The Jacobites
The Jacobites is a Channel 4 Schools series from the 1990s, covering History for Primary, Secondary pupils.
A look at different aspects of the 1745 Jacobite uprising, originally made to coincide with the 250th anniversary of those events.
Actor Gerard Kelly drives rather manically around Scotland to investigate this part of British history. At the site of the Battle of Culloden he finds an old coin with time travel abilities, which conjures up characters from 250 years ago to explain things to him, and occasionally allows him to travel back in time too.
In the first four episodes Gerard meets a different character each week to give him a different perspective on the events, and in the last he considers what he has found out and tries to reconcile the different points of view.
For some cross-curricular links the historical characters, played convincingly by actors, explore modern times.
- Jean, a young girl from a Jacobite clan, goes to a 1990s fish market to see how butchery techniques had changed.
- Alexander, a Jacobite soldier, meets a Canadian tourist shopping for high-end tartans.
- Michael, a soldier in the English army, visits the modern army.
- Charlotte, a minister's wife and English Loyalist, meets a woman priest in modern times.
The series is presented in a knowing and energetic way, quite aware of its place as a schools TV programme which teachers will make students watch: the second episode is introduced "here we are, video time! Now you all have to sit and watch a programme, you don't have to pay attention and the teacher goes out for a wee cup of tea."
Episode List
| # | Title | Broadcast |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jean's Story | 1 Mar 1995 |
| 2. | Alexander's Story | 8 Mar 1995 |
| 3. | Michael's Story | 15 Mar 1995 |
| 4. | Charlotte's Story | 22 Mar 1995 |
| 5. | Gerard's Journey | 29 Mar 1995 |
Broadcasts
| Year | Term | Day | Time | Channel | Dates | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-95 | Spring & Summer 1995 | Wed | 10:18 | Channel 4 | 1 Mar to 29 Mar 10 May to 14 Jun |
|
| 1995-96 | Summer 1996 | Thu | 11:00 | Channel 4 | 16 May to 20 Jun |
|
| 1996-97 | Summer 1997 | Tue | 10:10 | Channel 4 | 13 May to 17 Jun |
|
| 1997-98 | Autumn 1997 | Wed | 10:30 | Channel 4 | 24 Sep to 22 Oct |
Credits
| Presented by | Gerard Kelly |
| With | Rebecca Chisholm as Jean Gabriel McTurk as Alexander |
| With thanks to | St John Maxwell Primary School, Glasgow |
| Education Officer | Molly Balfour |
| Music | Capercaillie |
| Researcher | Mick Morton |
| Camera | Jerry Kelly |
| Graphics | Central Design |
| Producer | Alan Clements |
| Director | Don Coutts |
| A Move on Up, Wark Clements & Company co-production for Channel 4 |
Resources
There was a teacher's guide, a poster and a video of the series available to schools.
Links
- Screen Ocean: The JacobitesThe series, and clips from it, are available for business-to-business sale to broadcasters, and the Screen Ocean site has streaming video previews of the first 2 episodes.
- British Film Institute Collections for The Jacobites
Related programmes
- Around Scotland: The Year of the PrinceThe BBC series Around Scotland also had a unit of drama-documentary programmes for the 250th anniversary of the rebellion…
- Mu Chuairt Alba: Na Seumasaich…as did its Gaelic-language counterpart.
Sources & References
- Channel 4 Learning (1998) Teaching History and Geography for Primary and Middle Schools 1998/99. Warwick: Channel 4 Schools. p.6
- Channel 4 Press Packs 1995-1997. available online from the British Universities Film & Video Council (membership required)
- Lang, Seán (1995) 'Biting Back at the Jacobites' in Times Educational Supplement 17 March 1995. p.22
- Pennie, Gavin (1995) 'History Teacher Jamie Is in Great Demand!' in The Paisley Daily Express 27 February 1995. p.5
- Times Educational Supplement TV listings, 1995-1997.
And recordings of 2 episodes.
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