World Without End for Weekend Without Fee

On the eve of SoHo’s first anniversary, Sky has announced non-subscribers to the premium drama channel can see its premiere of World Without End for free.

The eight-hour sequel to one of SoHo’s biggest drawcards, The Pillars of the Earth, will debut as part of an “open weekend” from November 9-12 that’s designed to tempt Sky basic subscribers to upgrade to the service for another $10 a month.

However, reviews of the $57 million costume drama, which went to air this month in the US, suggest it may not offer enough to keep newcomers hooked.

The Los Angeles Times thought the 14^th century shenanigans “silly much of the time” but acknowledged “if you like Pillars, you’ll probably like World …

“In a piece this big and busy, individual elements can stand out as enjoyable even when the whole is less than the sum of those parts.”

The Hollywood Reporter dubbed it “absorbing but rarely thrilling” and blamed its weak villains, citing Cynthia Nixon’s miscasting, Rupert Evans’ overripe turn and Peter Firth’s “standard-issue bad guy” of an earl.

“While the series is always at least mildly entertaining, it’s also stodgy. Even when it tosses in juicy ingredients (Incest! Fratricide! Gay monks! Lesbian nuns!), World Without End is just too tame and tasteful.”

TV Guide had “no complaints with the lavish production design” but said “there’s not a single character with a shade of gray in his or her moral complexion.

“They’re either all saintly or thoroughly despicable, and while I’ve looked ahead and know it doesn’t arrive until the sixth hour, the plague can’t come soon enough to suit me.”

Other highlights of SoHo’s 80-hour sampler, which will run from 4.30pm on the Friday to 11.20pm on the Monday, include:

❑ a box set weekend of The Newsroom

❑ a mini-Boardwalk Empire marathon of season three’s first four episodes

❑ a repeat of the Emmy-winning dramatisation of the 2008 Republican campaign, Game Change, three days after the US election

❑ the start of a Saturday night encore season of Luck, which comes out next month on Blu-ray.