Showtime just finished Season One of The Tudors, based on the story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. We are watching it on Showtime On Demand (we just recently got On Demand in Santa Fe!).
They have an interesting Family Tree on the Showtime site.
In 2008 there will be a second season, and Peter O'Toole will be in it (as Pope Paul III).
Some reviews say the show is not completely historically accurate, but so far it has been interesting to watch.
I watched a number of these episodes last year. I'd say it was good viewing for those interested in that era (I am, since I spent one year in England a few years back) - my only problem was my expectation that Henry'd be a big ole fat guy with a beard in middle age. (the sterotypical pic!). He never got to that part of his life throughout the season last year. I reckon young and handsome sells better.
I enjoyed it very much, but didn't "stay on top of it" week to week. As for historical accuracy, who can say? Literary license, perhaps, but those intricate side plots and dialogues, etc. cannot be unravelled by even the best historian.
The people in UK sure like this era from my experience over there. A series ran on the "tellie" during that time, too - caused me to go down to Portsmouth and check out the Mary Rose - last of the Tudor warships that sank immediately upon trying to do an abrupt turn to engage the French in battle...small mystery because no shots were fired she simply foundered and sank!
I'll have to check out this year's episodes to see if Henry's aging at all.
Posts: 488 | Location: New Hampshire | Registered: 12 September 2006
The problem with Henry VIII is that history remembers him as the middle aged , fat, possibly syphilitic character typified by the Holbein picture.
Until all the problems with conceiving a male heir and the subsequent multiple wives, he was probably one of Englands better kings. Certainly his program of forest planting and ship building lay the platform for the Royal Navy, and arguably the British Empire. My family's home town of Portsmouth was greatly shaped by the king and his works.
Although historical accounts can be coloured by sycophantic courtiers, there are many reports of a young Henry being both a handsome, athletic man much given to sporting persuits before an accident saw a badly broken leg, as well as a cultured, educated amd musically talented individual.
TimW
Posts: 833 | Location: Hampshire, UK | Registered: 28 March 2005
It's running here on Friday nights. It is. I believe, what is technically known as A Romp, rather than strict history. Time, for example, is highly elastic. Henry's concerns about his marriage to Katharine went on - and must have been known to all concerned - for a good 10-15 years, and his affair with Anne Boleyn for 5 or 6 before they married. Initially he was considered- or at least talked up by his own spin-doctors - to be the young beau idéal we see here, but he was over 40 by the time of the divorce. Katharine wasn't that much older than him, nor (I suspect) was she a mopey abandoned modern wife - she ran the country for him while he was away at war. And they've definitely conflated Henry's two sisters.
It's interesting to see the international politics discussed in terms of modern political attitudes and processes. But it's easy to forget that these were still in many ways mediaevally superstitious people too.
I read several historical novels lately about Henry VIII and they talk about him being gorgeous when he was young, but that he gained a lot of weight and got ill as he was older. I think of him like "young Elvis" and "old Elvis"!
He must also be remembered for what he did to the church, mustn't he? That story, to me, is amazing. I can understand that he did not want England to be ruled by the Pope in Rome. But it was also about money - the money going from England to Rome. And when they took control of the church, the spoils were given to all the wealthy people in England - or so it seems from what I am reading. Not so different from present day in some ways.
I think his whole reign is fascinating - the physical and mental decline, the changing of religion for England, the wives, the way he would turn against people who had been close to him for years.
It is no wonder that 500 years later we are still fascinated. (He died in 1509 - in 2009 it will be 500 years.)
It is not wonder that almost 500 years later we are still fascinated. He died in 1547.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Pauline,
He was an artistic minded man as well. He wrote the ballad Greensleeves.
When the Mary Rose was raised it caused the British Museum some pain. They used to have the only Tudor arrows in existence until they started coming of Mary Rose by the thousand.
My inner pedant prompts a couple of little amendments. 1509 was when Henry VII died (and H VIII ascended the throne): H VIII died in 1547.
Greensleeves is an old chestnut. I don't know how the legend started - but he definitely didn't write it (it's firmly Elizabethan in period: late, rather than early 16th century). But he was keen on, and skilled in, music. After all, as the second son, he wasn't being trained to be king: that was Arthur's job - and so he was allowed to indulge his interests in music.
He claimed to have written several tunes (Pastyme with good companye is the most famous), though many have been shown to have been rather closely modelled on pre-existing pieces. But when the King says its his, who's arguing?
Jonathan
Posts: 2938 | Location: Stroud, UK | Registered: 18 November 2001
Originally posted by Jonathan: My inner pedant prompts a couple of little amendments. 1509 was when Henry VII died (and H VIII ascended the throne): H VIII died in 1547.
Thanks for the correction - I corrected my post! I feel like I should tattoo a list of important British dates on my arm, so I will be able to cope when in England.
Hey Pauline, I just finished watching the first season of The Tudors (a colleague had made a copy when ShowTime first aired the series earlier this year)
I thought it was quite good entertainment, although it drags a bit in the final few episodes as Henry VIII keeps trying to shed his first wife in order to marry Anne Boleyn. I suppose that is reflective of the amount of time it took him to get out of marriage No. 1! I was a bit surprised at the depiction of Anne as pretty nasty piece of work in this series, I've always had a bit of sympathy for her, given her grisly end. And I'm wondering now if the Boleyn family was quite as conniving as depicted!
