Pompeii: Out of Time With Tom Hiddleston is a National Geographic documentary-drama that mixes factual content with emotional scripting, CGI, and re-enactments. Tom Hiddleston, the presenter, wrings every drop of feeling from each moment with the appetite of a born actor.
Hiddleston's Dramatic Introduction
The show begins dramatically with Hiddleston telling viewers that Pompeii was destroyed in “a single day that are the most harrowing anyone on this Earth has ever experienced.” He then drops his voice and explains that although a day is not long, it does mean there is hope for individual survival. He intones: “A day. A chance.”
After the opening credits, informal Tom greets viewers, sharing that he visited Pompeii with two friends in 1998 when he was 17. There are photos to prove it. He confides that Pompeii inspired him to learn Latin, study classics at an unnamed university, and pursue acting “to bring people back.”
Meeting the Helpful Classicist
Hiddleston meets Prof Steven L Tuck, leader of the Pompeii Survivors’ Project, labelled in the onscreen caption as “Helpful Classicist.” Other experts are introduced as “Helpful Archaeologist,” “Helpful Geoscientist,” and so on. Prof Tuck helps Hiddleston find three Pompeiians whose stories can be traced through the day in AD79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted.
Prof Tuck shows Hiddleston ancient records and inscriptions, which Hiddleston translates. The first candidate is a boy called Lucius Avianius. Hiddleston says: “If I’m going to tell Avianius’s story, I need to combine the historical evidence with what I do as an actor. I need to walk alongside him, through the streets in his shoes.” He notes that the Romans had the same word for “story” and “history,” saying “Evidence and imagination intermingled.”
Impossible Julia and the Cringe Factor
The second potential survivor is a bathhouse owner called Julia, mistakenly translated by Hiddleston at first as “Julius.” An expert explains that women held property and power in the old days, and Julia even did it with the stigma of illegitimacy. Hiddleston sighs in compassion and names her “Impossible Julia,” causing the reviewer to cringe so hard they nearly turn to cheese.
Hiddleston interviews more Helpful Experts, including a disaster psychologist who explains why people might try to find family first at the first sign of trouble. “Of course,” breathes Hiddleston. “That’s who you’d go to. It’s who I’d go to.” The reviewer marks another point in the “cringe” column.
Entertainment Amidst Embarrassment
Hiddleston enthuses educatedly over Pliny, stands aside for more ash- and pumice-occluded re-enactments, and hopes for success in the rescue mission launched by the Roman fleet. Occasionally, he is overcome by the thought of the suffering as the volcano is unleashed. The reviewer concludes that the show is entertaining but exhausting, with the constant prospect of collapse into humiliation. However, if younger and less cynical, the reviewer might have loved it and become more interested in the ancient world.
Pompeii: Out of Time With Tom Hiddleston is on Disney+ now.
