EPISODE
The Pillars of the Earth - Season 1
This drama series centers on a power struggle for the English crown in the 12th century. Emerging from the war-torn shadows of England’s Dark Ages, an idealistic mason, Tom Builder sets out on a quest of erecting a glorious Cathedral bathed in light.
30 September 1980
1 January 1970, Durham, North Carolina, USA
27 June 1986, Ipswich, Suffolk, England, UK
18 June 1986
22 February 1953, Debrecen, Hungary
3 December 1944, Denver, Colorado, USA
2 January 1979, Vienna, Austria
July 23, 2010
It's the sort of expansive miniseries that we never see on network television anymore. And rarely see elsewhere.
July 23, 2010
There is a lot to commend in this Pillars of the Earth, chiefly the actors - who are uniformly excellent - and its set design.
July 23, 2010
One must assume that the moments that provoke laughter do so unintentionally.
July 23, 2010
It reminds us the value and satisfaction we can find in a complex production executed well.
July 23, 2010
It's the bountiful hamminess of McShane and the other evildoers that makes Pillars great fun, even if it's never going to be a candidate for Masterpiece Theatre.
July 23, 2010
They really don't make them like this anymore.
July 23, 2010
Over all, The Pillars of the Earth will go down painlessly for the fan of this sort of epic; while it's predictable and never exactly sweeping, it's certainly eventful, and the production values are above average.
July 23, 2010
They just don't make them like this anymore.
July 23, 2010
The Pillars of the Earth has done the impossible. It's made Ian McShane (temporarily) uninteresting.
July 23, 2010
The abundance of material plays out naturally, in a nicely arranged script by John Pielmeier that leans heavily on the R-rated soap side of things.

