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Vikings season 4 continues to deliver rich, dramatically complex TV drama...

This review contains spoilers.

4.6 What Might Have Been

What Might Have Been continued the preparation for the Viking raid on Paris, as the last of the necessary business is concluded in Hedeby and Kattegat, and the Norse men and women take to the sea.

The episode begins with Lagertha performing a ritual over the grave of the man she murdered on their wedding day, a ritual reminiscent of the one she performed in Wessex to ensure fertile soils. I’m at odds at how to read that similarity simply because it cuts in so very many ways. Is it an allusion to her own fertility—a strange thank you for the longed-for child he helped her conceive? Or a more symbolic sowing of seeds for the upcoming venture in Paris? Does she see it as tying the...

Universal

To celebrate the release of The Last Kingdom, available from today on Blu-RayTM and DVD, we have 3 copies to give away.

Set in the year of 872, when many kingdoms of what we now know as England have fallen to the invading Vikings, the great kingdom of Wessex has been left standing alone and defiant under the command of King Alfred the Great.

Uhtred, the son of a Saxon nobleman is orphaned by the Vikings and then kidnapped and raised as one of their own. Forced to choose between the country of his birth and the people who raised him, his loyalties are tested.

He must tread a dangerous path between both sides if he is going to play his part in the birth of a new nation and ultimately recapture his ancestral lands.

The Last Kingdom is released on Blu-RayTM and DVD from 14 December 2015 from Universal Pictures (UK)

Competition...

BBC America has dropped some pretty intense footage from the series premiere of The Last Kingdom. The historical drama from BBC America, BBC Two and Carnival Films debuts October 10 in the U.S. setting up the adaptation of Bernard Cornwell's best-selling series of books, The Saxon Stories. The eight-part drama follows young warrior and outsider, Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon), on a fierce mission to reclaim his birthright, while re-telling the history of King Alfred the Great…...

With numerous fall shows making their premiere over the next few weeks, it can be difficult to decide what to watch and what to skip. However, Popoptiq has provided a handy guide for viewers, with my look at the Monday lineup here, and TV editor Kate Kulzick’s look at the Tuesday lineup here, as well as the Wednesday and Thursday lineup here. With only a few shows premiering on the last day of the week and the weekend, the ones that shall be doing so are listed below, with their potential strengths and drawbacks.

Blood & Oil

Created by Josh Pate and Rodes Fishburne

Premieres Sunday, Sept 27th at 9 pm Et on ABC

Oil rigs and the land they’re on is the focus of Blood & Oil, one of ABC’s new fall series. Don Johnson returns to tv as the head of the Briggs company, a man who has...

[Note: In this special guest post, Gary Whitta, author of the upcoming fantasy horror book Abomination, shares four cinematic influences on his new novel.]

Though I wrote Abomination as a novel, my background is primarily a screenwriter, and the movies I watched growing up played even more of a part in inspiring me to become a writer as the books I read. So it’s perhaps not surprising that many of the influences that led to the creation of this book have cinematic roots.

The Thing (1982)

Abomination really began with wanting to write a good old-fashioned monster story, a fable about a man struggling with a beast within him in the tradition of The Wolfman, Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde, and even The Incredible Hulk. And I knew that I wanted the monsters to be as gnarly and twisted and horrifying as I could possibly make them. In that regard I always look at John Carpenter’s classic The Thing as the gold standard in stomach-churning monstrosity, and I definitely drew some influence from those awful,...

Fantasy and horror collide with a Lovecraftian vibe in Gary Whitta's (Star Wars: Rogue One) debut novel, Abomination, and we've been provided with a signed hardcover edition to give away, as well as twenty artwork prints.

Abomination synopsis: "He is England's greatest knight, the man who saved the life of Alfred the Great and an entire kingdom from a Viking invasion. But when he is called back into service to combat a plague of monstrous beasts known as abominations, he meets a fate worse than death and is condemned to a life of anguish, solitude, and remorse.

She is a fierce young warrior, raised among an elite order of knights. Driven by a dark secret from her past, she defies her controlling father and sets out on a dangerous quest to do what none before her ever have―hunt down and kill an abomination, alone.

When a chance encounter...

With writing credits that include the upcoming Star Wars: Rogue One and The Walking Dead: Season One and Season Two video games, Gary Whitta may already be on your radar, and his fantasy horror novel Abomination looks to place him even more prominently on the must-read map. With Abomination due out later this month from Inkshares, we've been provided with an exclusive excerpt to share with Daily Dead readers.

Abomination synopsis: "He is England's greatest knight, the man who saved the life of Alfred the Great and an entire kingdom from a Viking invasion. But when he is called back into service to combat a plague of monstrous beasts known as abominations, he meets a fate worse than death and is condemned to a life of anguish, solitude, and remorse.

She is a fierce young warrior, raised among an elite order of knights. Driven by a dark secret from her past,...

Quantico

Zimbabwean-born, Australian trained actor Rick Cosnett ("The Flash") has signed for a recurring role on ABC's new thriller series "Quantico". The show revolves around a group of young FBI recruits who battle their way through training at the Quantico base in Virginia.

