I came across 'Egypt' almost by accident on the PBS channel and have to say that it was a wonderful surprise. My initial reaction was to think it would be nothing more than a hyped-up and romanticised version of history but how wrong I was.
The series turned out to be genuinely interesting and educational as well as being an excellent docu-drama. While I'd known something about Howard Carter and his discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, my knowledge of Champollion was much less and I don't think I'd even so much as heard of Belzoni; by the end of the 6 episodes, I was far more knowledgeable as well as having been truly entertained.
Throughout, the series kept my attention. The episodes were well constructed and the characterisations and acting excellent, in particular Matthew Kelly was outstanding as Giovanni Belzoni, a circus performer turned Egyptologist who must be credited with being the first to really explore ancient Egypt. Discovering that finding Tutankhamun's tomb was not a 'one-off' but the culmination of more than 20 years of painstaking work, and learning of the battle to decipher the hieroglyphs and just how it was done, were both fascinating stories.
There was no intrusive soundtrack and no superfluous scenes. This was a really excellent series, one of the very best and I'd happily watch it again. I'd recommend anyone who has a desire to know more about the story of Egyptology to watch it.
