Henry IV, Part 1: I think sometimes when us Brits moan about the BBC licence fee we are apt to forget that following in the tradition of the excellent "I Claudius" and "Elizabeth R" it can produce some of the finest drama to be seen on the small or the big screen. This is the first part of the comical drama depicting the start of the latter stages of the reign of England's King Henry IV (Jeremy Irons) largely from the perspective of his wastrel son "Hal" (Tim Hiddleston), his sidekick "Poins" (David Dawson) and the inveterately inebriated and shrewdly opportunistic "Falstaff" (Simon Russell Beale). The King is facing some discord from the north of his Kingdom, with the impertinent "Hotspur" (Joe Armstrong) declining to present his hostages from his recently successful cause against the warlike Scots to the King to ransom. It's a tit-for-tat despute that will require the Prince to set down his beer cup and prove to his father and those sceptical at court that he can rise to the occasion and prove his worthiness to succeed to the throne. Sir Richard Eyre has assembled a fantastic cast here to tell us a story of revolution, betrayal and duplicity and none are better than Beale who dominates with his avuncular and lively persona. The engaging Hiddleston successfully manages to mix his own character's traits of wilfulness and debauchery skilfully as it evolves into something just a…

Henry IV, Part 2: Though this hasn't quite the characterful potency of the first part of the Henry IV story, it's still a compelling couple of hours that depicts the decline of one king and the ascension of another. Henry IV (Jeremy Irons) and his court have slightly revised their opinions of the young "Hal" (Tom Hiddleston) following his defeat of Hotspur, but he is beginning to ail and those warring forces in the north of England are scenting a chance to avenge themselves. Meantime, Falstaff (Simon Russell Beale) has earned the enmity of the Lord Chief Justice (Geoffrey Palmer) who deems him - not unreasonably - as a bad influence on the young Prince, and charges him to recruit a troop of soldiers to ride to face the rebels. Suffice to say those he does recruit, armed with wooden pitchforks and suffering from disease and malnutrition, don't quite cut it, nor do his overheard and reckless words about the prince to his lover "Doll" (Maxine Peake) stand him in much stead, either. Perhaps his luck is running out? As to the war, well a bit of nimble duplicity spares the nation from another great conflict, but this is all occurring as their King begins to lose his grasp on his crown, and Henry V must be prepared to rule - ruthlessly casting off those upon whom he had depended and who had come to depend upon him. Falstaff features extensively here and though SRB's contributions are…

Henry V: With Henry V now firmly on the throne, this drama moves on to challenge not only the robustness of his character but also Tom Hiddleston's characterisation - and I didn't really love the latter. His success in the Henry IV stories was as much to do with his evolving personable playboy persona accompanied by some solidly entertaining efforts from the likes of Simon Russell Beale and Julie Walters. Now he has the top job, the political intrigues at home and abroad take over the story, the humour deserts it and we find ourself in territory that has been frequently covered before. The gist of the plot sees the king rather manoeuvred into a battle with Charles VI (Lambert Wilson) over some claims to the French throne that derived from Edward III of England. It turns out to be the Dauphin (Edward Akrout) who is the main antagonist, but his is just one of the difficulties the new king must face asserting his authority and learning that difficult art of knowing whom to trust. What do stand out here are the battle scenes. The stunt arranging, execution and production design deliver impressively with what must have been a modest television budget and limited numbers - director Thea Sharrock does not resort to endless CGI to pad things out visually. The script adaptation is succinct and effective but somehow this is just isn't so hard hitting. Perhaps that's because the story and…

Richard II: With Bollingbrooke (Rory Kinnear) and Mowbray (James Purefoy) at each other's throats over treason allegations, it falls to their king (Ben Whishaw) to try to settle matters. Thing is, Richard II isn't the most imposing of characters and when his attempts at arbitration fall pretty flat, a joust to the death is arranged. Even then, the king cannot bear to see either of these two nobles die so he banishes them for six years. Thereafter, this hapless monarch makes a series of poor judgments, not least the confiscation of the assets of John of Gaunt (Sir Patrick Stewart) which only irritates his son (Kinnear) who returns in a position of strength far exceeding that of the unpopular and deserted king so an usurpation duly ensues. The result of the change at the top causes issues of conscience for both men, though curiously enough very few scruples amongst the subservient underlings like Aumerle (Tom Hughes), the duplicitous Northumberland (David Morrisey) and the traitorous Duke of York (David Suchet). Unlike many of Shakespeare's other characterful histories, this one is an out and out tragedy. Even those that win don't really win, and it's probably the finest effort I've seen from Whishaw. His slightness of physique and pallid skin (usually exacerbated by wearing an almost virginal white) exudes vulnerability and a political frailty that certainly elicits a sympathy a…