Ash rains down from the sky as though it’s transformed into the pits of hell. A scream echoes from a child calling for his mother. The air is fraught with despair as the world crashes down. Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston paints a visceral picture of the destruction of the ancient Roman city that’s as haunting as it is mesmerising.
Theatrical moments and cheesiness
But you need to be able to handle the overly theatrical moments too. The series threatens to take the cheesiness a stretch too far, with Tom’s eyes welling with tears as he’s transported to the day that Vesuvius erupted, and turning back time with a twirl of his fingers. Yet the reviewer admits it worked its magic, feeling the wind knocked out as the volcanic eruption knocked the city to its knees, and Tom sought help from renowned experts to track down possible survivors.
“I was invested in the lives of people who lived and died almost 2,000 years ago, and as over-the-top as Tom’s storytelling was, I bought it. He is an actor, after all, and a darn good one at that.”
Tom Hiddleston’s passion for classics
The actor, best-known for performances in The Night Manager, War Horse, and as Loki in the Marvel cinematic universe, is a self-declared classics boff, and his passion for the subject bleeds into every corner of this part historical, part dramatised story. After visiting Pompeii as a teenager on his first holiday away with friends, he knew that classics lay in his future. He went on to study the subject at university, and it led him to his career in acting.
Tom, 45, might be the face of Out of Time, but he’s by no means the prime expert. He makes it clear that he has stumbling blocks in his knowledge, which is why he’s turned to specialists including archaeologist Caite Barrett, volcanologist Chris Jackson and disaster psychologist Sarita Johnson.
Key details
Joining Tom Hiddleston in the series are: archaeologist and Nat Geo Explorer Caite Barrett, archaeologist Darius Arya, geologist (volcanologist) Chris Jackson, disaster (survival) psychologist Sarita Robinson, and historian and professor Steven Tuck. The series is available to watch on Disney Plus. There are three episodes, titled Tremors (42 minutes), Eruption (46 minutes) and Survival (48 minutes).
As one of the most extensively explored archaeological sites in the world, a lot of the information in this show has likely been out there for years. But the reviewer was still blown away when Chris outlined how the eruption of Vesuvius wasn’t just about the instant blast, but caused the ruin of Pompeii over a whole day. And how Sarita analysed how people in Pompeii might have reacted – perhaps initially not believing that there was any cause for concern, given that they would have been used to regular earthquakes.
Creative licence and verdict
Out of Time blends fact with imagination, as there’s only so much historical records can prove. The series takes creative licence with the stories of its three potential survivors: Avianius, a teenage boy; Julia Felix, an affluent businesswoman; and a Praetorian Guard. You might roll your eyes as you see Avianius having a tiff with his impoverished mother, wondering why on earth this side story is needed. But for a tale that’s been told time and time again ever since the ruins of Pompeii were discovered in the late 16th century, why not try something different?
History and theatre combined, Pompeii: Out of Time is a test for your imagination that doesn’t pretend to be based purely on fact. As long as you accept that, you’ll find the series absorbing. The reviewer implores viewers to give it a chance, noting they learnt some new interesting facts about one of the most famous natural disasters in history. “I admire Tom for taking his burning passion and turning it into something that he can share with others. It might be cheesy, but he’s daring to be different, and perhaps he’ll inspire more classics enthusiasts in the process.”
