Byzantium: a Tale of Three Cities

Episode one
It says something when the most memorable detail in a three-part documentary about the most important city in history is an aside about the early Christian heretic Arius, who shat himself to death. That might sound glib, but there really isn’t any good reason why Simon Sebag Montefiore’s Istanbul amble should be quite as dull as it is.

Of course the architecture, the religious and political power struggles, the plagues, massacres, tyrants and priests are compelling. But with so many great documentaries being made about far less potentially rich subjects, it feels like ‘A Tale of Three Cities’ is taking our attention for granted.