no one expects the Roman Inquisition!

[bedlamsbard]

My Age of Reformation professor described inquisitions as "the two half hours of Law & Order rolled into one." For whatever reason, ever since then I have been jonesing for a TV crime drama about an inquisition. Which, you know, will never happen because of everything the inquisition is associated with (heresy, execution, repression, authority, etc.) and actually did (again with the heresy and the torture and the execution), I'm just...unreasonably fascinated with the idea. Hey, it could be the Roman Inquisition! Which did less executing than the Spanish Inquisition, and also was the starting point for a few popes, who then may or may not have blackmailed their way to the Throne of St. Peter. (When you are the head of an inquisition which operates in secret, you know things. Even about your fellow cardinals. Especially about your fellow cardinals!)

(I'm sorry. Dirty papal politics will never not be funny.)

Law & Order: Medieval Crimes Unit?

Comments

[pinesandmaples]

Seems like a ripe idea for a BBC mini-series...

[bedlamsbard]

Too bad I'm pretty sure the BBC never strays over here! Alas.

[darklyndsea]

I don't know. Given some of the shows lately, like Dexter or...I know there's other shows along those lines, but I can't think of them right now. A show about the Inquisition? I don't think that would be too un-doable, at least for premium cable. Or as a comedy.

L&O: Medieval crimes might actually be interesting, which is more than I can say for normal Law & Order.

[bedlamsbard]

I think the main concern is that the Inquisition has too many associations with it, although maybe not...it has been a while. :)

I can't stand L&O, but my roommate likes it.

[aella_irene]

I approve of this idea! To really blow people's minds, you could start with the Inquisition riding into town, and being told "...they've got a witch."

"What?"

"They've got a witch."

"FFS, there's no such thing as witchcraft! Let the woman out!"

[bedlamsbard]

*approves*

Naturally, there shall be sexual shenanigans. As there always are in such affairs.

[aella_irene]

And people intriguing to be thrown into the Inquisition prisons! (They did. Inquisition prisons were much nicer than the usual run. The Inquisition had all these modern ideas about cleanliness, and far fewer people died of jail fever.)