World Without End, episode one, Channel 4, review New drama World Without End (Channel 4) depicted a world that never existed, although the programme-makers were at great pains to make it appear a work of historical faction. A caption emerged slowly, reverently, to tell the viewer that this was England in 1327, a brutal civil war had just ended and Edward II had been defeated by his wife, Queen Isabella, who had then imprisoned him and crowned their son, Edward III. This was as about as historically accurate as things got. It soon descended into a mish-mash of violence, cod Medieval pageantry and unconvincing dialogue. There's a knight in the kitchen! He's badly wounded! The action moved between the royal household and the fictional town of Kingsbridge, which looked a bit like one of those hokey medieval fayres where people skip round maypoles and watch novelty jugglers. The international cast generally took themselves very seriously, and there was an assortment of accents usually reserved for the Eurovision Song Contest. Wandering labourer's daughter Gwenda sounded Germanic, boorish master carpenter Wulfric was inexplicably Scottish. Still, at least Peter Firth seemed to be having fun as Sir Roland, the Earl of Shiring. Evil Sir Roland was prone to lapsing into schoolboy French at moments of obsequiousness. Merci, mon Queen cherie. As the traitors to Queen Isabella prepared to be hanged, Sir Roland preened himself as he walked before them, with about the same amount of jeopardy as Noel Edmonds revealing the contents of a box in Deal or No Deal. There is clearly a market for World Without End. It is based on a Ken Follett novel which has sold in the squillions, and it follows The Pillars of the Earth which Channel 4 screened, with considerable success, in 2010. But this was clumsy, prurient TV.