Based on British writer Susanna Clarke's 2004 novel of the same name, "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell" provides an alternative history set in 19th-Century England during the height of the Napoleonic Wars. Intriguingly, Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange have been gifted with magical powers - something that supposedly existed in England in the distant past. The Selling Point: First of all, it's being made by the BBC - so it will be given the full treatment, no qualms there. Second, it inverts the Industrial Revolution conception of the North as industrial and backwards to making it romantic and magical - which, of course, it is. The Concerns: Alternative histories are always a problem for those who study the past - plus Britain during the Napoleonic Wars is not exactly the sexist period for television, let's be honest...
25. Westworld (2015)
A series based on the 1973 science-fiction western-thriller film "Westworld", this HBO show has been described as "a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin". It revolves around a futuristic theme park called "Westworld" which contains robots that turn evil and attempt to take control. The Selling Point: Robots dressed as cowboys trying to kill people - simple, really. The Concerns: Robots dressed as cowboys trying to kill people - despite Westworld producers promising that the drama has "great, freaky potential", can it really offer much more than that?
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
