It’s raining outside. Should I stay in all day and watch this? (Episode 1 just started.)
I’ve heard of this series but have never seen any of it. Is it worth watching?
I saw a few episodes and wasn’t really impressed. It seems to go out of its way to make stuff “sexy”, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers seems to be the least Henry VIIIish Henry VIII I’ve seen.
Loved it through the Anne Boelyn phase. After that it was okay, but not nearly as riveting.
I enjoyed it as entertainment and I think the performances of the actresses that play Anne Boleyn, Katherine of Aragon and the future Bloody Mary are well worth putting up with the sexed up portions. Also, Sam O’Neill and Jeremy Northam turn in good characterizations.
He’s got the alpha male thing down. As far as Henry’s imposing size, yeah, JRM is more than a bit of a stretch.
Meh. Go rent Rome, it’ll be a better use of a rainy day.
Anyone else see the irony in match.com commercials being sprinkled throughout?
Sorry, suspension of disbelief can only go so far, and Rhys Meyers is just too shrimpy. No amount of good writing or acting can make up for that kind of miscasting.
I mean, could you watch a biography of Abraham Lincoln as played by John Goodman? Or a portrayal of George Washington played by Linda Hunt? Maybe “The Marilyn Monroe Story” starring Betty White? No.
Well, anyway, I’m into Episode 3. I’m so woefully, impossibly, disgustingly ignorant of British history (and European history in general)- at least I’m getting some names and events connected.
Couple of questions (to show my utter lack of knowledge):
Did the Duke of Buckingham have a better claim to the throne than Henry? How did Henry come to be king?
If you want to tell me to get outta here and go look up simple stuff like that elsewhere, I’ll understand.
Ha! Princess Margaret, the King’s sister, is Fiona of Burn Notice.
Which Henry? Henry VII? Henry VIII succeeded his father and had a legitimate claim through his mother, Elizabeth of York.
Henry VII usurped the throne by force based on an extremely tenuous claim, descending from an illegitimate birth in the female line ( Edward III’s younger son, John of Gaunt, founder of the legitimate Lancaster line, had several illegitimate children via a mistress - one was John of Beaufort, ancestor of Henry VII’s mother ). In addition his grandfather Owen Tudor had been married to Henry V’s widow, so his father had been the half-brother of King Henry VI on the female side.
After staring a bit, no, if we’re talking this Duke of Buckingham his claim appears infinitesimally weaker than Henry VII’s already weak claim. Both were descendants of John of Beaufort, but the Buckingham line was via a younger son than Henry’s ancestor.
Probably talking about this Duke of Buckingham, who was alive during Henry VIII’s time (and was executed on suspicion of planning to overthrow Henry).
What Captain Amazing said.
Ah. Well then, definitely not - Henry VIII had a much stronger claim to the throne through his mother in legitimate straight line descent from Edward III, never mind he was the son of the preceding king ( usurper or not ).
The key thing is, is BBCA showing titties? I’ll Tivo it if so. If not, forget it.
You mean the mother who was the result of a bigamous union, and the granddaughter of a lowborn French archer? 
Fie on thee, Captain Cad!
Elizabeth Woodville was widowed before marrying Edward IV - no bigamy from that end.
And while Edward IV probably was screwing Eleanor Butler at one point, Richard III’s manipulated accusation of a pre-contract seems rather implausible. For one thing not a shred of evidence to that effect was ever produced and if there had been any it is odd that Edward IV’s enemies ( and those of the greedy and numerous Woodville clan ) had never produced it in the twenty years before.
For shame, besmirching that fine lady!
Hey, we all have to start somewhere ;).
I don’t believe either the precontract story or the Blaybourne story, but they’re still fun.
I enjoyed the first season of The Tudors. Turns out when I had trouble with the casting too, after I looked Henry up, turns out he was very athletic and fit in his younger years, and didn’t become the hefty fella we all know until after a jousting accident and never healing, plus additional health problems as he got older. It was documented fairly well in the series, though I don’t recall them putting Rhys-Meyers in a fat suit during the third season. It can be argued whether they should have, to keep his physique historically accurate. I think it ultimately didn’t matter. His physical debilitation was shown just fine.
First season was fun and sexy with a healthy young Henry. Seasons two and three weren’t nearly as much fun or sexy. Knowing what I know now, stopping at the first season ender would have been just fine.