With historical dramas becoming more and more popular in the world of television, many channels are trying to get more serious about the kind of television they are offering. SPIKE seems to be the most recent network to delve into a deep and complex historical period. Tut is a 6 hour mini-series depicting the life and rule of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun (Avan Jogia) and his sister-wife Ankhesenamun (Sibylla Deen). The show is completely different from anything offered by SPIKE in the past. I am almost tempted not to criticize the series at all, considering how impressed I am that SPIKE has actually produced something of cinematic value. However, the show barely skimmed the surface of scandal, violence, betrayal and mystery that surrounded Tut and his family. Lets explore the story behind the acclaimed mini series and the real people who inspired its characters.

In the first chapter of the 3 part series we meet a young Tut conversing with his father. Tut is asked to execute a boy to prove to his father that he is man enough to rule the kingdom. Tut refuses and this is meant to be the moment everyone realizes that Tut will be a better person than his father. The show really failed to convey the relationship between Tutankhamun and his parents – the Pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife Queen Nefertiti. The pair was hated by the majority of Egyptian people. In the 18th dynasty, the couple had denounced all of the sacred Egyptian gods, forcing their people to worship only 1 god named Aten. This was The worlds very first monotheistic civilization. Tut’s birth name was Tutankhaten, after the Aten himself. Once his father had eventually died of a disease he had long been suffering from, Tut changed his and his sisters name to honour the original god of the sun, Amun. He reinstated the old religion and all of the rightful gods were allowed to be worshiped again. Sometime shortly after Akhenaten’s death (around 1335 BC), the queen Nefertiti completely vanished into thin air. Since then, no recordings of death or burial have been found. Raising questions of murder, abduction or some kind of misconduct. This is most disturbing as Nefertiti was surely one of the most powerful women in the ancient world. See? The family was ripe with scandal in every direction. But the show, perhaps due to time constraints, skipped this part of the story. So, the show picks up with Tut and his sister-wife suddenly thrust into the rule of Egypt.

Much of Ankhe’s storyline was created by the show. I think they really wanted to create Cersei type with her. Surely they succeeded. Ankhe is about as evil as Cersei and possibly just as careless with her emotions. From what history shows, she was only a small child who was widowed at the early age of 21. Nothing shows that she was hungry for the power, but, I am completely okay with her portrayal in the series! It was clear the show needed a villain, but in reality Ankhe was quite the victim. The young queen had given birth to 2 still born children and was most likely passed off to Tut’s successor to maintain political power. There are even speculations that she was first married to her father for a short period of time – between the disappearance of her mother and his death. After whatever happened to her mother, the death of her father and possible murder of her husband, Ankhesenamun was left alone with a frenzy of power hungry people – there is evidence of a letter sent to the Hittite king pleading for help and that she was scared. Like her mother, Ankhe suddenly vanished from the pages of history. Once again, just another juicy part of this family’s mysterious past.

The Vizier, Ay (Ben Kingsley) was portrayed rather well. It was obvious that the series needed a big name to draw the crowds and thats probably why Kingsley played the part with an over the top level of seriousness. Ay was Akhenaten’s chief council member and it is said he also served his father Amenhotep III. He was a man who saw himself as a godly gift to any Pharaoh he served, and so was very entitled. Imagine a deadly mix of Little Finger and Varys from Game of Thrones – this was Ay. The Vizier was a big supporter of the former kings wishes to create a new religion and the forming of a new “church”. The councilman prospered greatly from the new religion and this is where his conflict with Tut all started. While Tutenkhamun tried to restore peace, Ay was on a personal mission to get himself on the throne. He needed the support of the Aten followers to suceed in his plan to rule. The show really threw me off with its confusing discussions about the religion at the time. I was very annoyed when Ay and Tut were discussing what to do about the greedy priest Amun (Alexander Siddig) who actively supports a different religion from the Pharaoh. Not only does his name not make any sense – a priest of the Aten shouldn’t be named Amun. But, it seemed they never really addressed if and when Tutankhamun had reverted to the ancient religion. The two characters were arguing and Tut says something similar to “damn your gods!”. As I’ve already stated, Tut fought for the restoration of the old gods. These gods are of his religion not this particular priest’s. It seems the show got it backwards – It was the stubborn priests who honoured the Aten, and Tut who honoured Amun and other ancient gods. For a show about the children of the man who created the very first single-god church, they should have gotten it right.

It’s understandable that this series was incredibly expensive to make and this is probably the main reason for its abrupt and quickly tied together ending. It tried to fit a quick epilogue in before the credits. Which, made some major events seem small and unimportant. The show merely mentioned that Ay became Pharaoh immediately after Tuts death – and this, is where the betrayal and the scandal truly kicks in. Many historians believe that Tut was murdered, very possibly by the scheming Ay. What supports murder the most is that fact that a concentrated effort was made to remove Tut from history. I was specifically disappointed with the fact that they chose not to take its viewers through Ay’s poor conduct by giving Tut a speedy and improper funeral. Ay was so preoccupied with marrying Anke and becoming Pharaoh before any challengers could emerge, that he literally stuffed Tut’s sarcophagus and all his belongings in an unfinished grave. The tomb is thought to have been meant for one of Tut’s fathers concubines, hence its small size. It is said that the terrible location of this tomb is why the tomb-robbers never found it. Thus resulting in the discovery of the largest tomb collection ever found and the resurgence of the famous boy king.

With the standards of television reaching bigger heights, period dramas are at their peak. One day, someone will be able to take these incredible and grandiose stories of one the richest and impressive civilizations our world has ever seen, and turn it into a beautiful cinematic experience. And I can’t wait for that day to come!