I'm just about finished watching the first season of The Tudors TV show. Set in 16th century Europe, the show is an excellent blend of sex, politics, religion, history, and of course violence that makes for entertaining television.

The irony of course is that while this series is one of CBC's main drama shows for this season, I or any other Internet user are able to download and watch the entire season whenever we want. This certainly suggests that the strategy of airing shows from other countries months after they've initially been broadcast is not all that effective with the informational efficiencies fostered by the Internet.

Personally I find it difficult to watch TV shows on a one episode per week basis. I much prefer to watch an entire season over a few days or a week. I feel far more involved in the narrative and engaged by the production as a whole.
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The Tudors was produced for Showtime in the US and aired earlier this Spring. Showtime is a pay-TV channel competing with HBO and has generous amounts of nudity and sexual content. Does make me wonder if CBC will get away with airing the show on traditional broadcast TV.

While this period in European history is genuinely fascinating, I'm not about to pretend that the show is anywhere near what a historical documentary could achieve. Arguably this isn't even docu-drama, it is however throughly entertaining, comparable to the HBO series Rome.

One thing however that I initially found offsetting, and still find a little weird, was the casting of the show. The strength of the acting ensemble is considerable, especially that of Maria Doyle Kennedy who plays the role of Queen Catherine, Henry's first wife. However there's something to the way many of the actors pose and make faces that I didn't like.

An element of the politics and celebrity of the royal court is the phenomena of seeing and being seen. So in this regard there are a lot of poses, i.e. instances in which the actors are standing still and either posing for the court or absorbing the pose of someone else. Somehow within this element of the show, I find there to be a failure in effectively conveying the power of this non-verbal form of communication.

Explicitly the character of Anne Boleyn who is played by Natalie Dormer. As the woman who Henry leaves Catherine for, she has a lot of time on camera in which she is just posing. Somehow I just find it insincere and phony, and I have trouble picturing its place in the context, nor believing the way in which her portrayal of the character evolves.

Otherwise as a whole the show is thoroughly entertaining, and I look forward to the next season. If you're in Canada this fall and don't feel like waiting for a download, definitely check out the show on CBC when it airs.