For me, I began watching The Tudors for the simple historical aspect of it. As well as the attention to detail in set design and costuming- what can I say, I'm a theatrical conoseur. It all just jumps off the page of history in all its variant hues and textures. I can appreciate that.
Created by Michael Hirst and staring a cavalcade of actors including Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Henry Cavill,, Natalie Dormer, Peter O'Toole and Maria Doyle Kennedy (to name a few). The show was on air for 4 seasons on Showtime and had somewhat of a rotating door of talent. I mean we are talking about a time and setting where average life expectancy was 40's and 50's. That coupled with the bloodlust of government officials with personal agendas and you understand why a handful of characters made it from season to season. (That's as close as I get to a spoiler, I promise)
The story follows English King Henry the eighth as he sought to marry women who could give him a male heir to the throne. Those of you familiar with history know that this pursuit lasted for quite some time. This show details that pursuit. (That's as close as I get to a spoiler, I promise)
After watching the first episode I began feeling for certain characters and developed certain expectations. Expectations in a historical drama are readily disappointing. I mean, history books can only be open to so much interpretation. They already written. When a person is recorded as dying, there isn't wiggle room to accommodate interpretation. He dead. This was especially true as I watched on into the second season. (That's as close as I get to a spoiler, I promise) Being a fan of history and the richness it can offer us, I knew about certain things. Some I anticipated, but others I wished that I had somehow been confused or mistaken about my memory of history. The other thing I felt was that the portrayal of Henry the VIII, was accurate, and made me dislike the character. His relatability and likability faded as the series continued. He was a whinny, tantrum throwing, horn ball so and so who abused his power every opportunity given him. It's usually not a good sign when you are praying for the main character assassination in the 4th episode of a 4 year series.
Technically speaking, the acting was top notch. However, the CG palace shots at the beginning of most season 1 episodes lacked a certain air of realism. Couldn't pin point it but something was a miss. Then there was the boobs. No, I don't mean silly folk who do dumb things. I mean actual boobs. There was at least one shot of woman's breasts in every episode. I haven't seen that many racks since I was shopping for shelving at Ikea. Not complaining necessarily, I just think that the angle and intent could have been more tasteful and not so "soft porn". I guess that why the channel is called SHOWTIME.
Ultimately, I am captivated by the series, so far, and am still watching it. So don't ruin it for me.
4 out of 5 stars- (likely to change- once I've completed the series)
My father and sister both watched that series religiously. (I think they both have copies of all 4 seasons.) They are both big history buffs and my sister is obsessed with Tudor England and any and everything to do with King Henry VIII and his many wives. Sometimes I was at home when they were watching it and sometimes just my mom was home with them. I soon understood why my mother was doing word searches and other puzzle games that kept her attention on paper instead of the TV screen. There was so much sex and masturbating in that TV series. I was disgusted. I was looking forward to seeing them for the historical content but they kept throwing in sex and more sex. Now, I'm sure Henry VIII had many affairs and lots of sex with lots of women but it doesn't need to be shown in every single episode on TV. Not to mention I liked looking at characters with their costumes ON so that I could see the detail and not OFF where I instead see an actor's body. It also strayed in other areas and like the TV Series "Rome" they use modern-day cuss words in the late 1500s - early 1600s. That really bothers me. If you're going to cuss in a TV series or movie do so in the way your character would have in that time period! Otherwise it seems to me like the actors were breaking character whenever they said those words which is not what I wanted to see. At least I knew that the "Tudors" TV series was limited to the lifespan of Henry VIII at the most and also limited by how many times he got married and/or divorced his certain number of wives. (That's as close as I'll get to a spoiler; although, if you know anything about King Henry VIII then you most likely know how many wives he had.) I was glad that I did not have to sit in the living room and watch the show whenever I was home. I normally went to my room and read books with the door shut so that I didn't have to hear the sounds of people on TV having sex and cussing in modern day language. The series was really disappointing to me and the only thing I did like were the costumes and only when they were ON the actors. I hope you find it more enjoyable than I did.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there was an overwhelming amount of sexual content. Having finished the series, I think that they were trying to convey that one of Henry's primary motivations was satisfying his "physical needs". However, I also agree that the sexual content was distracting from the main story. We don't need to see sex to know that it happened. And regarding the "swearing", I too wished that this would have been limited. Supposedly though, the "f" word was an acronym for "fornication under the consent of the king." I'm not sure how reliable the source was, but still thought it was interesting.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, I found the series interesting with political intrigue and character development (and disembowelment). The design and production value seemed top notch. And the actors really did well to make me feel something...even if it was disgust. :)