Echoes of Britannia: television history, empire and the critical public sphere

The BBC's The British Empire (1972) and Channel Four's Empire (2003) generated significant negative comment during and after their respective broadcasts. Their topic, the British Empire, was an important reason for this, but other factors, including their approach to production and marketing, public and critical expectations, and contemporary politics, were also significant. Despite these similarities, an examination of the critical reactions to each series reveals how public attitudes changed in the 30 years between their broadcasts, to British imperialism, public service television and public discourse.