Heard of Mike Loades? He has been in quite a few medieval fighting documentaries, a historian and practitioner of ancient warfare: http://www.mikeloades.co.uk/cms/index.php

He's starting a new program, "Going Medieval" on Feb 20th, if you live in the States. Details here: http://www.facebook.com/mikeloades/posts/384502024900057
Also here: [ Linked Image ]

Anyone who has H2 should tune in; they are running a pilot to see if it is popular enough to make a series out of. If I had H2 I would watch I loved the series he did on The Weapons that made Britain.

So far, Mike Loades is the only good source I've found, for TV programs that study medieval war... Would very much like this to be made into a series--so please, leave your TVs on H2, when this airs (even if it's too late for you to see it).


Mike mentioned a scene with European(?) Dog Armour getting cut out, because they were short of time, as well as other cool stuff. If things go well, they'll release a DvD with the removed content.

My only concern with this program is who did the writing. I do often watch H2 and it's companion channel on the History Network but I have this nagging problem that both regularly deal with aliens from outer space. Mike Loads also is not entirely reliable as an historian. I have his book Swords and Swordsmen and even though I would say that he's very good at history, some of the statements he made about metallurgy and swordsmithing were inaccurate.

Not sure who is doing the writing. I rather doubt they're someone who commonly works with H2, personally.

Mike Loades won't have everything perfect, certainly. Friend of mine dislikes his enthusiasm towards weapons (it's clear he's never actually wounded someone). Still... very honestly, he is responsible for the best medieval combat facts I've seen on television.

I hope this makes it to the release of the DVD, even though not everything Mr Loades tells us might be a hundred percent accurate or true, his shows are massively entertaining.

I'm not sure since I might just have been unable to find the rest on youtube, but Weapon Masters for example seems to have been rather short-lived. The modern parts were a bit questionable at times - well, most of the time - but the historical backgrounds were fun to watch.

Here is something I'll watch with great pleasure, if I can grab it online.

If you find it online, give me a shout. I don't have H2... I'll probably just wait for the DvD.

Apparently, there's some confusing as to the exact time Going Medieval will air...

Mike Loades wrote:

I apologize for the huge confusion about the scheduled broadcast times for Going Medieval. We're trying to get clarification. The H2 website states 10pm for both ET and PT, with CT at 9pm and MT at 8pm. The on-air ads, which have now starting showing on H2, state 10pm ET/11pm PT. However this morning Comcast Xfinity (my local cable provider on the West Coast) shows that Going Medieval airs at 7pm PT and repeats at 11pm, which is great news! Please let us know here what your local listings say.

So check up on what time the site reckons for your area: http://www.history.com/schedule/h2/2/20/2012?view=day&tz=PT

Hopefully, they come to the usually H2 conclusion - aliens invented sword-fighting.

I -really- encourage everybody to watch. Mike's a friend of mine, so of course I wish him the best of success with ratings on the show because if it's well received, there's a strong chance it will become a series. Mike did indeed write the show-- he's been stressing up until even last week about getting the writing on the narration "just right", which is amazing considering the show airs just tomorrow.

They did lots of cool stuff for the show and other friends of mine are featured, among them Toby Capwell (Wallace A&A curator) and Adam desForges (former Royal Armouries interpreter).

It's true, no TV show is perfect, but Mike has a special enthusiasm and zest for things Medieval, and his breadth of knowledge is unrivaled by any other presenter/writer. Much of Mike's best work has never been aired in the US, only in the UK, so it's possible many here have only seen the stuff American networks believed would appeal to their audience, which can oft be perceived as "low brow", in contrast to the eclectic mix here. With that in mind, view the show and remember just how many factors affect the final product, and how networks always try to appeal to the broadest audience.

Let's hope it's seen by lots of folks and it becomes a regular series!

see, this is why living in australia can be very annoying, i have access to niether of your programming. and can only watch this stuff when it appears on dvd, or on the net.

anyways, i hope its good. mikes stuff on weapons that made britain was very interesting to me, and from people ive asked, quite removed from the usual quality of medieval stuff on tv (ala the conquest series)

as to his manner, i personally really like his enthusiasm towards the subject
(i remember the very opening on his weapons that made britain program on the shield, he presents a small heater (only about as wide as his forearm id say, puts it on his arm, then an arrow slams into it a second later, after that a horseman with a lance gives the shield a whack, THEN he pulls out a sword and 'duels' a third guy with a sword)

or the fact hell put on a helmet, pretends to fight with someone else using poleaxe and has someone whack him on the back of the head with a mace to illustrate a persona blindspots.
or the time he purposely falls off a horse in motion to showcase that its not hard to get up while in armour.
those little things really make him exciting to watch.

You double-posted by accident, William.


Jeffery, any idea when a DvD might come out? I'm wondering how long I'll have to wait.

I watched this tonight and I really liked what I saw.
Very interesting and informative and covered a vary wide range of topics.
I would very much like to see this as a series so that an entire one hour episode can be devoted to each topic that was covered in this two hour long show.

Just watched this! It was excellent and so refreshing to see a show with a dedication to historical accuracy. Mike Loades did a spectacular job of remaining faithful to the material while presenting a very interesting and entertaining show. Mike's love for the subjects really comes through in his enthusiatic hosting. I would love to see this take off as a series. Having actual history back on the history channel would be great, especially medieval history!

If you want more episodes, Mike reckons we should go over to the H2 History channel and make comments asking for more. I liked all the comments made on Going Medieval so far (amazed at the great, positive response): http://www.facebook.com/More2History?sk=wall&filter=12

I ought to get around to making a comment...