I am Henry VIII I am

I just finished watching The Tudors series on Showtime, the first season. My overall impression improved with each episode.

In the beginning my opinion was so-so. The first few shows seemed to rely heavily on near-pornographic sex scenes and young, beautiful, tan??? actors with plucked eyebrows and closely cropped facial hair. I thought it a cheap bone to throw given how ridiculously interesting and dramatic the subject matter was. Henry VIII was a magnificent clusterfuck; the court life alone was riveting, even without all the beheadings.

I stayed with the series because I was gripped by history. I even went online and read up on the Tudors to better understand it all. I vaguely remember my teachers trying to tell me about this reign in history class, but it was taught with such dry boringosity (today's word! AAAHHHHHHHHH!!! *ring bells* *lights flicker*) that I feel rather effing cheated that I didn't better absorb this story.

Actually, once Henry's whorebag sister Mary Rose died, with her lip injections and Hollywood Tan, the series really picked up. It's like the writers came off their make it sexy and flashy just to get past the first five episodes so we secure funding and then can make it a real work of art contract. Damn, it got enjoyable.

The supporting actors were fantastic. They more than made up for the leading man and lady's ridiculous affected English accents. And if either of them are native Brits, their speech coach needs to ease off the hallucinogenics.

Overall, the entire series was well acted except for my questionable criticisms on the characters of Henry and Anne Boleyn. I thought the actor Henry Cavill (Duke of Suffolk) would have made a better Henry VIII, actually. He was more suited to the role. He is one I'll be watching and following, for sure. Despite being burdened with the most beautiful male faces I have beheld in this life time, Henry's actually a damnably good actor, dramatic, funny, and easy going, and made the evolvement of his role's character actually believable.

Ohhhh, Henryyyy.....


















Wait here's another one...























oh just one more...........





What was I talking about again?

Oh right. The Tudors. The one artistic aspect I don't quite understand is how in the first few episodes the men have these shorn heads like they stepped off a college Lacrosse bus for a state championship game. With each progressive episode, their hair grew out as both the characters and the writing matured on the show.

By the end, the writing had finally burned up its adolescent buzz of soaring CGI castles, opulent excesses of wardrobe and jewelry, and overacting-for-the-pilot that brought a bit too much 21st century into the 16th century background. The writing turned lean, mature, dramatic, with well timed reaction shots and the elimination of some of the more frivolous dialogue that made me think an "O no you DIDN'T!" was constantly about to be sprung.

I'm glad the season burned off the excess glitz and let the story come alive by itself. The second to last episode with the charges of high treason, the torture, and the executions was expertly done. I thought that was by far the best written, acted, directed and episode of the season. Even better than Anne's death - which I lamented in the beginning of the season, and was rooting for by the end :)

I highly recommend this series. And can't wait for next year ;)