''Rhodes'' is an eight-part British television drama series about the life of

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Bri ...

, a 19th century British adventurer, empire-builder and politician. It starred

Martin Shaw Martin Shaw (born 21 January 1945) is an English actor. He came to national recognition as Doyle in ITV crime-action television drama series '' The Professionals'' (1977–1983). Further notable television parts include the title roles in '' ...

as Rhodes, and was written by Antony Thomas. ''Rhodes'' received its British television debut on 15 September 1996, and concluded on 3 November. It was produced by Scott Meek and Charles Salmon, and directed by David Drury.

Background

At the time of its production, ''Rhodes'' was the most expensive project ever undertaken by a British television broadcaster, costing £10 million to make, and was seen as a huge gamble by the BBC. In addition, development, filming and production took a decade to complete, and the series employed over 10,000 extras. Forming part of BBC1's Autumn 1996 television programming, its opening episode was preceded by a high-profile publicity campaign. However, it quickly began to attract relatively poor viewing figures. Although 7.6 million tuned in for the first episode, by the following week viewing figures had fallen to 4.8 million. The series was also quickly panned by critics. On 26 September 1996, a report by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

''s Marianne MacDonald suggested one of the series' biggest issues was that it assumed its viewers would already have a prior knowledge of Cecil Rhodes' life and achievements, something which it turned out many of those watching it did not possess. In response to these concerns, the BBC produced a 32-page booklet to accompany the series that provided some background details about Rhodes, and which could be purchased for £4.99. However, copies of this book would not be available until at least four weeks into the series, by which time MacDonald felt that many viewers would have given up on it. Following the 2000 adaptation of ''

Gormenghast Gormenghast may refer to: * ''Gormenghast'' (series), a trilogy of novels by Mervyn Peake ** ''Gormenghast'' (novel), second in the series * ''Gormenghast'' (opera), an opera based on the books * ''Gormenghast'' (TV serial), a BBC adaptatio ...

'',

Mervyn Peake Mervyn Laurence Peake (9 July 1911 – 17 November 1968) was an English writer, artist, poet, and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the '' Gormenghast'' books. The four works were part of what Peake conceived ...

's series of fantasy novels, which also proved to be unsuccessful with viewers and critics, ''Rhodes'' was included in a list of notable British television flops compiled by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

''.

Cast

Cecil John Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Brit ...

*Joe Shaw as Young Cecil Rhodes *

Ken Stott Kenneth Campbell Stott (born 19 October 1954) is a Scottish stage, television and film actor who won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1995 in the play '' Broken Glass'' at Royal National Theatre. He portrayed th ...

Barney Barnato Barney Barnato (21 February 1851 – 14 June 1897), born Barnet Isaacs, was a British Randlord, one of the entrepreneurs who gained control of diamond mining, and later, gold mining in South Africa from the 1870s up to World War I. He is perha ...

Frances Barber Frances Barber (née Brookes, born 13 May 1958) is an English actress. She received Olivier Award nominations for her work in the plays '' Camille'' (1985), and ''Uncle Vanya'' (1997). Her film appearances include three collaborations with Gar ...

as Princess Catherine Radziwill *

Neil Pearson Neil John Pearson (born 27 April 1959) is a British actor, known for his work on television. He was nominated for the 1994 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor for '' Between the Lines'' (1992–1994). His other television roles include ''Drop the D ...

Leander Starr Jameson Sir Leander Starr Jameson, 1st Baronet, (9 February 1853 – 26 November 1917), was a British colonial politician, who was best known for his involvement in the ill-fated Jameson Raid. Early life and family He was born on 9 February 1853, o ...

Oliver Cotton Oliver Charles Cotton (born 20 June 1944) is an English actor, comedian and playwright, known for his prolific work on stage, TV and film. He remains best known for his role as Cesare Borgia in the BBC's 1981 drama series '' The Borgias''. Early ...

Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the C ...

* Ron Smerczak as Edward Arthur Maund *Frantz Dobrowsky as

Alfred Beit Alfred Beit (15 February 1853 – 16 July 1906) was a Anglo-German gold and diamond magnate in South Africa, and a major donor and profiteer of infrastructure development on the African continent. He also donated much money to university e ...

