Fate/Heaven's Feel
In 1966, the series was proposed to the BBC as a low budget show to take advantage of the extensive collection of historical costuming and sets that were available. Doctor Who had recently made good use of this but was moving away from the focus. A supernatural drama set (initially) in the 1810s, the first series (running in 1967) follows an attempt by a family of Austrian Magi, the Einzbern, to recreate their lost magical ritual which allows them to grant wishes. In order to accomplish this they co-operate with two other families: the Taylors who control access to a valuable nexus of leylines (at Stonehenge) which can generate the necessary magical energy; and the MacKenzies, who've devised a system of seals to control summoned familiars. Working together the families summon up seven legendary heroes, intending to sacrifice them in order to access the 'root of all magic' and receive a wish. However, the three families only control one hero each (plucked from different eras, thus allowing more costuming) with other magi or even outsiders receiving the seals that control heroes. As such the story unfolded over thirteen half-hour episodes with the representatives of the three families battling to defeat the four outside magi and heroes (termed as 'servants') while the seven Servants adjusted to the early 19th century and sought to claim the wish themselves. The alliance between the Einzbern, Taylor and MacKenzie representatives unravels as they scheme against each other to claim the wish (figuratively referred to as the holy grail), openly conflicting in the final arc. Ultimately the ritual was not completed due to deaths among the participants, with the Tohsaka representative who had lost his servants foiling the process after he established the remaining participants' wishes were likely nefarious.
Reception having been good, a second series was commissioned for 1968. Due to several actors being unavailable it was decided to move the timing forward two generations to the late 19th century with descendants of the Einzbern, Taylor and MacKenzie families once again attempting to obtain the wish. The pattern of alliances shifts and the struggle grows chaotic with the new attempt taking place in the Ottoman Empire during the Crimean War. Notably, the Einzbern family attempt to cheat by summoning a pagan god rather than a mere hero while another magi family summon two alternate versions of their Servant. This fails and the ambitious magi and their servants eventually come to fitting ends with the final two pairs killing each other in a dramatic confrontation. The dark turn of the series was viewed with concern by the BBC but viewing figures convinced them to continue, although the controversy led to the next series being pushed back to 1970.
Often considered the strongest of the series (partly because it was in colour, unlike the first two series), set at the turn of the century the third series shifts to the Far East in the middle of the Boxer Rebellion. In order to prevent a repeat of the disaster of the last attempt, a overseer from the Catholic Church is appointed as a neutral arbiter. However, this system is almost immediately subverted with the overseer's protege being one of the Magi and instructed to support the ambitions of the Taylor family. In contrast the Einzbern have hired on a magical mercenary as their representative, with his Einzbern wife acting as a decoy despite romantic tension with their summoned Hero, King Arthur, and with the mercenary's long-time partner. One of the most iconic moments in the series is the Feast of Kings, where three Servants gather and debate the meaning of kingship and by extension of heroism. Once again, the series ends in tragedy as the mercenary and the overseer's protege clash in parallel to the battle between their Servants, learning that the ritual has been subverted by the god summoned in the previous war. Ultimately the mercenary has his servant destroy the wish-granting artefact (grail) and dies in the resultant conflagration.
Series 4 picks up in the 1930s with the grail having been re-established and the now aged final survivor of the last war claiming the role of overseer. Carried out in Germany, the ritual is (somewhat predictably by this stage) subverted and fails as do the overseer and his Servant (maintained through human sacrifice for over 30 years) seek to claim the power of the wish but other participants have their own plans. It's now the Mackenzie's who are trying to cheat, calling up a Hero in the role of 'Ruler' who should have power over the other Servants. In addition to this, one of the outside magi is a Nazi, something that concerns the other outside magi much more than it does the representatives of the magi families. Ultimately all plans appear to have failed only for the Nazi to bring in outside soldiers to steal the grail. The remaining magi and Servants pursue and intercept the train carrying the grail away only to find that they and the Nazi party have both been deceived and the magi in question had decided to ruin the ritual simply in order ensure he controlled the next attempt.
With viewing figures flagging, the BBC agreed to one final series to be shown in 1972. Although the budget was lower, moving the era to the current day significantly cut the budget demands. As predicted in the last series, a new 'grail war' is taking place, organised by the false-Nazi with all the positions taken by his supporters. The three families send a small army of magi to his hideout in Romania (actually this was filmed in Wales) but these are defeated by one Servant (Vlad the Impaler), only able to activate the contingency the Mackenzies tried to abuse last time, creating an independent Ruler Servant while a second group of seven Servants are called up to wage war on the first group. With their best magi defeated, the only candidates who can summon these servants are misfits who weren't chosen before and who co-operate poorly. With a much larger cast than previous series, the fifth series also had a much higher level of attrition among characters but was granted two double-length episodes due to scheduling openings and thus had seven and a half hours to run rather than the usual six and a half which somewhat mitigated the rapid pace of the show and the special effects which had fallen somewhat behind. Overall the series was considered a decent but not stellar finale to the show, benefiting by good acting and writing when other factors let it down.
