French rivalry following the Napoleonic era and the ideological struggles of the post-Napoleonic period. Champollion races to decipher hieroglyphs against the better-funded and more respected British scholar Thomas Young (Christopher Good), while simultaneously facing political persecution as a left-wing Republican under the Royalist regime, and later suspicion from the Catholic Church over findings that potentially contradicted biblical calculations of the world's age. Elliott Cowan delivers a competent performance—ironically, having played the Egyptian monarch Ptolemy in Oliver Stone's Alexander just a year earlier—but he isn't well-served by a script that lacks focus and fails to provide proper resolution to several narrative threads. Additionally, this segment appears noticeably cheaper in production values, with flashbacks that rely too heavily on recycled footage from Building the Great Pyramid, creating a jarring disconnect for attentive viewers.
At the end, Egypt: Rediscovering a Lost World represents a valiant effort by the BBC to dramatise the history of Egyptology for a mainstream audience. While it successfully introduces viewers to the fascinating stories behind our modern understanding of Ancient Egypt, the miniseries suffers from significant unevenness in its three segments. The Belzoni portion stands out as genuinely compelling television, while the Champollion segment provides solid but unspectacular historical drama, and the Carter segment feels like the weakest link in the chain—slow, underdramatised, and failing to capture the excitement of what should be one of archaeology's most thrilling moments. The series could reasonably be recommended to Ancient Egypt enthusiasts or those with a specific interest in the history of archaeology, but it would generally require considerable patience from the general audience, particularly during the underwhelming first segment. For all its flaws, however, Egypt serves an important purpose in highlighting that our understanding of ancient civilisations is not simply discovered but painstakingly constructed through the efforts of remarkable individuals working against considerable odds.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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