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| by Beth E. Cochran with additional writing by Bridget Petrella | |
| Showtime's ‘The Tudors, Season One’— Epic and Provocative. | |
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His family’s rise
to the throne was not easy and left many in the royal court baring many
grudges. His father Henry VII took the thrown from Richard III the good
old fashion way, combat or in today’s terms, an extremely hostile
takeover. When Henry’s older brother, the heir to the throne dies Henry
is engaged to a Spanish princess, Catherine of Aragon (Maria Doyle
Kennedy) who was several years his senior. She failed to give Henry a
male heir producing only one living child, a daughter Mary (Blathnaid
McKeown). By the time of the series Henry has grown into his role but is
beset by problems both international and within his own court and house.
He is portrayed as a vibrant and virile young man with a lust for sports
(he usually wins) and a myriad of more than willing young ladies. It
would appear that his queen’s Ladies-in-Waiting were also a vast pool of
sexual partners for Henry waiting for their turn in the King’s private
chambers. |
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Beth E. Cochran is a Producer for
the TV show “Soap Talk” and has recently crowned herself “Queen
of All Soaps.” She has also been an Associate Producer for the
daytime talk show, “Dr. Phil.” Before getting her big break and
realizing her dream of making television, Ms. Cochran was a also
writer and editor for magazines such as Soap Opera Magazine,
Soapdish, Soap Opera News, Soap Opera Digest, Soap Opera Update,
Entertainment Weekly and Woman’s World. |
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History
repeats itself and nowhere is it regurgitated more often than in the
world of film and television. One of Showtime's newest original series,
"The Tudors", does just that, returning to 16th Century England to focus
on the titular dynasty that governed for more than a hundred years.
Specifically, it's the famous King Henry VIII— or Henry 8, as Showtime
likes to call him— he who stands in the spotlight. One of the most
significant monarchs to ever reign over England, Henry disputed the
religious dogma of his day, becoming the first king to actually divorce
his wife and ultimately taking five more before he died. In the midst of
the Protestant reformation, Henry defied the Pope and officially broke
his country's ties with Catholicism, establishing the Church of England
and declaring himself its supreme leader by divine right. Wisely
realizing the immense dramatic capital wrapped up in King Henry VIII's
throne, creator Michael Hirst follows in the footsteps of William
Shakespeare before him. The hour-long television series turns out to be
as apt a platform for the story as the theater stage. With a
chronologically structured series of events and a ready-made ensemble of
characters, "The Tudors" stood a very good chance of success from the
outset. And yet the show isn't very good at its outset at all. Now
that's NOT to say it doesn't get MUCH better, it does...
Affirming
any of your already sneaking suspicions about what Showtime might
crank out, the first couple of episodes are a tad bit confusing, not
particularly compelling, and seemingly far more concerned with setting a
record for nudity and orgasms in primetime than telling a story. Rather
than a meaningful account of this important chapter in Western history,
the show initially feels somewhat more akin to The CW's "Gossip Girl"...
This, of course, changes though, when the series starts to play around
with the one word that makes Henry VIII the most interesting: divorce.
Frustrated with the failure of Queen Catherine of Aragon (Maria Doyle
Kennedy) to produce a son, Henry (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, August Rush,
"Elvis") begins to look elsewhere to forge a family. Knowing that only a
legitimate son will be recognized as an heir, he becomes convinced that
he must persuade the Catholic Church to grant him a divorce. Added
encouragement comes from his newest infatuation, a young beauty named
Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer, Casanova). 
In
the lead role, Jonathan Rhys Meyers is certainly memorable but too
often vulnerable to the written word.. While he has sneering and
shouting down pat and gets his fair share of sex scenes, I kept hoping
that he'd dial it back for more personable moments... to no avail.
Impressively adopting an accent that is both English and royal, the
Irish actor doesn't realize this role's full potential but shows many
more layers as the show continues. More deserving of his recent Golden
Globe nomination for the series is Kennedy, whose portrayal of the ever
embattled Queen Catherine is sympathetic and moving. Sam Neill is
effective in the second lead role as well, forever putting his face with
Cardinal Wolsey's name. Natalie Dormer and Gabrielle Anwar deserve
mention as well, stealing some of the best scenes. The rest of the
supporting cast is a mixed bag, sometimes pleasing and perhaps more
often engaging and yet oddly mysterious. Like the show itself, the
acting improves as the episodes propel us forward. "The Tudors" debuted
in the spring of 2007, its first season spanning just over two months.
The show is scheduled to return this spring for a second but until then,
fans and newcomers alike can watch and absorb all ten episodes from the
debut season on Showtime/Paramount/CBS's recently-released The Complete
First Season DVD set. 
The
basic premise of the whole series is stated in a voice
over at the start of every episode: "You think you know a story but you
only know how it ends. To get to the heart of the story you have to go
back to the beginning’. There are a couple of things to remember about
this foreboding statement. First a lot of history happened to Henry and
his court prior to the start of this series so this is not really the
start of the story. The start here better refers to the romance between
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Next, remember that this is a dramatization
of the historical events. Many people, places and events are real but as
with any historical epic a considerable amount of dramatic license has
been taken. Once again go to the History or Biography channels for the
facts; for a greatly entertaining series stick with Showtime. Most know
about Henry VIII and his rather unique way of breaking off a marriage.
There is a nod to this on the cover of the DVD which depicts young Henry
VIII sitting on his throne with three women standing behind him. The
picture is cropped so you can see the heaving bosoms but the heads are
cut off. It has been said that it is good to be king. This would seem
especially true if you happen to take the crown at the tender age of 18
like Henry Tudor the Eighth. 
The
characters in this series make the Sopranos’ cast into boy scouts.
While Tony and his crew worry about a neighborhood or a rival gang the
characters here are playing on a global scale. When they have an
argument it might very well turn out into a real war. Like the Sopranos
though this is an extremely well written, produced and acted series. For
a show with such a large cast the audience is introduced to each member
is a perfectly paced manner. This gives you the time you need to put all
the characters and threads together but not at the expense of action.
From the first moments of the series there is deceit, murder and a
political plot afoot. There are a lot of story lines going on here but
they all mesh together perfectly. This shows a side to one of the most
famous kings in history from a completely new and fresh perspective.
This was a time when being a royal meant a lot more than the subject of
photographers and charity events. These people held real power in the
world. Every aspect of their lives had consequences on the population of
the world. Henry is shown as a powerful man but a man none the less. He
was the ‘A-List’ celebrity of his time and that frequently pulled him
into trouble. Any woman was his for the asking. No one would dare defeat
in him in sport. Still, he had to manage a kingdom in a time that was
full of change and disruption. UB