Cosnett plays Elias Harper, an openly gay and comedic former defense attorney who used his rhetoric and savvy against FBI cases. Recruited by Miranda (Aunjanue Ellis) as an analyst for his brilliant mind, Elias loves to be right but also has a soft and kind-hearted side. [Source: Deadline]

The X-Files

Lauren Ambrose ("Six Feet Under") and Robbie Amell ("The Flash") are both set to guest star in one episode of the upcoming "The X-Files" event series on Fox. Character details were scarce beyond the pair playing smart and confident agents for the bureau. The six episode run is currently in production. [Source: Variety]

Stateless

Cate Blanchett will develop and direct the...

"Alfred Hitchcock is the latest installment in Peter Ackroyd’s ongoing Brief Lives series," notes Peter Murphy in the Irish Times. "He’s probably written footnotes longer than this book; at 250 pages odd it’s a mere pamphlet compared with Bible-sized behemoths such as London: The Biography or Thames: Sacred River. In that light, Alfred Hitchcock seems less like a labor of obsessive love than a pleasurable dalliance." In the Financial Times, Ian Thomson agrees: "For all its insight, Peter Ackroyd’s biography is a deft synthesis of numerous other studies of 'Alfred the Great'; it is well written, however, and unusually well attuned to the religious element." We're collecting more reviews. » - David Hudson...

"Alfred Hitchcock is the latest installment in Peter Ackroyd’s ongoing Brief Lives series," notes Peter Murphy in the Irish Times. "He’s probably written footnotes longer than this book; at 250 pages odd it’s a mere pamphlet compared with Bible-sized behemoths such as London: The Biography or Thames: Sacred River. In that light, Alfred Hitchcock seems less like a labor of obsessive love than a pleasurable dalliance." In the Financial Times, Ian Thomson agrees: "For all its insight, Peter Ackroyd’s biography is a deft synthesis of numerous other studies of 'Alfred the Great'; it is well written, however, and unusually well attuned to the religious element." We're collecting more reviews. » - David Hudson...

A large international cast has been announced for the upcoming big-budget historical drama series "The Last Kingdom" for BBC America, BBC Two and Carnival Films.

The eight-episode series, an adaptation of Bernard Cornwell's best-selling books "The Saxon Stories," will combine real historical figures and events with fictional characters during the 9th century reign of Alfred the Great, the Wessex king who united many separate kingdoms to fight off a Viking invasion.

Rutger Hauer, Alexander Dreymon ("American Horror Story: Coven"), Matthew Macfadyen ("Ripper Street"), Ian Hart ("Boardwalk Empire"), David Dawson ("Ripper Street"), Emily Cox ("The Silent Mountain"), Tobias Santelmann ("Kon-Tiki"), Thomas W. Gabrielsson ("A Royal Affair"), Peter Gantzler ("Italian For Beginners), Joseph Millson ("Penny Dreadful"), Alexandre Willaume ("Over The Edge"), Rune Temte ("The Accident"), and Henning Valin Jakobsen ("The Bridge/Bron") will star.

Shooting is underway in Hungary and the UK. Stephen Butchard is adapting the script while Nigel Marchant...

Androids, magic, parallel worlds, ghostly crime, and the apocalypse. Here’s a raft of new forthcoming UK sci-fi and fantasy TV…

The superhero genre may be taking up residence in cinemas for the foreseeable, and Game Of Thrones and The Walking Dead are leading Us TV's genre output, but what can fans of UK sci-fi and fantasy look forward to seeing on television over the next year?

There’s Doctor Who of course, which appears to be in rude health and going nowhere, a Christmas Special from Black Mirror, and a hint of new Red Dwarf on its way. (And of course, if there’s anything like justice in the world, the terrific In The Flesh will be recommissioned for a third series.)

If though, you’re thirsting for something new, 2015 is promising to deliver a handful of geek TV gems. We’ve scoured the new UK commission announcements for anything spooky,...

It looks like BBC America wishes to compete with other more mainstream book adapted series. They just announced that The Last Kingdom will be picked up for a series on their network. It will be based upon Saxon Stories novels by Bernard Cornwell. They are historical based novels (think like Outlander) and will be an 8 episode season to start with. Here is the reported premise that they will go by for the series.

Set in the year 872, when many of the separate kingdoms of what we now know as England have fallen to the invading Vikings, the great kingdom of Wessex has been left standing alone and defiant under the command of King Alfred the Great.

Against this turbulent backdrop lives our hero, Uhtred. Born the son of a Saxon nobleman, he is orphaned by the Vikings and then kidnapped and raised as one of their own. Forced to choose...

BBC America kicked off its Television Critics Association press tour panel on Wednesday (July 9) afternoon with a pair of unsurprising announcements: "Orphan Back" has been renewed for a third season and the second season of "Broadchurch" will air on BBC America. Both seasons will air in 2015. BBC America boasts that the second "Orphan Black" season "became the first ever ad-supported drama series to double its ratings from season one to season two in A25-54 and 18-49 in Live+7." The season two finale last month drew 1.376 million viewers in Live+7, a series high. The third "Orphan Black" season will, once again, be 10 episodes and it will, once again, feature Tatiana Maslany playing a wide array of characters. While the overall ratings for "Orphan Black" aren't especially impressive, even after a TCA Award and a Golden Globe nomination for Maslany, BBC America touted a string of interesting facts and figures that...

