Troy: Fall of a City, episode one, review: a fresh take on one of the greatest tales of them all

Predictably enough for a Saturday night drama rumoured to have cost ￡16 million to make, Troy: Fall of a City (BBC One, Saturday) had its comically overblown moments. That’s no bad thing – Greek mythology without a slice of silliness would be like Strictly Come Dancing without the sequins. No fun at all.

But the early indications are that, in this retelling of the Trojan war, writer David Farr (The Night Manager) has succeeded in his attempt to “focus on character”, rather than spectacle. Anyone who saw the 2004 blockbuster Troy, a shallow flex-fest starring Brad Pitt, will agree that this is good news.

In the first episode of this eight-part series, Farr examined the early life of Paris (Louis Hunter), who was taken by wolves as a baby, brought up by a shepherd, then discovered, 20 years later, to be the son of Priam, King of Troy. Seeing Paris – or Prince Alexander – struggle with the turmoil of being whisked from a rural to a regal life helped flesh out a character too often condemned merely as a spoilt troublemaker. The slow-burn of a television series allows for this more considered approach.

The time spent exploring Paris’s mental state also added authenticity to the later scenes when, on his first diplomatic trip to Sparta, he met and fell in love with Queen Helen (Bella Dayne). “I know what freedom is and this isn’t it,” he told her, dismissing her opulent palace. His posturing, combined with Helen’s furtive glances and whispered asides also created a tantalising erotic charge, which crackled off the screen.

What a shame, then, that some of the dialogue was so bizarre. “How did you two get together?” Paris asked Menelaus (Jonas Armstrong) about his relationship with Helen, as if he’d just strolled into the Love Island villa. David Threlfall’s Priam also had an odd accent, which made him sound like he’d been hanging out at a Northern chippy. Hecuba, my love, pass me another battered sausage.

But it’s easy to forgive these things. We haven’t met Achilles yet, so there is plenty of time for things to get hysterical, but Troy: Fall of a City might just be a fresh, psychologically knotty take on one of the greatest tales of them all.