The Tudors!

LauraMax

LauraMax

Cathlete
Has anyone seen this? If yes, why didn't you tell me about it? }(

I've been on a quest for a decent night time drama & boy does this one fit the bill.......hadn't even heard of it until I saw a commercial over the weekend. So apparently it just started on Showtime & I caught the 3rd episode last night. I think they're re-running the first 3 epis this Saturday night.

Anyway, kind of like HBO's Rome but is the court of Henry VIII--one of the most fascinating times in history for me. I am just loving this--the wardrobe, the court, the politics, the drama--it is so much fun! I'm sorry it took me 3 weeks to discover it but I am definitely hooked!
 
Jonathan Rhys Meyers is fun to watch too. }(

I have seen parts of this, but haven't been home enough lately to catch all of the first three episodes. I'll have to set the DVR to record them. :)
 
"Fun" is putting it mildly. I could eat that boy up w/a DQ spoon. :9

Try to record it this Sat. night. That way you'll have all 3 in a row. Personally, having no life, I plan on watching it live. :p
 
I caught one episode last weekend (the one where Anne Boleyn is entering the picture). I can't wait to see more! I didn't even realize it was a series, I thought it was one of those mini-series things. Thanks for the heads up!

Marie
 
The one & only thing that bothered me was they left out Anne's older sister Christina. She was Henry VII's first mistress & bore him a son who was an heir to the Tudor throne. She also had a daughter by him. Christina, Anne & their brother were regulars at court (also rumors of an incestuous affair betw. Anne & their brother--his name escapes me right now--but I don't think they're documented rumors). This show kind of blows that off & pretends Anne just showed up unknown & unannounced one day.

I guess it's silly of me to expect historical accuracy from TV. I need to let it go & enjoy the series, b/c I think it's gonna be a keeper.
 
I could have this totally wrong (cuz I only saw bits and parts), but I think that they did show Christina in the first two episodes. They called her Mary though. She was his mistress, but he was getting bored of her, so Anne's father sent her there to try and get his interest. It was a political move on their part. Not sure how historically accurate that is though.

p.s. I just noticed that Henry Cavill is also in this series. He is SO HOT!!! Way hotter than Meyers. I'll have to look for him when I watch the full episodes. This is the first time I have seen him in anything other than the Count of Monte Cristo.
 
Actually, Mary was another Boleyn sister and I'm pretty sure he married her at some point after chopping off Anne's head. The obsession with male heirs and all....

Laura, I never heard of the third sister. But then I haven't read any historical accounts recently. I did read "The Other Boleyn Girl," though and highly recommend it. :)
 
I looked her up and I think Laura was referring to Mary. According to her biography she was Henry's mistress at one point and had a child by him. She wasn't one of his wives though. And it was after that affair that he married Anne.
 
>"Fun" is putting it mildly. I could eat that boy up w/a DQ
>spoon. :9
Better do it soon...Henry was quite a looker when young, but ended up being very obese (all that 'kingly' food) and suffering from gout.

Years ago, PBS had a series on Henry the VIIIth, and it was fascinating.
 
On the recommendation of someone from this board, I am reading The Other Bolelyn right now. In the book Henry does have an affair with Mary with Anne and George manipulating it. I'm about 100 pages in and I'm really enjoying it. Being an English major I just love this time period. I'm also going to read King Henry VIII by Margaret George. I think someone also recommended that, too.
Ellen
 
You are absolutely right. It was Mary, not Christina (don't know where that came from but I also addressed a letter to a guy named Ray today calling him Mario :eek: ). Henry never married Mary but Anne managed to hook the king.

Marie, I read that book & loved it! It was so much fun to read historical fiction, as opposed to historical romance.
 
>On the recommendation of someone from this board, I am
>reading The Other Bolelyn right now. In the book Henry does
>have an affair with Mary with Anne and George manipulating it.
>I'm about 100 pages in and I'm really enjoying it. Being an
>English major I just love this time period. I'm also going to
>read King Henry VIII by Margaret George. I think someone also
>recommended that, too.
>Ellen

Margaret George is great. Also there's a book about Catherine of Aragon (Henry's poor first wife) by Garrett Mattingly, very well written & actually taught in some college history classes.
 
Ok, then, who was the wife after Anne? It was Mary someone, right? Because Anne give birth to Elizabeth and then someone (I am assuming it was one of the next wives since there was so much contention over who would get the throne) had Mary. Anyone know offhand?

ETA - ok, I checked Wiki. Mary was actually the daughter of Catherine of Aragon (the first wife). I always thought she came after... very interesting!
 
I had to look up Henry's wives. They were Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymor,Ann of Cleaves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr. He divorced Katherine of Aragon and Ann of Cleaves.He beheaded Ann Boleyn and CKatherine Howard. Jane Seymor died. Kathrine of Aragon was Mary's mother. Who was Edward's mother? Anne Bolelyn? She was also Elizabeth I mother.
Ellen
 
My DH has this set to record on his DVR! He loves this show! Laura- thanks for the heads-up on the first three episodes running back to back. I missed the first 3, but watched part of one the other day and really enjoyed it! I will have to set my DVR for it!
 
Jane was Edward's mother. He became King as a boy, and, being extremely sickly (ahhh, yes, the inbreeding of the royals) for a very short time, and the crown, through a lot of political haggling and greed, went to poor little Lady Jane Grey (the nine-days queen), who was beheaded by Mary, (aka Bloody Mary), Henry's daughter from Katherine of Aragon, after she was rightly given the throne . Elizabeth was Anne's.

After Jane died, shortly after giving birth, Henry had a "fix-up" with Anne of Cleves...basically, she was good politically, but too unattractive for Henry (plus the poor thing could hardly speak any English). Marriage was annuled. He later married Anne Boleyn's cousin, the beautiful, but rather stupid, Kathrine Howard, who learned NOTHING from her poor cousin, and had many affairs, which, of course, paranoid Hal found out about, and had her beheaded...she got the axe; Anne had been given a choice, and chose a sword, which was supposed to have been much more "humane." Finally, there was Catherine Parr, who outlived him, before he found her doing anything that pissed him off royally (pardon the pun).
 
Oooh what fun! I love chatting history. So glad I found a bunch who enjoy it as much as I do!

So your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to report back on Monday re. your thoughts on the 1st 3 episodes. ;)
 
Can't help with upcoming episodes...I saw about 30 minutes of the first one and it was just too "Henry VIII in the OC" for me. I was expecting something more historically accurate or significant.

But, at least it seems to be getting people interested enough to read up on the real history (and I don't mean "The Other Boleyn Girl"). But, hey, my first introduction was the book and then movie "Anne of the Thousand Days" when I was in ninth grade, and it was not accurate by any means. I've been reading about this crazy family (and Henry's "administration") ever since.

I do hope that the series will go (or has gone) into some depth about the most important aspect of it all, and that is Henry's start of the Church of England and England's split from the Catholic Church. That's the thing that has had the most powerful and long term effects.

Enjoy!
 
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