*Paul Slabolepzi as

Frederick Selous Frederick Courteney Selous, DSO (; 31 December 1851 – 4 January 1917) was a British explorer, officer, professional hunter, and conservationist, famous for his exploits in Southeast Africa. His real-life adventures inspired Sir Henry Ride ...

*Philip Godawa as

John X. Merriman John Xavier Merriman (15 March 1841 – 1 August 1926) was the last prime minister of the Cape Colony before the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. Early life He was born in Street, Somerset, England. His parents were Nathaniel Jame ...

*Owen Dell as

Robert Coryndon Sir Robert Thorne Coryndon, (2 April 1870 – 10 February 1925) was a British colonial administrator, a former secretary of Cecil Rhodes who became Governor of the colonies of Uganda (1918–1922) and Kenya (1922–1925). He was one of the most ...

*Nicky Rebelo as

Solomon Joel Solomon Barnato "Solly" Joel (23 May 1865 – 22 May 1931), born in London, England, moved to South Africa in the 1880s where he made his fortune in connection with diamonds, later becoming a financier with interests in mining, brewing and railw ...

*Margaret Heale as

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

Rex Garner Rex Garner was a British born actor and director. He was born in 1921 in Wolverhampton, England. He died 17 May 2015 at the age of 94. Garner was survived by his seven children: Nicolas Garner, Lindsay Garner, Christopher Garner, Geraldine Raper ...

as Henry Loch *

* Washington Xisolo as

Lobengula Lobengula Khumalo (c. 1845 – presumed January 1894) was the second and last official king of the Northern Ndebele people (historically called Matabele in English). Both names in the Ndebele language mean "the men of the long shields", a refer ...

* Carel Trichardt as

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and President of the South African Republic (or ...

* Ian Roberts as Johannes Wilhelm Colenbrander

Synopsis

The series tells the story of Rhodes' life through a series of flashbacks of conversations between him and Princess Catherine Radziwiłł, and also between her and people who knew him. It also shows the story of how she stalked and eventually ruined him. In the serial, Cecil Rhodes is played by

, the younger Cecil Rhodes is played by his son Joe Shaw, and Princess Radziwiłł is played by

. In the serial Rhodes is portrayed as ruthless and greedy. The serial also suggests that he was homosexual.

Criticism

Because of the dramatic slide in ratings, ''Rhodes'' was quickly deemed to have been a failure, prompting MacDonald to observe that the series was 'in danger of becoming a flop as colossal as its hero's exploits'. It was also quickly rounded on by a number of critics, who were equally as scathing. Writing for ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'',

A. A. Gill Adrian Anthony Gill (28 June 1954 – 10 December 2016) was a British journalist, critic, and author. Best known for his food and travel writing, he was also a television critic, was restaurant reviewer of ''The Sunday Times'', wrote for '' Van ...

suggested it 'started with everything against it and then they made it all worse', while

David Aaronovitch David Morris Aaronovitch (born 8 July 1954) is an English journalist, television presenter and author. He is a regular columnist for ''The Times'' and the author of ''Paddling to Jerusalem: An Aquatic Tour of Our Small Country'' (2000), ''Voodoo ...

of ''

The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was published ...

'' criticized the overuse of

background music Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behav ...

, observing 'the BBC's Rhodes is a man who cannot take a leak without the assistance of the Berlin Philharmonic'. However, despite the series' troubles the BBC were hopeful that it would enjoy more success internationally: A spokeswoman for

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadca ...

said of ''Rhodes'': 'It's obviously very disappointing about the ratings but it doesn't really affect international sales. Overseas broadcasters...tend not to go on what critics say here.'

Media releases

The complete series of ''Rhodes'' was released on VHS in 1997. It was subsequently released on DVD by

Acorn Media UK RLJE International Ltd, d/b/a Acorn DVD, a British company that publishes and distributes DVDs, as well as selling home-video products and streaming videos with a particular focus on British television. History Launched in 1997, Acorn Media U. ...

on 3 March 2008.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes (Tv Series) 1996 British television series debuts 1996 British television series endings 1990s British drama television series BBC television dramas 1990s British LGBT-related television series 1990s British television miniseries Television shows set in South Africa English-language television shows Television series set in the 19th century Cultural depictions of Cecil Rhodes 1990s British LGBT-related drama television series Films directed by David Drury