http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1453159/This is an eight hour miniseries, a historical epic centered around the building of the first Gothic (fictional) cathedral in a place called the Priory of Kingsbridge. The cathedral at the center of the piece is more like Salisbury cathedral than any other.
The acting is great, it had really good FX and a terrific story, based on Ken Follett's novel of the same name.
The evil villain, Bishop and later cardinal Waleran Bigod, is played by Ian McShane, who played the villain on Deadwood, who was also a great villain, but this is a much better screenplay. You can call this guy the villain you love to hate. Sarah Parish is also terrific as the evil scheming mother of a nasty knight.
I also enjoyed the good guys, who were most convincing.
I am not an expert on every aspect of medieval England in the first centuries of the Norman period (c. 1100-1150 AD), but it has a real feel for authenticity that other epics did not.
Netflix has this on three CD's, about 8 hours. There is not a boring moment in this, or at least not for me.
Anyone interested in Medieval England, or drama should find this fascinating.
