Filthy Cities - iplayer

[ravells]

The Beeb, gor bless 'em, is running a series on filth of cities. First up, London in Medieval times, and oh my word....it's a stunner to watch. Great CGI shots and the level of filth has to be seen to be believed.

For those of you who have access to BBC iplayer... watch it - it's brilliant (I mean really brilliant).

I took some screen grabs of the CGI stuff attached below.

Next week Paris and New York is after that.

[Ryan K]

Definitely need to catch this one somewhere/how.

[jtougas]

When you think about it, it's not really all that surprising that a large heavily populated city in medieval times would be filthy mess. I mean they used chamber pots that were hurled out of windows into the streets to form virulent rivulets flowing down to the river. Apple peels bread crusts rotten bits of meat all could be found. Not to mention the manure of various animals (and people). And of course the occasional dead body here and there that the "dead wagon" hadn't picked up yet. These are all things that would be great to include in the description of any fantasy city. Real cities weren't remotely clean..

[ravells]

oh.....and the entrails of animals chucked on the streets along with the dead fish and lots of human and animal sh1t and p1ss everywhere. Foul doesn't even begin to describe it Lots of, 'I didn't know that' moments for me: Sherbourne Lane (used to work not far from there) in the city's name was sanitised from ****eburne lane. Butchers were banned from London at one point because there was too much miasmic by-product waste from animal slaughter... it's one of the most fascinating documentaries I've seen in a long while. ... oh the black death gets dealt with too.

[jtougas]

And in a fantasy setting you could add in the belching smoke of Dwarven forges and magical furnaces of all sorts..

[anstett]

iPlayer not available here (South Florida) but it is on BBC America and will record the series starting this Saturday (4/9). Thanks!

BOB