British History a la Television

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This last year several friends asked if I’d ever watched Showtime’s series The Tudors. Then, learning that I had not, each suggested that I might like it. In April, I succumbed and visited my Netflix queue, adding the first season of The Tudors to the lineup and sliding it to the top. With unplanned timeliness, the last movie I viewed, courtesy of Netflix, before commencing the foray into the realm of The Tudors was A Man for All Seasons, Sir Thomas More’s story during the very time frame the series begins.

And so I have started season one and am currently about half way through. Unlike my pattern while viewing a season of Lost, one episode per sitting fills me up. Watching Lost is like the adrenaline rush of skiing—amassing the details of slope, snow, skis, body, and speed at the very edges of control. Watching The Tudors is like reading The New York Times—intellectual density requiring focused analysis and critical questioning but often a satisfying endeavor in the end.

As one who has always thought Henry VIII and his world appalling on most levels, I have found it intriguing to watch an actor I like—Jonathan Rhys Meyers—portray him. This production does not attempt to rewrite history (at least with regard to Henry’s ego, ambition, and appetites) and so Henry does not endear himself to much of anyone in the viewing audience, but Meyers’ portrayal, as my friend Molly points out, does capture the charisma Henry must have exerted over so many.

The accepted brutality, social injustices, and unrighteous male dominance of this era often shock me; in fact, the perceived status and worth of women in is chilling. Granted, women learned ways of surviving, even how to achieve certain kinds of power, and in this sexed up production one witnesses first hand the feminine wiles employed at court. Really the only character I like very much so far is Sir Thomas More; one can’t help but admire his humanism, honor, and integrity. The few moments I almost like Henry are when he and More are discussing politics, law, or religion.

However, this last week I have had the boxed set of Lost, season four, in my possession, and Lost continues to sustain its preeminence in my viewing habits. Two more discs to go before I can return to the realm of King Henry VIII—despite the King in the guise of Jonathan Rhys Meyers!

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