"Isabel" (2012) - Spanish TV series about Isabella of Castile


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The filming of the 2nd season is about to end. They´re filming at La Alhambra in Granada. Nobody had filmed there in 25 years (Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott tried to do it and they couldn´t).
The photos are amazing:
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http://img.irtve.es/imagenes/rodolf...atio-leones-alhambra-isabel/1370972666446.jpg

King Boabdil of Granada https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/8469_10152910706240641_1588304205_n.jpg

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Royal Family of Granada:
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https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/417794_10152771281430641_78287431_n.jpg
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http://zoom.ideal.es/galeria/rodaje-isabel.html

Short video from tve.es: http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/...patio-leones-otros-rincones-alhambra/1868490/

I miss this show so much! :cry:
 
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Isabel will be aired in the UK on Sky Arts.
Coming soon to Sky Arts is the critically-lauded Spanish period drama Isabel, as well as the return of Spanish melodrama Grand Hotel and French comedy-drama Hard.

Charting the life of Isabella I of Castile, one of the most important women in Spain’s history, the award-winning period drama Isabel follows her passionate story from childhood to being crowned Queen. From her political struggles within King Henry IV's court to her wedding to Ferdinand of Aragon, the drama encapsulates the passions, emotions and sacrifices of a woman who refused to just be a figurehead and whose outlook was ahead of her time. The series received the best national TV series prize at the 2012 Ondas Awards, one of the oldest and most prestigious TV awards in Spain. Actress Michelle Jenner won best TV actress at the Fotogramas de Plata Awards for her portrayal of the Queen.
Sky Arts Boosts its Foreign Drama - Sky Arts HD
 
Unfortunately I don't have Sky Arts :sad:. It's good to know that Isabel is being aired in the UK, I hope the show will be available on other channels such as BBC One and ITV later on.

Ah that's a pity HereditaryPrincess,maybe the series will get a UK dvd release after the series runs on Sky Arts.
 
:previous: I think that too...once the show is dubbed or subtitled it will be easier to find, I guess.
 
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Ah that's a pity HereditaryPrincess,maybe the series will get a UK dvd release after the series runs on Sky Arts.

:previous: I think that too...once the show is dubbed or subtitled it will be easier to find, I guess.

I hope we'll get a DVD release of Isabel in the UK in the (hopefully) near future. Thankfully I'll be able to watch some parts of the series as I've found a couple of clips of the show on YouTube. :)
 
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Looking forward the first episode this Friday night,with the White Queen ending on Sunday night it might bridge the gap until Downton Abbey returns.
 
Very strange but Isabel was not listed on SKY Arts 1 OR 2 last night,I checked both of them earlier this week and saw nothing and thought it was a mistake,but checked both of them again last night and no mention of Isabel :confused:
 
I am not much of a fan of Isabella, the whole inquisition and kicking out Jews and Moors just turns me off. I try to put it in historical perspective but it is hard.
Quick question, I have often heard complaints about the Spanish royal family looking stereotypically Spanish in American and British productions. But this is a Spanish production and it seems they have cast actors with dark hair etc. to play the roles.
 
Very strange but Isabel was not listed on SKY Arts 1 OR 2 last night,I checked both of them earlier this week and saw nothing and thought it was a mistake,but checked both of them again last night and no mention of Isabel :confused:
I guess they weren´t referring Isabel with the date, but the other series.

I am not much of a fan of Isabella, the whole inquisition and kicking out Jews and Moors just turns me off. I try to put it in historical perspective but it is hard.
Quick question, I have often heard complaints about the Spanish royal family looking stereotypically Spanish in American and British productions. But this is a Spanish production and it seems they have cast actors with dark hair etc. to play the roles.
I won´t be the one who will defend the Inquisition, of course it doesn´t say a lot about her, but still many other things she did were movie stuff, the least. I still have to find a single monarch from her same time who wasn´t a murderer. Politics, religion...everything was the same, a reason to murder enemies and secure oneself power. All the dark legend about the Spanish Inquisition was heavily exalted by English-speaking historicians, do you know about the "black legend"?
Black Legend - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

About the steoreotypically Spanish actors to play the roles...it´s a funny matter. I think the series are right in most cases. Isabella had blond hair and blue eyes and so has the actress, while Ferdinand was dark haired. Joanna of Portugal was dark-haired as well, and I think King Henry IV is well despicted too. I don´t know about the rest of the actors/actresses, though.

