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.
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.
Season 3 is now available to watch on your computer & smartphone
All the episodes from season three of the Tudors will also be available to watch on your computer, iPhone or Blackberry — from Mobovivo. On the same schedule as the CBC. To download, go to http://mobovivo.com.
Episode one is now available.
Mobovivo is a Canada-based online service which licenses and sells TV shows for viewing on laptops and smartphones.
Jonathon Rhys Meyers
I love the series and can't wait for it to return in the Fall! I still wish they would have cast the King in a better fitting portrayal tho. Don't get me wrong, I just love Jonathon Rhys Myers, but he is not the 6ft. red haired, big boned king as history tells. If we didn't know what King Henry actually looked like, it would be so believable. Not going to stop watching though!!
The Tudors
BEST show on TV..I only wish that they would continue on after Henry's death!!
They have done a spectacular job on this show!!
I loved this series and
I loved this series and can't wait for season 2 to finally air. I found it hard to get my head around Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as Henry VIII, but I'm sold now. Generally, I think the casting is pretty sound, but it's true that the Anne Boleyn character does a lot of posing. But, quite a bit of her camera time early on was in Henry's fantasies. I also think Dormer lacks that air of intelligence that Anne Boleyn totally had; this girl's more of a pretty face than anything. But, I like the chemistry between her and Henry.
I haven't downloaded season 2 - yet. I'm hoping CBC will get its act together and play it over the summer when nothing else is really on.
CBC Coproductions
I completely agree about CBC needing to wake up and stop airing its co-productions months after they are are seen overseas. The first Series of the New Doctor Who aired about 2 weeks behind the showing in the UK, and the first Christmas Special aired only a day afterwards. Since then, they've left fans waiting for for it.
Most of the Whovians I know download it well before CBC shows it, and while most make an effort to also watch the broadcast (We know all too well what low ratings will mean for our favourite show, having been subjected to a 16 year hiatus), the fact that CBC lost hundreds of thousands of views between the first part and second part of the Series 2 finale due to the fact that the DVD box set came out between the showing of those episodes, indicates that you can only stretch people's patience so far.
Same thing happened to the "adult" (if you can call it that *sigh*) spinoff of Doctor Who, Torchwood, which is another CBC coproduction. Torchwood Series 1 was meant to be viewed between Doctor Who Series 2 and Doctor Who Series 3, but instead we're only getting Torchwood now, after Series 3.
Torchwood Series 2 is supposed to be coming out in the UK early next year, but at this rate, CBC will be barely finished Torchwood Series 1 by the time it does.
Hmm
I like the Tudors. All the bowing and "your grace"s etc... can you imagine seeing that on US prime time network TV? hhahaha.. no, even though it's "soapy" it's still a comparatively sophisticated show, and Joe Sixpack probably ain't going to go for it.
And the writing is A+. The casting is damn good IMHO. The acting takes some getting used to, and I have a feeling that's the case even for the actors. There's a strange stiltedness to it that I actually like quite a bit.
The Tudors
Had to reply to this one of the opening remarks i read was, the Tudors set in 16th centery Eruope, It is in England and no most Brits do not think of themselves as European. True Spain and France feture in the show too. But the main story line is About Henry and his love life, and how henry started the break with other the Catholic, states And started England as the main player which would push France and Spain back in time. Please to you guys from the other side of the pond Brits are not realy or like being called European. They have a total diffrent Culture to us. But great show.
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