Captain James Cook

if James Cook is your passion, this show is great! If you're just looking for a beautiful movie this is it. Hopefully some producer one day will make a new movie about James Cook, although this one is still good.

I haven't seen this in a while and was pleasantly surprised to find out it aired over the past few days. To my joy, it turns out that the series - remarkable at first sight - has aged wonderfully: the low-keyed, yet intensive enthusiasm is still there, as are some particularly beautiful sights of the ships in all sort of situations. The cramped, tense atmosphere aboard a ship and life and times in the Royal Marine are shown convincingly (I remember seeing years ago Master and Commander and thinking how much of that film seemed to have been inspired by this series) - and the acting is quite outstanding, Keith Mitchell and Jacques Penot coming to mind first, but certainly not being the only ones to have made a lasting impression.

The Arctic regions could have used better effects and the South Sea, New Zeeland etc. could certainly have offered some more outstanding locations, but that is really just a very minor complaint.

Peter Yeldham's "Captain James Cook" is notable in it's historical accuracy, beautiful cinematography and music. Keith Michell is well cast in the title role and portrays Cook as the humane and progressive British explorer that he was. While some dramatic license is taken in the interest of compressing the story for television, it is generally a faithful representation of Cook 's story. The supporting cast members portray actual historical figures and do so eloquently. John Gregg and Xabier Elorriaga are especially good in the roles of Joseph Banks and Lord Sandwich, respectively. This is one of TNT's better mini-series.

I have been a member of the Captain Cook Society for a number of years and therefore have a great interest in James Cook. I thoroughly recommend this series to anyone interested in learning about James Cook and his life. Naturally, to fit his entire life into four videos, some facets bend to "poetic licence". This however is very rare and I treasure these videos as a major part of my Cook collection.

We feel the anticipation and excitement of sailing into the unknown with James Cook in the Endeavour to pioneer sea routes around the globe. We share the highs and lows with captain and crew as the adventure takes one turn after another. At the same time we gain insight into Cook, the man, as to what drives his ambition and the subsequent cost to himself and his loved ones.

I was glued to the screen when this first came out, just as I was to "Shogun". These productions share several things in common: high calibre acting, in depth research with accurate portrayal of historical detail and a great sense of adventure.

I'm currently looking for this on DVD but it is nowhere to be found - come on Amazon!