(Season 1, Episodes 1-5)
I’ve struggled this summer to find something to keep my attention. I’ve been through a few different series and finally found something to hold my interest: The Tudors. I missed the series when it was first on the air, but it always got high praise. A lot of that praise came from a very unlikely source: my parents. My father barely watches any television, so when he actually likes a show, it definitely catches my attention.
I used to always poke fun at my parents, telling them that they only liked the show because of all the sex. After watching the first half of season one, I can see why so many people commented on the frequent and intense sex scenes. However, just as Deadwood was not all about the cursing, The Tudors is really not all about the sex.
Don’t get me wrong, King Henry was clearly a big hornball. History, aside from the show, has pretty much shown this. I mean, the guy had six wives, and at least two historically recognized mistresses. Mel Brooks said it best: It’s good to be the king. Of course, as the first half of the season showed, it’s also kind of hard to be the king. There is certainly a lot of politicking and manipulation on the series, and I really dig it. Watching Henry stumble through treaties with the French and then Spanish has been fun, and Wolsey’s plottings are devious and intricate.
One thing I heard from multiple people about the series was how much they hated Jonathan Rhys Meyer’s performance as Henry VIII. I’m not too far into the series, but he hasn’t really been bothering me yet. Sure, up against old pros like Sam Neill and Jeremy Northam (who are both excellent), he doesn’t quite stack up, but I’m not seeing the trouble in the performance that I heard so much about. Then again, I didn’t really see why everyone was so down on Joseph Fiennes in FlashForward until about halfway through the series. One performance that I think has really stood out is Maria Doyle Kennedy as Katherine of Aragon. Henry’s first queen is really a bit of a tragic character in the show, watching her husband (who she seems devoted to) father a bastard child (proudly) and then woo one of her maids.
Henry is a very interesting character so far. Obviously, he is arrogant to the point of comedy. Between challenging the French king to a wrestling match and then wanting to back out of the treaty because he lost; and nearly drowning in a ditch after failing to jump it, he has proven that his ego is a little bigger than his head or his abilities. It certainly makes for an entertaining show, though.
It seems that back in the day there was a serious shortage of names. I mean, come on, were there really that many people named Tom? Henry’s advisor? Thomas More. Scheming duke of Norfolk? Thomas Howard. Scheming Bishop? Thomas Wolsey. Henry’s spy? Thomas Cromwell. Father of Anne and Mary? Thomas Boleyn. Court musician? Thomas Tallis. Seriously, it’s a little ridiculous.
I’m looking forward to finding out how the first season is going to play out. I’ve been trying my best to avoid Wikipedia, but I’m just too curious about discovering where the truth and fiction part that I find myself getting spoiled by some of the facts of history. Oh well, it isn’t ruining my enjoyment, that’s for sure.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Jul 27, 2010 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
The one thing to look out for with this show is burnout. It unfortunately gets redundant after season two, largely because Showtime needed to focus on the sensationalism of Henry’s reign, which wasn’t always the reality. So it’s like when a low-budget movie runs the same exterior shot over and over again as the star’s driving down the street.
But putting that aside, Jonathan Rhys Meyers leads a fantastic cast in a really interesting story about a fascinating time in England’s (and Catholicism’s) history. Enjoy it!
Well, there are a lot of people named Bob too. And Dave, lots of Daves over here.
You picked a good show, Bob. It does go in repeating cycles – I mean, the same things keep happening over and over to Henry (sex, broken treaty, revolution, execution, repeat), but he does change in some ways over the course of the series.
Jonathan Rhys Meyer’s Henry is annoying, I guess. (I found him less annoying in seasons 3 and 4.) But he’s the ball of energy that keeps the story going.
You couldn’t have picked a better series to follow. As Ruby said it can get a bit redundant, but never boring. Sometimes being gratuitous is all one needs (similar to Nip/Tuck). Katherine’s story was always my favorite, Maria Doyle Kennedy poured so much into that role.