British King Henry VIII tries to get the permission of the church to dissolve his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon, so that he can marry his mistress Anne Boleyn; he also gets involved in conflicts involving war and religion.

CRITIQUE

Though in certain hands the tale of Henry VIII and his wives could be dry period drama, Showtime purposely set up to make this series accessible to mass audiences, meaning that there are large dollops of sex, nudity and betrayals mixed in with the historical drama.  The result works surprisingly well, achieving the difficult feat of juggling a large number of characters and storylines in clear, involving fashion, and this is well worth a look.

There are quibbles to be made here on an accuracy standpoint; it feels odd to have Henry VIII (played here by Jonathan Rhys Meyers) be such a pretty-boy, while the creators have also combined Henry’s two sisters into a single character.  There is no doubt that other liberties have been taken with characters and situations here as well, to make this as dramatic and intriguing as possible.

But this is a ripe period of history, that is explored well on a number of levels, from England’s off-and-on conflicts with France and Spain, to the rise of Lutheranism and Henry VIII’s turning on the Catholic church when they won’t give him permission to dissolve his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.  The series is in no hurry to rush through Henry VIII’s story – by the end of the ten hour-long episodes here, we don’t even get to his second marriage yet – but the machinations of the power-hungry members of the court trying to manipulate Henry VIII are so involving that the slowness never seems like a major problem.

Helping this work well is the acting, which is particularly solid, especially in regards to Rhys Meyers and Sam Neill, who plays Cardinal Woolsey; the relationship between Henry VIII and Woolsey really makes up the spine of the first season, and both actors do a good job bringing humanness and sympathy to characters who are often involved in doing unsympathetic things.  The supporting cast is solid as well.

The result is addictively-watchable, and well worth checking out before Season Two starts this spring.

THE VIDEO

The Tudors is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs.  The picture quality is generally very good.

THE AUDIO

The Tudors is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Surround and English 2.0 Dolby Surround, as well as Spanish Mono.  Dialogue, music and sound effects come through clear.  There are English and Spanish subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

There are short (4 minutes and 5 minutes) Featurettes on Production Design and Costume Design, that help give insight into how the series’ rich look was achieved on a budget.

There is a 22-minute Tour of Historical Sites of Henry VIII’s time.

There are text Biographies of ten of the main actors.

There is a Photo Gallery, though it only consists of ten photos.

There are Bonus Episodes of Showtime series Californication, This American Life and Penn & Teller BS.

FINAL THOUGHT

For a historical drama, this is sexy and accessible throughout, and is well worth a look.