TVE kind of continue their successful "Isabel" series with this one on her grandson Charles, known in Spain as King Charles I and in Austria/Germany as Emperor Charles V (whence the series name, Charles King & Emperor). They decided to jump ahead some 25 years after Queen Isabella's death, leaving Joan the Mad's reign aside and going straight on to Charles's arrival in Spain from Flanders, where he had grown. The series is very well made, although of course TVE don't seem to have the seemingly limitless budget of, say, HBO's Game of Thrones (which has nothing to do with this one on Emperor Charles V, but doubtlessly budgetary restrictions do impose some restrictions). Charles's reign was one of not only significant turmoil in continental Europe, but also the real beginning of Spain's conquest of the Americas, so he had quite a lot in his hands, from Luther in Germany to revolt in Castile (where he was seen by many local noblemen as some kind of foreign usurper) to the conquest enterprise. Each chapter is thus followed by a supplementary programme called "Charles's world", in which what was seen in that day's chapter is commented on by historians, TVE's staff and the actors themselves and thus illuminates further what the viewer has just seen and not only history-wise. I would urge viewers in the non-Spanish speaking world to pressure their cable or satellite TV providers to incorporate this series, or in the case of regular broadcasting, the likes of the BBC, the CBC, the ABC or PBS to air this show, a great example of what TV should be like.
Review of Charles, Emperor King
