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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, December 15, 2017 4 By Kyla Brewer TV Media M urderous plots abound in prime time, but not all of them are true. A new minise- ries whisks viewers back in time to take a look at one of history's most famous assassi- nation attempts. Kit Harington stars as his real-life ancestor Robert Catesby, a 17th-century Cath- olic who set out to kill the King of England by blowing up the House of Lords in 1605, in "Gunpowder," premiering Monday, Dec. 18, on HBO. The cable giant offers viewers back-to-back airings as the three-part miniseries contin- ues Tuesday, Dec. 19, and con- cludes Wednesday, Dec. 20. While the series originally aired on BBC One in the U.K. in October, HBO was quick to ink a deal to bring the show to North American audiences. It's no surprise that HBO snapped it up — Harington has proven himself as a bankable star, thanks to his role as Jon Snow in the cabler's critical and rat- ings hit "Game of Thrones." His personal connection to the "Gunpowder" story only in- creases his enthusiasm for the project, which shines through in his performance. "Kit's passion for and belief in 'Gunpowder' are evident in every frame of the minise- ries," HBO executive Kary An- tholis said. Harington is stretching his wings with "Gunpowder," which he developed alongside Daniel West ("South Riding," 2011) and Ronan Bennett ("Public Enemies," 2009). He also serves as a co-executive producer with West, Ollie Madden ("MI-5," 2015) and Stephen Wright ("The Fall"). Produced in association with Kudos and Thriker Films, the show began filming in Febru- ary, but it had actually been in the works for years. "Three years ago, Daniel West and I conceived and began developing 'Gunpow- der' with Kudos and Ronan Bennett," Harington said. "We are now thrilled to share this unique story with the U.S. audience." The miniseries opens in 1603, as the persecution of Catholics grows in Protestant England and the country wars with Spain. Catesby is a young Catholic nobleman who vows to defend his faith, even though his refusal to abandon his religion leads him to the edge of ruin. "Gunpowder" explores what happens as he and his collaborators gather the resources necessary to carry out their violent plot so that a new Catholic monarch will take the throne. At the same time, the King's spymaster, Sir Robert Cecil (Mark Gatiss, "Game of Thrones"), leads the charge to hunt down, torture and kill priests. Meanwhile, other Catholics lose their property as their oppression continues. Despite Father Garnet's (Pe- ter Mullan, "My Name Is Joe," 1998) efforts to engage in peaceful protests, Catesby forges ahead with his plan. His behavior makes his cousin, Anne Vaux (Liv Tyler, "Arma- geddon," 1998), worry that his actions may have dire con- sequences. Tom Cullen ("Knightfall") portrays Guy Fawkes, who is more famously associated with the so-called Gunpowder Plot than even Catesby, even though the latter is recog- nized by many as the ring- leader. In Britain, Guy Fawkes Day, or Guy Fawkes Night as it is sometimes known, is com- memorated on Nov. 5, be- cause the real-life Fawkes was discovered guarding the ex- plosives under the House of Lords on that day in 1605. The cast also includes Ed- ward Holcroft ("Kingsmen: The Secret Service," 2014) as Thomas Wintour, Shaun Dooley ("Broadchurch") as Sir William Wade, Robert Emms ("War Horse," 2011) as Father John Gerard, and Derek Riddell ("No Angels") as King James I. Sian Webber ("EastEnders") plays Lady Dorothy Dibdale, David Bam- ber ("Rome") plays Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northum- berland, and Kevin Eldon ("It's Kevin") portrays Sir John Hawksworth. "Gunpowder" may not have dragons like "Game of Thrones," but the miniseries has plenty to offer viewers with its big-screen quality cin- ematography and thrilling plot, as Catesby and his co- conspirators play a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with Cecil's spies. The program was a big hit in the U.K., drawing more than seven million view- ers for its premiere and clos- ing strong with more than 4.5 million. It's important to note that there was some criticism due to the level of nudity and violence, but, for the most part, the reviews across the pond were positive. Criticism aside, many peo- ple will likely tune in to watch Harington, who won't be back in his Jon Snow cloak until "Game of Thrones" returns for season 8. Those in the know say that probably won't be until at least 2018, and several industry pundits are predicting it will be 2019 until "Thrones" fans return to the Seven Kingdoms. While most TV viewers probably recognize Harington from his "GoT" role, his other credits include the historical film "Pompeii" (2014), the computer-animated film "How to Train Your Dragon 2" (2014) and the British drama "Testament of Youth" (2014). "Game of Thrones" was, be- lieve it or not, his first signifi- cant television role, which he landed shortly after appearing on stage in an award-winning National Theatre production of "War Horse." There are plenty of stuffy period dramas out there, but HBO's latest thrilling minise- ries brings viewers the little- known story behind a shock- ing attempted assassination. Don't miss Harington as he tackles a once-in-a-lifetime role as his own ancestor Robert Catesby in "Gunpow- der," premiering Monday, Dec. 18. coverstory Liv Tyler as seen in "Gunpowder" Kit Harington sets out to slay a king in 'Gunpowder' By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Recently I saw the announcement of an engage- ment of Rose Leslie to Kit Harington. Honeysuckle Rose is the name of an actress who was in "Foyle's War," which was a popular English series taking place during WWII. Are they one and the same? A: They are not. Part of the confusion comes from the fact that you actually got the latter actress's name wrong: The ac- tress who played Samantha in all 28 episodes of the period mystery series "Foyle's War" was actually Honeysuckle Weeks (to be fair, the second half is the least memorable part of her name). Even so, there could be reasons to wonder. Though former "Game of Thrones" star Rose Leslie is eight years younger than Weeks, they share a certain similarity. And for British mystery show fans, half the fun of watching "Game of Thrones" is saying, "Hey, that girl/guy!" every few minutes. "Foyle's War" has featured a number of "Thrones" stars as guests, including Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister), Conleth Hill (Lord Varys), Tobias Menzies (Edmure Tully) and Anton Lesser (Maester Qyburn). You could also wonder because names aren't all that per- manent in the entertainment business. Actors change their names for all sorts of reasons, from Screen Actors' Guild rules about duplicate names, to a simple desire to pick a more audi- ence-friendly moniker (Helen Mirren famously changed her name from Mironoff when she started acting in the '60s). Q: What ever happened to the half-hour animated special from the '60s, "The Littlest Angel"? I think Bing Crosby sang the song in it. It ran every Christmas for years, and then one year it was gone. A: The only thing that really "happened" is it was remade. That might go some way to explaining its absence from the airwaves, but so does time. Sure, there are a few time-worn old holiday specials that have aired every year for decades, but they're exceptions to the general rule, which is that most holiday TV has a limited lifespan. As you say, "The Littlest Angel" had a better run than most, and aired for quite a while, but it eventually gave way to the crushing weight of new specials being produced every year, vying for limited airtime. The remakes (there were actually two) have added to that weight, but, as I say, they only go partway to explaining things, because they were animated and lacked the major backing of your 1969 version (which was made for NBC). Thus, they were never really a threat to the older one as the go-to TV special. Also, the 1969 live-action version (which also had some star power, thanks to famous TV faces Fred Gwynne, Tony Randall and Connie Stevens, as well as musician Cab Calloway) was it- self a remake — it had previously been filmed in 1950 as a low-budget animated short. They were all, however, just screen versions of the even old- er children's book of the same name, written by Charles Taze- well and released way back in the mid-1940s. Incidentally, the Bing Crosby song you refer to was actually older than the special as well, having been released in 1962. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A

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