Tutankhamun with Dan Snow (Episode 1-3)

Photo Credit: Roland Unger - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

 I really hate when they put the presenter's name in the title. In my database, the title is just Tutankhamun, with Dan Snow listed as presenter. Sadly, that title is neither unique enough to Google, nor will it get you there easily on TVDB or IMDB. But nevermind my obsession with the metadata... let's talk about the content.

 Yes, this is yet another documentary about the infamous "King Tut", but the renaissance in technology has really brought archaeology to a whole new level in the last decade. Dan Snow presents the treasures of Tutankhamun's tomb, focusing with child-like glee on the little-known back-room items as often as the famous display treasures. He would really like to convince himself (as well as the viewer) that the young Pharaoh died in battle, perhaps at Kadesh, but Raksha Dave does a great job reining his enthusiasm and forcing him to examine the evidence with impartiality. Meanwhile, experienced journalist John Sargeant is reduced to playing comic relief, riding camels and learning ancient Egyptian funerary dances. My guess is that he really wanted a free trip to go sight-seeing in Egypt and the BBC felt that they owed him one.

 The highlight, for me at least, was Dan Snow's build-up while entering the tomb. By now, most people know the basic story of Carter and Sugar-Daddy Carnarvon breaking the seals; the "wonderful things" quote has become something of a trope at this point. Dan is a born story-teller though, and he does a great job of filling in the details, standing exactly where they were through each step of the excavation.

 This is certainly not the best documentary on Pharaoh Tutankhamun. ("Not "Tootin'-Common", as Dan is wont to say, repeatedly." -Editorial Erin) We've probably watched more than a dozen, and eventually one of us will get to the one that convinced us he was assassinated by his successor. Despite its flaws though, it remains entertaining and informative throughout. Dan Snow's enthusiastic presentation and Raksha Dave's focus on the intimate funerary items - from Tut's childhood bow, to the eyeliner he wore for his Pharaonic duties - make this worth a watch anyway.

 At the end of the day, I have to rate this 4/5. John Sargent was criminally under-utilized, and by the end I have to admit that Dan's insistence on chasing the narrative that his hero died in a blaze of glory has worn a bit thin. Big props to Raksha Dave for her focus on the facts though; she holds the focus together when Dan's story-telling starts to grate.