HBO'S ELIZABETH I' REIGNS SUPREME.Byline: David Kronke Television Critic Helen Mirren proves, in HBO's miniseries ``Elizabeth I,'' why any actress would kill for a chance to play England's iconic Virgin Queen. It's a full-bodied role that allows a nimble performer to play virtually every emotion the heart has to offer, requiring everything from subtle nuances to full-tilt histrionics. And Mirren certainly makes the most of her opportunity. She's the chief reason to watch yet another biofilm Biofilm An adhesive substance, the glycocalyx, and the bacterial community which it envelops at the interface of a liquid and a surface. When a liquid is in contact with an inert surface, any bacteria within the liquid are attracted to the surface and adhere on Elizabeth, who suffers from no dearth of cinematic reincarnations. ``Elizabeth I'' opens in 1579, when the queen is two decades into her more than 40-year reign, when her leadership is still on shaky ground, her court is still pressing her to marry (she's yet able to bear a proper heir to the throne) and her Protestant country is still imperiled by nearby intolerant Catholic nations. Her not-so-furtive relationship with Robert Dudley, the earl of Leicester (Jeremy Irons) - the production declines to wade into the controversy over whether or not she really was a virgin queen - prevents her from wanting to enter into a loveless marriage. But she can't marry Dudley because he isn't royalty, and anyway, she later learns, he's married, which prods her into considering marrying the French duke of Anjou (Jeremie Covillault). Meanwhile, her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots Mary Queen of Scots (Mary Stuart), 1542–87, only child of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise. Through her grandmother Margaret Tudor, Mary had the strongest claim to the throne of England after the children of Henry VIII. (Barbara Flynn), may be allying with Catholic conspirators CONSPIRATORS. Persons guilty of a conspiracy. See 3 Bl. Com. 126-71 Wils. Rep. 210-11. See Conspiracy. in Elizabeth's assassination Assassination See also Murder. assassins Fanatical Moslem sect that smoked hashish and murdered Crusaders (11th—12th centuries). [Islamic Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 52] Brutus conspirator and assassin of Julius Caesar. [Br. , and the Spanish Armada.wants to conquer England. All this and more comes in tonight's installment. Episode two is a more leisurely affair, beginning a decade later, where her reign is a secure and popular one, and with less to worry about, she's prone to not concealing her friskiness frisk·y adj. frisk·i·er, frisk·i·est Energetic, lively, and playful: a frisky kitten. frisk - with Robert Devereux, the earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title that has been held by several families and individuals, of which the best-known and most closely associated with the title was Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1566 - 1601). and Dudley's stepson. But her self-satisfaction deludes her into ignoring hints that Devereux's attentions may be nothing more than bald ambition. While the cast in general does good work and the production design is typically ornate, all of that is easy to overlook because Mirren's galvanizing galvanizing, process of coating a metal, usually iron or steel, with a protective covering of zinc. Galvanized iron is prepared either by dipping iron, from which rust has been removed by the action of sulfuric acid, into molten zinc so that a thin layer of the zinc performance defies the viewer to look elsewhere on the screen. Sterling stuff. David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke(at)dailynews.com ELIZABETH I - Three stars What: Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons star in this miniseries on the much-filmed life of England's most beloved queen. Where: HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy When: Part I: 8 tonight; also 2 p.m. Sunday, 6:15 p.m. Monday, 9 p.m. Tuesday, 11 p.m. April 30. Part II: 8 p.m. Monday; also 9 p.m. Thursday, 11 p.m. May 1. In a nutshell: Worth seeing for Mirren's galvanizing performance. |
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