In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox television
| image = In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great titlecard.jpg
| alt = Series title alongside a bust of the subject
| caption =
| alt_name =
| genre = Documentary
| creator =
| developer =
| writer = Michael Wood
| director = David Wallace
| creative_director =
| presenter = Michael Wood
| starring =
| judges =
| voices =
| narrated =
| theme_music_composer =
| opentheme =
| endtheme =
| composer = John Eacott
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| num_series = 1
| num_episodes = 4
| list_episodes =
| executive_producer = Leo Eaton (PBS)
Laurence Rees (BBC)
| producer = Rebecca Dobbs
| editor =
| location =
| cinematography = Peter Harvey
Linette Frewin
Alistair Cameron
Peter Jeuvenal
| camera =
| runtime = 57-60 minutes
| company = Maya Vision International
| channel = BBC2
| first_aired = {{Start date|1998|7|14|df=y}}
| last_aired = {{End date|1998|8|4|df=y}}
| related =
}}
In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great is a BBC documentary television series, first shown in 1998. Written and presented by historian and broadcaster Michael Wood,[http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/in-the-footsteps-of-alexander-the-great/ Top Documentaries: In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great. Accessed 17 February 2013]
it retraced the travels of Alexander the Great, from Macedonia to the borders of India and back to Mesopotamia.[http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520231924 Michael Wood: In the Footsteps of Alexander The Great - A Journey from Greece to Asia][https://www.amazon.com/Footsteps-Alexander-Great-Michael-Wood/dp/B0002V7OGA Amazon. Accessed 18 February 2013]
Production
Wood was prevented by the government of Greece from interviewing Eugene N. Borza, a professor specializing in the history of Macedonia, anywhere within Greece, apparently because of Borza's controversial{{Cite book|last1=Roisman|first1=Joseph|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QsJ183uUDkMC&dq=borza+controversial&pg=PA586|title=A Companion to Ancient Macedonia|last2=Worthington|first2=Ian|date=2011-07-07|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-5163-7|pages=586|language=en}} views on the ethnic differences between the Greeks and Macedonians in ancient times.{{cite book|author=Joseph Roisman|title=Brill's Companion to Alexander the Great|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qn8tDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA359|date=16 December 2002|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-21755-3|pages=359}}
Episodes
Episode one: Son of God
Macedonia to Turkey
First broadcast on BBC2 on 14 July 1998For reviews of this episode, see Peter Waymark, "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great" in "Television Choice: Of tears and somersaults", The Times, 14 July 1998, p 46; and Peter Barnard, "Some talk of Alexander, some of Cecil Gee", The Times, 15 July 1998, p 47.
Episode two: Lord of Asia
Zagros to Persepolis
First broadcast on BBC2 on 21 July 1998The Times, 21 July 1998, p 43. The Independent, 21 July 1998, "The Tuesday Review" section, 21 July 1998, p 20
Episode three: Across the Hindu Kush
The golden road to Samarkand
First broadcast on BBC2 on 28 July 1998For a review of this episode, see Nancy Banks-Smith, "Well, that's poetry that is", The Guardian Weekly, Volume 159, Number 6, 9 August 1998, p 26.The Times, 28 July 1998, p 47
Episode four: To The Ends of the Earth
Pakistan to Babylon
First broadcast on BBC2 on 4 August 1998
Broadcast and release
The series was broadcast in the United States on PBS on 4 and 5 May 1998.Walter Goodman, [https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/04/arts/television-review-traveling-many-miles-to-ask-what-made-alexander-great.html "Traveling Many Miles to Ask What Made Alexander Great"], The New York Times, 4 May 1998, Section E, p 8
The series was released on DVD by BBC Worldwide,For a review of the DVD, see Casey Burchby, [https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/42375/in-the-footsteps-of-alexander-the-great/ "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great"], DVD Talk, 25 May 2010 and on DVD by PBS Home Video in 2004.Skelton and Dell. Empire of Alexander the Great. Revised Edition. Chelsea House. 2009. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QcJuRH89a8UC&pg=PA143 p 143]
Reception
In an article published in Summer 1998, Eugene N. Borza expressed approval of the series but was unhappy with the accompanying book.(1998) [https://books.google.com/books?id=vHcKAQAAMAAJ 75] The Classical Outlook 139 (No 4, Summer 1998) (American Classical League, New York University)
Book
The book In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great: A Journey from Greece to Asia, by Michael Wood, is a companion to the television series. It was published, by the University of California Press in Berkeley and Los Angeles, by Routledge in New York, in 1997.For reviews of this book see, Janet Grossman, [https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/1998/1998.04.05/ "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great"], Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 4 May 1998; Andrea Berlin, [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/3210728 "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great"] in "Reviews" (1999) 62 Near Eastern Archaeology 58 (No 1); P Green, "Book Reviews" (1999) [https://books.google.com/books?id=RUsP8ZpWHbYC Current Contents] 132; E N Borza, "Book Reviews" (1999) [https://books.google.com/books?id=RUsP8ZpWHbYC Current Contents] 60; (1999) [https://books.google.com/books?id=xfp8AAAAIAAJ JACT Review] 24; and [https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780520213074 "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great"], Publishers Weekly; [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/michael-wood/in-the-footsteps-of-alexander-the-great/ "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great"], Kirkus. For other commentary on this book, see Rupert Matthews, [https://books.google.com/books?id=kdkrAQAAIAAJ Alexander the Great at the Battle of Granicus], Spellmount, 2008, p 249.
The book was ranked fifth in the original non-fiction section of the Bookwatch bestsellers list published in The Independent on 14 August 1998, and was included in the lists published on 28 August and 18 September 1998.[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books-bestsellers-5394095.html "Books: Bestsellers"], The Independent, 14 August 1998; [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books-bestsellers-1174745.html "Books: Best-sellers"], The Independent, 28 August 1998; [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books-bestsellers-1199122.html "Books: Best-sellers"], The Independent, 18 September 1998.
See also
References
- K R Moore (ed). Brill's Companion to the Reception of Alexander the Great. (Brill's Companions to Classical Reception, vol 14). Brill. Leiden and Boston. 2018. pp [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJJyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA707 707] & 708
- John Leonard, [https://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/tv/reviews/2603/ "Smart Alex"], New York Magazine, 4 May 1998
- Don Heckman, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-may-04-ca-46120-story.html "PBS Deftly Traces Epic Life of Alexander the Great"], Los Angeles Times, 4 May 1998
- Tom Huntington, [https://www.historynet.com/multi-media-review-in-the-footsteps-of-alexander-the-great-ht/ "Multi-Media Review: In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great"], HistoryNet, 19 August 2000
- [https://www.npr.org/1998/05/03/1000875/in-the-footsteps-of-alexander-the-great "In The Footsteps Of Alexander The Great"], Weekend Edition Sunday, NPR, 3 May 1998
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External links
- {{BBC programme}}
- {{IMDb title|id=0272979|title=In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great}}
Category:1998 British television series debuts
Category:1998 British television series endings
Category:1990s British documentary television series
Category:BBC television documentaries