Highland Charge Onto DVD
To be sure, Clans of Scotland isn’t as widely appealing as BBC’s Earth or some other documentaries, but for the many millions of people out there interested in Scottish history or are a descendant of it, this is a heck of a documentary. What I think BBC Scotland and Paul Murton managed to do best in this documentary is make it interesting and entertaining. This was accomplished with a smooth flowing presentation that includes lots of footage of historically significant sites, maps, and facts, as well as interviews with present day Scottish citizens, professors, writers, musicians, re-enactment actors, and others. This balance between what may be considered dry, factual material and candid interviews with a variety of Scottish folks keeps you glued to the show. Were the episodes too much one way or another, the entire production wouldn’t have been as interesting, but a balance was struck, and it really carries the documentary.
Of course, it helps that the subject material is rife with violence, greed, betrayal, fraud, and even the supernatural when you take into account the MacKenzie clan. Stories of bravery, immense violence, perseverance, and many other virtues are at the heart of these Scottish clans, and to hear these stories told by Paul and other Scots is interesting indeed. I would, however, have loved to have seen a comprehensive timeline. It would have made for a great extra feature had they included a detailed time line that had entries from all of the clans on it. Without it, it was difficult to keep track of what happened to what clan when — although many of them clashed, so in one clan’s episode, you often hear about at least one other clan.
So, what clans are featured anyway? The MacGregor, MacDonald, MacLeod, Campbell, Fraser, MacKenzie, Armstrong, Cameron, Douglas, Maclean, Stewart, and Grant clans are all examined in detail. Each episode focuses on one clan, and the episodes last anywhere from about thirty to forty-five minutes. All episodes are setup with a brief introduction before the credits, and then Paul journeys to the location where the clan got its start, and the main events of their history to the present day unfolds as he travels around beautiful Scotland. Each clan has a fascinating history, and the interactions amongst the clans is full of intrigue as well. The Armstrongs, for example, were known for their bravery and mercenary skills, which were highly sought after. The Douglas’ were expert castle builders, while the Campbells were very powerful and battled many other clans.
Each of the three discs contains four episodes. There are no extra features and the presentation quality is what you would expect for a TV documentary that aired in 2007 — widescreen, with good picture and sound. A basic menu is included on each disc to allows you to switch between episodes and chapters within those episodes.
And that’s about it; let’s get to the summary…