Seven Ages of Britain, BBC One | reviews, news & interviews
Seven Ages of Britain, BBC One
Seven Ages of Britain, BBC One
A load of old posh: David Dimbleby concludes his tour of British art
Monday, 22 March 2010
![](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/mast_image_landscape/public/mastimages/5a05a447acfdf6fcc40548cc4c1cea8d.jpg?itok=GQI1-KUT)
Gilbert and George and Dimbers go through the motions in Seven Ages of Britain
Seven Ages of Britain began in the same week as A History of the World in 100 Objects on Radio 4. You wait a prodigiously long time for a massive cultural overview and then two come along at once. Do they think in a joined-up way about these things at the BBC? Or has this double helping been a sign of a wider moral and structural chaos that characterises the new world disorder? Last night David Dimbleby concluded his tour of two millennia of British art. It has, inevitably, been a bit of a sprint. In this final episode, the horror of the trenches was wrapped up in less screen time than it took to show Tracey Emin’s new line animation of a woman, legs splayed and frenetically wanking. Chaos? I think so.
Seven Ages of Britain began in the same week as A History of the World in 100 Objects on Radio 4. You wait a prodigiously long time for a massive cultural overview and then two come along at once. Do they think in a joined-up way about these things at the BBC? Or has this double helping been a sign of a wider moral and structural chaos that characterises the new world disorder? Last night David Dimbleby concluded his tour of two millennia of British art. It has, inevitably, been a bit of a sprint. In this final episode, the horror of the trenches was wrapped up in less screen time than it took to show Tracey Emin’s new line animation of a woman, legs splayed and frenetically wanking. Chaos? I think so.
Add comment
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more TV
![David Morrissey: 'When I discovered my drama group at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, that saved my life'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Morrissey%20MAIN.jpg?itok=tsYiugwk)
![Robert Lindsay as Franklin Warner, yearning for the good old days](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Llindsay%20MAIN.jpg?itok=3AaKoJCX)
![Flintoff and his motley crew prepare to storm the subcontinent](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Field%20of%20Dreams%20MAIN.jpg?itok=EznQmKE5)
![Boston's finest: Casey Affleck and Matt Damon](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Casey%20%26%20Matt%20MAIN.jpg?itok=emaMgtgC)
![Stevie Van Zandt, a man for all seasons](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Stevie%20VZ%20MAIN.jpg?itok=n5xnSmjf)
![Superbly scatty: Lisa Kudrow as Penelope, with the rest of the Time Bandits and Kal-El Tuck as Kevin](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Time_Bandits_Photo_010202.jpg?itok=R3q1FrfX)
![Mid-life crisis: Natalie Portman as Maddie Schwartz](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Natalie%20MAIN.jpg?itok=IbhoIU1e)
![Jenna Coleman as DC Ember Manning, Ralph Ineson as DI Morgan](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Jenna%20%26%20Ineson%20MAIN.jpg?itok=Mcp2Hfg5)
![Murder most confusing: Ayse (Yasemin Kay Allen), Mehmet (Ethan Kai) and Inspector Ikmen (Haluk Bilginer)](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Turkish%20MAIN.jpg?itok=dRq8IqHf)
![A haunted man: Robert Glenister as Tony Conroy](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Glenister%20MAIN%20copy.jpg?itok=6fZjDdHU)
![Celine Dion: 'My voice was the conductor of my life'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Celine%20MAIN_0.jpeg?itok=UhWoPg4u)
![Lucie Shorthouse as DC Siobhan Clarke, with Richard Rankin in BBC One's 'Rebus'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Lucie%20MAIN.jpg?itok=l-pDnfcg)
Comments
...