The Tudors - A New Showtime Series

Showtime's new original miniseries, "The Tudors", has begun. The focus is on King Henry VIII of England as a young man. Full of warring and wenching, Henry VIII has visions of himself as the next Henry V, and is obsessed with begetting a male heir. The first episode aired on April 1, 2007, the second tonight. The first two episodes are also available on Comcast OnDemand and on the Showtime website for free.

Written by Michael Hirst (Elizabeth, 1998) the script presents a compelling tale, well researched, although taking some dramatic liberties. The sets and costumes are sumptuous, and the acting is first rate. Sam Neill is great as Cardinal Wolsey and Jeremy Northam as Sir Thomas More is an inspired casting decision as well.

I am loving it, quite frankly. I am somewhat troubled, however, by the historical discrepancies in the script. While I concede that a screenplay (or teleplay in this case) does have certain requirements for the purposes of dramatic conflict, some of these "intentional mistakes" are quite egregious. And every time the script makes "time out of joint" leaps, my skin crawls. Why, oh why did they make some of them? The show could have been such near-perfection!


That all said, I can't wait till next Sunday! Anyone else watching this? What do you think?