Elizabeth R (1971)

Glenda Jackson plays Elizabeth I from a frightened princess to a white-faced old queen, and the performance is reason enough to watch all six 85-minute plays. She won two Emmys for it, and the serial took the Emmy for best dramatic series in 1972. The approach is close to filmed theater: long scenes, few locations, every argument fought out in dialogue. If The Six Wives of Henry VIII works for you, this is the natural next box set, picking up the Tudor story where Henry's leaves off.