Media Eye News Bureau: Amazon and Sky Atlantic’s new show Britannia is being compared to the hugely successful show Game of Thrones with its portrayal of vast landscapes, vengeful gods, British accents and violence. However, the comparison falters when you delve further into the episodes.
Britannia depicts the tale of the second Roman invasion of Britain and is set in AD 43 which is more than a thousand years before the time period of Game of Thrones that is set in a quasi-medieval era. The show is based on history unlike Game of Thrones which is more of a historical fantasy.
Moreover, the show contains characters such as the druids who are shown to be sorcerers, who are able to see the future, summon demons and manipulate the minds of men. It is based on the story of the real Roman commander Aulus Plautius played by David Morrissey, who under the rule of Emperor Claudius, led his army to the land of the Celts and the Druids and conquered it.
However, there are many resemblances to GoT especially when Aulus plots to civilise the natives of Britannia he does so by setting the Cantii and the Regnii, two of Britain's ruling tribes, against each other, in a scheme akin to something that Cersai Lannister in GoT would do.
The makers of the show, however, strongly oppose the comparisons made with GoT as Production Designer Tom Burton says, "We were trying to keep it grounded in reality. So we built Stonehenge and it looks exactly like Stonehenge, even to the point where we knew what days we were going to shoot it, so we positioned it so the sunset shone on it at the right time, just like the real Stonehenge. It's not the kind of show where dragons are going to be flying. It is not Game of Thrones."
Producer Rick McCallum adds, "It's not trying to compete in that kind of world. This is the Celts, the Romans, and then the Druids, who are the spokespersons for the gods. And then there's this other world, the underworld that the dead go to, that everybody is trying to get to.”
Jez Butterworth for his part says the show isn’t a replica of the famous HBO series as he asserts that he has, “never seen a single episode of Game of Thrones." And adds, "I would probably enjoy it if I had! In truth I don't get the time to watch any telly."