Isabella´s daughters (except Joanna) had as well blond-reddish hair, that is why Spaniards always complain about the English versions of Catherine of Aragon who are almost always dark-haired :lol:
 
Isabella´s daughters (except Joanna) had as well blond-reddish hair, that is why Spaniards always complain about the English versions of Catherine of Aragon who are almost always dark-haired :lol:
One of the few times they got her coloring correct was in The Six Wives of Henry VIII mini-series in 1970. That and most Henry VIII movies/TV shows start around the time of his pursuit of Anne Boleyn, so Catherine is often presented as middle-aged frump with darker coloring when in fact, she had fair coloring and was quite attractive in her youth.
Confessions of a Ci-Devant: Katherine of Aragon in the Movies
 
Th actress playing Isabella didn't look blonde to me, but I am just judging from a few photos, I haven't seen the actual production. It's is mostly Katharine of Aragon who irks me the most when they give her dark hair and skin. The worst depiction of the Spanish I have seen has got to be in Elizabeth The Golden Age.
 
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According to my TV Guide (Irish), "Isabel" (1st season) will commence on Sky Arts 1 next Friday, September 27th at 10pm.

I don't have Sky Arts 1 either so I really hope that a DVD version with English subtitles appears on Amazon (UK) soon.
 
According to my TV Guide (Irish), "Isabel" (1st season) will commence on Sky Arts 1 next Friday, September 27th at 10pm.

I don't have Sky Arts 1 either so I really hope that a DVD version with English subtitles appears on Amazon (UK) soon.

Thanks Breffney,I just saw that too,and I've set the dvr to record the entire series!
 
So appreciate you posting this. I had read about the series and then forgotten all about it. From what I've read it appears to be in a similar vein to The Borgias and The Tudors - lavish costumes/ quite a few bedroom scenes /some elaboration of the facts.. will give it a try, if just for entertainment.
 
:previous: And I´ll be waiting for your opinion ;)

I think the first 3-4 episodes are the worse ones, though, then they start to be pretty great (IMO).

And I´m loving the 2nd season so far (3 episodes for now).
 
I'm happy because someone has uploaded episodes 1-12 of Isabel onto YouTube. Unfortunately my Spanish isn't great and there are no subtitles, but the user who posted the videos has provided a summery so from that I was able to understand what was going on. There are shorter clips with subtitles though.

I'm currently working my way through these and am on episode 3 at the moment. So far I have enjoyed it and am looking forward into watching episode 4 tomorrow.
 
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I must say I did enjoy the first offer last night and thankfully we had subtitles as my Spanish is quite basic. And I also found my self researching the characters,I had totally forgotten about Isabella's mother and brother .The sets and costumes were lavish,it was well acted,and not too much rumpy pumpy for the viewers in Catholic Eire ;)

My least favourite characters were Enriques IV's queen,Joan of Portugal and wonder if the Kings relationship with Beltran de la Cueva is merely platonic.

So far thumbs up!
 
Just caught up with the first episode and will certainly stick with it for now. Am I the only one who found the subtitles impossible to follow during the first 5 mins because of all the opening credits? I'm also still a little vague about the circumstances leading up to Enrique's ascendency to the throne so will have to do some research.
 
Yes I also found those subtitles hard to follow at the start but after the credits it was fine.

I was hoping that Enrique's first wife,the repudiated and doomed Blanche II of Navarre would be a character in this series.
 
I missed Blanche too. She´s only mentioned once in the series, as far as I can remember, which is odd, since she was Ferdinand´s (Isabella´s husband) half sister :ermm:

But the series misses some interesant plots, apart from Enrique´s past and his ascession, it would have been great some more information about Ferdinand´s family in Aragon and Navarre, especially his half-siblings Blanche, Leonor and Carlos. Nothing of that appears in the show.
 
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I missed Blanche too. She´s only mentioned once in the series, as far as I can remember, which is odd, since she was Ferdinand´s (Isabella´s husband) half sister :ermm:

But the series misses some interesant plots, apart from Enrique´s past and his ascession, it would have been great some more information about Ferdinand´s family in Aragon and Navarre, especially his half-siblings Blanche, Leonor and Carlos. Nothing of that appears in the show.

What a family Ferdinand came from with both his father,Juan III and other half sister,Eleanor I of Navarre as chief suspects in the death of poor of his older half sister Blanche II.
 
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