‘Ministry of Time’ is back on the agenda for the exact opposite reason of its return to RTVE. The BBC announced this week that production had begun. ‘Ministry of Time’, a series whose characters and synopsis resemble fiction created by Javier OlivaresIt is described by many as a possible carbon copy of the Spanish one.
“‘‘Ministry of Time’, a newly created government department brings together ‘expats’ throughout history in an experiment to test the feasibility of time travel. Commander Graham Gore (the officer in charge of Sir John Franklin’s unsuccessful Arctic expedition of 1845) is one of the figures saved from certain death, along with a Somme field army captain, a 17th-century plague victim, the widow of revolutionary France, and a French soldier. 17th century,” says the BBC press release on the “Ministry of Time” synopsis.
“Expatriates are placed in unconventional shared flats, with 21st-century connections known as ‘bridges’. Gore must learn contemporary life from scratch: from air travel to industrial warfare, feminism to Spotify, cinema to indoor shooting. He works as a plumber and is an ambitious man who acts as a bridge.” He must bargain for coexistence with modern women. After an awkward start, the couple begin to find pleasure and comfort in each other’s company, developing a relationship that is at once tender, intense and deeply unprofessional; The longer they live, the more they form friendships that ground and support them in the 21st century. When a deeper conspiracy begins to reveal itself at the Ministry, Bridge must consider what to do. Will he save or sacrifice the exiled misfits he cares about so much? The summary concludes.
The series is adapted from the novel of the same name by author Kaliane Bradley, who will make her debut in the publishing world with this work, and adapted for television by screenwriter Alice Birch (‘Normal People’, ‘The End We Start From’, ‘Dead Ringers’). The installment will consist of six episodes produced by A24, the company responsible for series such as ‘Beef’, ‘S’uch Brave Girls’ and ‘Dreaming While Black’, among others.
Reactions from RTVE and Javier Olivares
Reactions to the allegation that BBC’s ‘Ministry of Time’ program was plagiarized were immediate. On the one hand, Javier Olivares, the creator of ‘El Ministerio del Tiempo’, expressed himself as follows through social networks after learning about the announcement of the ‘Ministry of Time’ by British television: “Without cutting even a single hair“.
“The fact that NBC (legal settlement, this is not an opinion) and BBC (same title and opinion) plagiarized you shows how badly we didn’t do it with ‘The Minister of Time’. Being from TVE and public property I think that’s “It would be nice if someone took pride in acting,” the creator said in a tweet. I don’t know… I say, eh…” he said.
“Imagine there is a fifth season of ‘Ministry of Time’ and the BBC comes and accuses us of plagiarism. The circle will surely be closed,” Olivares ironically commented in another tweet.
On the other hand, the public channel will not remain indifferent to this announcement, as it revealed on its social networks: “RTVE will seek clarification from the BBC regarding its announcement without prejudice to the rights that help it defend its interests“.
“Neither RTVE nor the production company of ‘El Ministerio del Tiempo’ have granted any license for the adaptation to the BBC or its production companies.“, stated the official account of the RTVE communications and engagement department on Twitter (now X).