The Last Templar

[Tammy]

So, I was watching TV tonight, and I caught a glimpse of a preview for a new show. All I really caught was a strong voice saying The Last Templar.
So, I then looked it up on Google...this is what I got....

http://www.cinemablend.com/television/New-NBC-Mini-Series-The-Last-Templar-Winter-2009-9792.html
New NBC Mini-Series: The Last Templar - Winter 2009 Who doesn't love a good conspiracy story? And what more classic conspiracy is there, than that of the Knight's Templar? The whole story was rediscovered by millions of people when the Da Vinci Code came out, both in book and movie form. Part of NBC's new offerings for the Fall 2008 through Summer 2009 line-up includes a new mini-series that revolves around the centuries old story.

Here is what NBC has to say about it:

THE LAST TEMPLAR -- In this four-hour miniseries, Oscar winner Mira Sorvino ("Mighty Aphrodite") stars in an epic action-adventure tale about the greatest mystery of our time. At the New York Metropolitan Museum, four horsemen dressed as 12th century knights storm the gala opening of an exhibition of Vatican treasures and steal an arcane medieval decoder. For archaeologist Tess Chaykin (Sorvino) and FBI agent Sean Daly (Scott Foley, "The Unit"), this is just the start of a suspenseful game of cat and mouse as they race across three continents in search of the enemy -- and the lost secret of the Knights Templar. The miniseries is produced by MUSE Entertainment Enterprises. Victor Garber ("Alias") and Omar Sharif ("Doctor Zhivago") also star. Emmy Award-winning television impresario Robert Halmi Sr. ("Tin Man," "Gulliver's Travels"), Robert Halmi, Jr. ("The Poseidon Adventure," "The Christmas Card"), and Michael Prupas ("Human Trafficking") will executive-produce the miniseries. "

So...I was just wondering what others thought about this??

[Sir Ironhead]

I read the novel, or at least a novel using that exact plot.  It's been awhile since I read it but if I recall it was a rather interseting story.

[Lord Dragonspyre]

I read the novel, or at least a novel using that exact plot.  It's been awhile since I read it but if I recall it was a rather interseting story.

Was it the one where there was a village at the bottom of a lake and the novel switched back and forth between modern times and the POV of a Templar Knight who was entrusted with some great secret that turned out to be propaganda? If so, then I read it. Nice novel.

[Sir Ironhead]

I read the novel, or at least a novel using that exact plot.  It's been awhile since I read it but if I recall it was a rather interseting story.

Was it the one where there was a village at the bottom of a lake and the novel switched back and forth between modern times and the POV of a Templar Knight who was entrusted with some great secret that turned out to be propaganda? If so, then I read it. Nice novel.

I finally got of my butt and googled it.

The author is Raymond Khoury, here the description of the novel from the his website:

Acre, Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1291: As the burning city falls to the Sultan's men, a lone galley escapes out to sea, carrying a young Templar knight called Martin of Carmaux, his mentor Aimard of Villiers, and a mysterious chest entrusted to them by the Order's dying Grand Master.

The ship never reaches its destination.

Present day, Manhattan: Four masked horsemen, dressed as Templar Knights, emerge from the darkness of Central Park and storm into the Metropolitan Museum, scattering the great and the good of Manhattan society who are there for the gala opening night of an exhibition of Vatican treasures. Caught in the brutal mayhem, desk-bound archaeologist Tess Chaykin watches in silent terror as the leader of the horsemen homes in on one piece in particular, a strange geared device. He utters a few cryptic words in Latin as he takes hold of the device with reverence before leading the horsemen out and disappearing into the urban nightscape of Manhattan.

The FBI's investigation team is led by Sean Reilly, an anti-terrorist specialist as well as a practising Catholic, aided by his longtime partner Nick Aparo and a Vatican envoy, the Monsignor De Angelis. As the horsemen's dead bodies start turning up, and as the importance of the stolen device becomes more and more apparent, Tess becomes more than a witness to the crime. She and Reilly get drawn into the dark, hidden history of the crusading Knights, and of the last surviving Templars' fateful journey from Acre to the pyres of Paris. Tess and Reilly are soon facing the deadly forces battling to recover the lost secret of the Templars, and find themselves propelled into a dangerous adventure which takes them through the cemeteries and sewers of Manhattan, across continents to desolate Turkish mountains and remote Greek islands, through a Mediterranean storm of biblical proportions and into the very heart of the Vatican.

With Tess fuelled by an unswerving commitment to scientific truth, the archaeologist and the FBI agent's nascent relationship comes under intense pressure, as with each disturbing revelation relating to the Templars' long lost legacy, Reilly is plunged deeper into a spiritual and professional conflict which ultimately leaves them with the troubling burden of their shocking discovery.

On one level, The Last Templar is a fast paced contemporary adventure/thriller set in New York and in various settings around the Mediterranean, intercut by five epic chapters set during the closing years of the Crusades in which the last Templar of the title, entrusted with the Order's secret, escapes from the burning city of Acre and struggles to make it back to France. On another level, The Last Templar works as a thought-provoking exploration of religion in today's world, and of historic fact versus faith, particularly regarding the origins of the Catholic Church. Through the investigation into the Templars' history and their mysterious discovery, and though the interplay between Tess - the agnostic, scientific skeptic - and Reilly, who turned to the Church after his father shot himself when Reilly was just a boy, the book presents a spirited look at the early days of the Church and invites the reader to question matters which most of us take at face value. 

[Lord Dragonspyre]

Yup. That's it.

[Tammy]

Did anyone else see it?? I've not read the book, but I thoroughly enjoyed the show!

[Sir William Marcus]

The only thing that this show did nicely for me last night was showcase Mira Sorvinos legs in the beginning  , and that was about it.

[groomporter]

It's kind of fun, but I'm not too upset I'll miss the second episode.

[Richard de Graeme]

Boring, ludicrous, a real snoozer. I do agree that Mira Sorvino has nice gams. Funny, during the promo they tout her as "Oscar winning" actor, which is true. However, she was picked over Kate Winslet in Sense and Sensibility. I'll take Kate anyday.

[BLAKDUKE]

I do no accept anything like this as even being remotely plausible, but it was entertaining regardless of the apparent gaffs as to ladies in cocktail dresses jousting and the deviations with actual history.  Ireally enjoyed the first 20 minutes of including Mira Sorvino jousting.   I will watch tonight episode.   

[Tammy]

Well, even I can agree she's got great legs!! lol

I just thought it was good entertainment. I learned along time ago that TV, books, and movies use the literary license they get ALOT! If it's based on anything historical, it's probably 95% (or more) falsified. It's not easy, but I try to just enjoy if as entertainment.

[Yrose]

Watched the show and thought it was a little interesting. But there was some slow parts for sure and the ending sucked.

[Manwariel]

I haven't seen it, but you can watch it here: http://www.hulu.com/the-last-templar

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

the literary license

That would be the words I seek! Thank you M'lady.