[Dean's World] Dean: The Tudors

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Posted by Dean:
The Tudors
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1175468168.shtml


   I notice that Showtime is now running a series they're calling [1]The
   Tudors. I'm not watching it, but [2]The Queen is. She might even post
   about it at some point. If she talks me into it I might check it out
   myself.

   I love historical fiction when it's done well--by which I mean, it's
   well-written and well-acted and well-directed, and works hard not to
   be historically stupid. Yes, there will always be artistic
   license--Shakespeare made use of it liberally--but let's at least try
   to get most things right, eh?

   I must say I'm already moderately annoyed with "The Tudors" since from
   everything I read and hear about it, it is entirely about the early
   years of King Henry VIII. If that's true, why not call it "Young
   Henry" or something? Because when I first heard about it I thought,
   "Oh, it's about the Tudors, so it's going to go from Henry the seventh
   to Elizabeth the first?" Uh, no. It's about Henry the 8th, and only
   the early days of his reign.

   Mind you, Henry VIII is one of the most fascinating and historically
   consequential figures in Western history. Furthermore, it's crazy that
   we mostly remember him as the fat old king who had a lot of wives.
   Sort of like remembering Elvis Presley as a fat-middled aged guy in a
   jumpsuit with a pill habit. So there's nothing wrong with a series on
   young Henry VIII, or that looks at the complete arc of his life. But
   why not call it that? The Tudor dynasty started with his father, and
   ended with Elizabeth I long after his death.

   Oh well I'm probably just being snarky. After all I'm a big fan of
   [3]Rome, which turns out to be only about the ascension of Julius
   Caesar and the days of Augustus. If it were really about Rome it would
   be about so much more than that.

   On the other hand I very much wish someone would do a series like
   "Rome" and start with Romulus and Remus and end with, say, Justinian.
   I tend to think of Byzantium as the true heir of Rome myself, although
   past Justinian I think it becomes hard to think of there still being a
   Roman Empire.

References

   1. http://www.sho.com/site/tudors/home.do
   2. http://www.qoae.net/
   3. http://www.amazon.com/Rome-Complete-First-Season/dp/B000FJH4X2/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-1553019-7391814?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1175467727&sr=1-1/deansworld01-20