Following the huge success of HBO’s Game of Thrones, the BBC is ready to get medieval on your (ahem) television screen.

In a press release, BBC America announced that Carnival Films, which produced Downton Abbey, will adapt Bernard Cornwell’s book series The Saxon Stories for the screen. The TV series, to be titled The Last Kingdom, is set in the year 872. It will follow the various kingdoms that occupy what is now modern England as they deal with the threat of the Vikings.

Stephen Butchard (Good Cop, House of Saddam) will adapt Cornwell’s work. The author is...

BBC America has announced a fall production start for The Last Kingdom, an eight-episode historical drama series adapted from Bernard Cornwell’s best-selling Saxon Stories novels.

Related The New Doctor Who‘s Exact Arrival Date Is Set — Watch Teaser

Stephen Butchard (Five Daughters) will pen the adaptation, while BBC America will produce it with Downton Abbey partner Carnival Films and BBC Two. Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant will exec-produce alongside Butchard.

The premise for the adaptation is described as follows:

Set in the year 872, when many of the separate kingdoms of what we now know as England have fallen to the invading Vikings,...

BBC America and "Downton Abbey" producer Carnival Films are teaming to co-produce the eight-part historical series "The Last Kingdom" for BBC Two.

Based on "Sharpe" author Bernard Cornwell’s book series "The Saxon Stories," the series will combine real historical figures and events with fictional characters during the reign of Alfred the Great, king of Wessex, as he fought off the Viking invaders who successfully conquered much of the rest of England.

The story follows Uhtred, a noble Saxon whose parents are killed by the Vikings. He's kidnapped and raise as one of them. He must tread a dangerous path between both sides if he is to claim his birthright and recapture his ancestral lands.

Stephen Butchard ("Good Cop," "House Of Saddam") is scripting, while Butchard, Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant will executive produce. Filming begins this Fall with casting yet to be confirmed.

Source: Deadline...

If they gave Emmys for Outstanding Acting In a Vintage Roman Bath... That would be a very strange and limited Emmy category. It would also be a category that Linus Roache would win with ease this year. Roache has been a new addition in the second season of History's "Vikings," playing King Ecbert, a real history figure brought into the "Vikings" world as this year's Big Bad to oppose Travis Fimmel's  Ragnar. Or at least that's the way it looked at first, but soon King Ecbert and Ragnar were making tentative treaties and Ecbert was showing great interest in the Viking religion. So who can say how things stand between King Ecbert and Ragnar at this point? One thing we know with certainty, though, is that King Ecbert loves a good soak. He meets with political allies in the bath. He meets with religion advisors in the bath. And...

Death in Paradise continued with impressive ratings for BBC One on Tuesday, overnight data reveals.

Kris Marshall's crime drama dipped by over 200,000 viewers from last week's launch to 6.87 million (28.7%) at 9pm. Later, The Naked Rambler was seen by 2.16m (18.1%) at 10.35pm.

BBC Two's Winterwatch appealed to 2.65m (11.5%) at 8pm, followed by documentary The Search for Alfred the Great with 1.70m (7.1%) at 9pm. Vic & Bob's House of Fools dropped nearly 300k to 936k (5.1%) at 10pm.

On ITV, River Monsters interested 2.52m (11.2%) at 7.30pm (214k/0.9% on +1). Weight Loss Ward brought in 3.23m (9.7%) at 8pm (140k/0.6%) and Paul O'Grady's Animal Orphans gathered 2.84m (11.9%) at 9pm (310k/1.8%).

Channel 4's Location, Location, Location entertained 2.35m (10.2%) at 8pm (181k/0.8%), followed by The Taste with 867k (3.6%) at 9pm (174k/1.0%). Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA attracted 1.02m (6.0%) at 10pm (149k/1.7%).

On Channel 5, Gibraltar: Britain in the Sun was seen by 1.00m (4.4%) at 8pm, while Celebrity Big Brother...

Director who captured swinging London's zeitgeist and remade classics for television

For a few years in the 1960s, Clive Donner, who has died aged 84 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease, was among the leading film directors of swinging London. Unfortunately, when London stopped swinging, so did Donner. The four films that made his name were a low-budget adaptation of Harold Pinter's play The Caretaker (1963); Nothing But the Best (1964), a wicked satire on the British class structure; the farcical What's New Pussycat? (1965); and the coming-of-age comedy Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1968).

Already in his 30s when he started directing, Donner gained a reputation for being tuned in to "youth". His debut movie, The Secret Place (1957), a heist drama shot on location in the East End, had David McCallum as a Brandoesque leather-jacketed "crazy mixed-up kid".

The Heart of a Child (1958) concerned a boy and his St Bernard dog, Rudi,...