Tudors S1-S2

[Temis the Vorta]

No spoiler code needed, whoopee! Except for the parts where they get "creative" with history.

S2 was better and less silly/sleazy than S1. My major complaint with the show is that I already know too much about the frakkin' Tudors so it's hard to care too much about Henry's increasingly pathetic marriages going forward.

But at this point, I think I'd keep watching for Cranmer and Cromwell by themselves because those are two very fascinatingly written and acted characters. Particularly knowing how they end up (and I doubt history will be re-written in their cases...I sure hope not!*)

My favorite scene of the series so far is when Cranmer rushes in to Cromwell's office to try to defend their erstwhile ally, Anne, from the obviously trumped up charges against her and does a nifty 180 when he realizes he's putting his fool neck on the block. Then Cromwell chillingly explains exactly why they have to throw her under the bus, to use current political parlance...

*Creepy detail about Cromwell insisting that Henry keep his promise to allow a skilled swordsman to cleanly and humanely lop off Anne's head, since Cromwell himself didn't meet as clean a fate...

How much time does S3 cover? Is this series going to keep chugging forward past Henry's reign?

 

[T'Bonz]

I read on Wiki that S3 will cover the Cleves and Howard marriage.

 

[Bishbot]

They won't let Henry get fat in order to maintain his "sex appeal" - that renders the series utterly ridiculous.

Normally I can deal with liberties taken with history to make better drama, but this is a big one, is there anyone watching this show who doesn't know what Henry VIII looked like?

 

[Holdfast]

They won't let Henry get fat in order to maintain his "sex appeal" - that renders the series utterly ridiculous.

Normally I can deal with liberties taken with history to make better drama, but this is a big one, is there anyone watching this show who doesn't know what Henry VIII looked like?

He was supposed to be pretty buff in his younger years (the ones depicted so far in the series) in real life. He only became the whale-like Holbein caricature we all know later on.

But at this point, I think I'd keep watching for Cranmer and Cromwell by themselves because those are two very fascinatingly written and acted characters.

Yep, very well done characters.


I kind of like this series. Not enough to make it regular viewing, but I always enjoyed watching when I stumbled upon it. They massage history rather than rewriting it totally, which is also appreciated. The good cast helps a lot.

 

[Bishbot]

He was supposed to be pretty buff in his younger years (the ones depicted so far in the series) in real life. He only became the whale-like Holbein caricature we all know later on.

Oh yeah, I know, he was supposed to be a great athlete - tennis player and so forth, but the producers have already said that he won't be getting fat at any point in this series - which is ridiculous.

 

[AJBryant]

He was supposed to be pretty buff in his younger years (the ones depicted so far in the series) in real life. He only became the whale-like Holbein caricature we all know later on.

Ummm... yeah, but....

He was over FORTY when he married Anne Boleyn -- well past his "buff" days already. They are continuing to use a studly buff Henry WELL into what *are* his Holbein years.

I can't watch the show because, as a historian, it offends me to the core.


Tony

 

[Temis the Vorta]

They won't let Henry get fat in order to maintain his "sex appeal" - that renders the series utterly ridiculous.

Really, they aren't going to make Jonathan Rhys-Meyers wear fat suit? That final scene of S2 implied to me that Henry was about to pork out.

Anyway, the guy has zero sex appeal to me, he's far too big of a psycho. He went past the point where we could sympathize with all the terrible stress of being king and not being able to marry the woman he loves etc etc in S2 and now he just strikes me as a megalomaniac.

And this series is probably being complementary to the guy. The Henry in the series was at least likable for a season and a half. In real life, I'll bet he was a spoiled megalomaniac from the start.

 

[T'Bonz]

Plus Henry was a redhead, and the actor is dark.

As someone who knows a great deal about the Tudors, I cringe at the inaccuracies. But it's still a fun watch. It's just heavily fictionalized.

 

[Nick Ryder]

Y'know this is the first series to have a husband kill his wife... without a big CSI like "Find the clues!" jag.

 

[bigdaddy]

I like the fact people still bitch over the fact he's not fat. The timeframe of the show to real life is amaizng and people still choose to bitch and moan and cray a fucknig river a skinny Henry! It's a fucking fictional TV show based loosely on history.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

If they don't give a flip about history, why bother making it a show about some guy named "Henry VIII" who bears no actual resemblance to some other guy who really existed and had the same name?

Most of the reason the show is interesting is because it does have some relevance to history. The same story told about entirely fictional people would be far less meaningful or even entertaining. Henry stirring up shit about his marriage had actual consequences that shape the world we live in today. Some fictional guy stirring up shit about his marriage would be boring and pointless.

 

[Bishbot]

I like the fact people still bitch over the fact he's not fat. The timeframe of the show to real life is amaizng and people still choose to bitch and moan and cray a fucknig river a skinny Henry! It's a fucking fictional TV show based loosely on history.

Well, people around here get pretty annoyed when fictional Star Trek history gets bent out of shape... so can you really blame those who know actual FACTUAL history that HAPPENED getting a bit cross when they know that what actually happened was just as, if not more, interesting than what's being shown on tv.