37 Days Why Documentary-Dramas Make Great Entertainment, but Terrible History In 1914, over a period of just under six weeks, events happened in Europe which would throw the world into a devastating conflict. In 2014, the BBC aired a mini-series commemorating these events. 37 Days is a praiseworthy work of entertainment, but it highlights the issues of how we tell history on the television screen. 37 Days is so named because of the time period it follows. The introduction states that "on the 28th June 1914, Europe was enjoying a prosperous peace, 37 days later the nations were at war". It was on the 28th June 1914 that Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated; and on the 4th August 1914 (i.e. 37 days later) Britain declared war on Germany. This drama closely follows the relations between the British foreign office and the other European powers as diplomacy broke down and war began. The series is categorised as a documentary, but it is presented as a drama. This highlights a real issue which has happened since the dawn of historical entertainment, the thought of the writers may have been along the lines of "well, we can't know exactly what was said, but we imagine it went a bit like this ... " It is dangerous to trust this type of presentation as historical fact. In his own description of the making of the documentary-drama, writer and producer Mark Hayhurst wrote: "I traced every conference, every telephone call, private letter and telegram swirling around Europe. This helped me understand what my main characters would have known and said. I was also keen not to break any major timelines in the plot."1 Whilst his thorough pursuit of historical understanding is beyond important and certainly admirable, it must be noted here that "main characters" and "the plot" are not historiographical terms. Facts are what matters in history, plot is the key to fiction, and it is in television dramas such as these where the lines begin to dangerously blur between the two. Closely followed is Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, and how he deals with the growing international tensions. For the purpose of dramatic narrative, it is essential to choose such a crucial player in the events as the central focus, and the steady and thoughtful - albeit seemingly quite tired - role of Sir Edward Grey in the drama reminds us of the traditionally British attitude of why the war was to be fought. We had obligations to our allies and a role as Europe's largest power to protect smaller countries such as Belgium, so therefore we had to step in. With hindsight, it is very easy to look back on the First World War as an unnecessary conflict for Britain to get involved with, but Sir Edward Grey's character plays a good role in reminding us why, for himself and many of the nation's leaders around him, entering a war at that time appeared to be an understandable decision. The