I also find the character of Thomas More interesting....he's shown in the first season as burning a few heretics here and there, but not much is made of that and he still appears as a pretty sympthetic character. From the one biography of More that I've read, he was very complex and driven by some demons but so far, that hasn't come across. Mind you, he really is a pretty small character is the TV series.
It is hard to imagine Henry as a hottie, when I also have that Holbein portrait firmly fixed in my mind.
I'm looking forward to the second season. Oh, and I think Peter O'Toole doees appear very briefly in season one as the Pope -- a pretty Machiavellian kind of pope!
Well, the concept of beauty changes over time. I think he was considered the best-looking prince in Europe when he was young (it might have been the well-known phenomenon of money-induced beauty...). Or it could have been that when people are hungry a puffy price looks gorgeous. Anyway, a curiosity: protraits of Henry VIII (from a young age to his old age)
Kidding aside, he was also one of the first big promoters of tennis, and actually I think the court at Hampton Court is the oldest one that still exists (1620something). Maybe he broke up with the Pope because the latter wanted to ban tennis... over the centuries, I suppose Rock n' roll seemed a worse enemy.
We are enjoying it too and only have a few episodes left. Heaving bosoms is right - I keep thinking how uncomfortable those women must be with the dresses so tight, plus all those layers of heavy clothes!
Some of the outfits that Henry VIII wears are amazing - in episode 7, I think, he wears a black and white outfit that is striking. And what about the hat that musician wears? Incredible.
Was the musician Thomas Tallis? Having seen this thread I watched the episode that was on on Friday. I found it difficult sometimes to work out who was who. But there was some gorgeous music!
Posts: 564 | Location: West Sussex, England | Registered: 08 February 2007
It was 10 episodes and ended before he gets his divorce. Next season will probably be the divorce and the reign of Anne Boleyn.
The musician is Thomas Tallis. It is a bit complicated with all the characters. Luckily I read about 10 books this year on Henry VIII - so am starting to remember some of the names (I am very bad with names).
Originally posted by Pauline: Showtime just finished Season One of The Tudors, based on the story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. We are watching it on Showtime On Demand (we just recently got On Demand in Santa Fe!).
They have an interesting Family Tree on the Showtime site.
In 2008 there will be a second season, and Peter O'Toole will be in it (as Pope Paul III).
Some reviews say the show is not completely historically accurate, but so far it has been interesting to watch.
Has anyone else seen it?
I've always wanted to know if I could watch films online. Can I do that on Showtime on demand ? I tried it out, but it doesn't go. Maybe I'm not doing it correctly. On rai.it I can watch films in italian. Thanks for the answering.
Showtime on Demand comes with your TV Showtime subscription. I have cable (comcast) and press the ON DEMAND button and I have a section for each premium channel, plus some for free movies and some for movies you pay for. Santa Fe just got ON DEMAND a few months ago, but I think the rest of the US has had it for a long time.
If you don't subscribe to Showtime on cable or satelite, I think you have to wait until the series is released on DVD. Sometimes they are released earlier on iTunes or Amazon Unbox (you want these on your iPod or computer).
Originally posted by Pauline: Showtime on Demand comes with your TV Showtime subscription. I have cable (comcast) and press the ON DEMAND button and I have a section for each premium channel, plus some for free movies and some for movies you pay for. Santa Fe just got ON DEMAND a few months ago, but I think the rest of the US has had it for a long time.
If you don't subscribe to Showtime on cable or satelite, I think you have to wait until the series is released on DVD. Sometimes they are released earlier on iTunes or Amazon Unbox (you want these on your iPod or computer).
Thanks for answering. I don't know much about computers. I don't have a TV. So how do I subscribe with this cable or satellite? How do I do this iPod? I live in Europe. Thanks for the patience.
If you live in Europe, you will have to wait until The Tudors comes out on DVD there - it must be available now because Gloria lives in Italy and she is watching it.
ON DEMAND is part of the US cable/satelite system and you have to have a TV and cable/satelite subscription. If you had a TV in Europe, there are probably similar things.
To watch shows on your iPod, or even on your computer using iTunes, go to the iTunes store online and purchase, then download the shows. Then you watch them on your computer or sync them to your iPod. You get to the iTunes store thru iTunes which runs on your computer.
Amazon Unbox is part of Amazon.com and lets you purchase and download movies to your computer. I am not sure how this works from Europe. You can even rent movies this way.
Originally posted by Pauline: If you live in Europe, you will have to wait until The Tudors comes out on DVD there - it must be available now because Gloria lives in Italy and she is watching it.
ON DEMAND is part of the US cable/satelite system and you have to have a TV and cable/satelite subscription. If you had a TV in Europe, there are probably similar things.
To watch shows on your iPod, or even on your computer using iTunes, go to the iTunes store online and purchase, then download the shows. Then you watch them on your computer or sync them to your iPod. You get to the iTunes store thru iTunes which runs on your computer.
Amazon Unbox is part of Amazon.com and lets you purchase and download movies to your computer. I am not sure how this works from Europe. You can even rent movies this way.
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