It’s unfortunate that these two medieval costume dramas are airing during the same time-they are near clones of each other. They are both about intrigue, betrayal, infidelity, and the sordid underbelly of the world of Kings. I like them both, but they are very similar in their story lines-at least, so far.
George R R Martin is a famous Sci Fi writer, though to be honest I am not familiar with much of anything he has written. But I like fantasy and science fiction, so I was a bit excited to see that Game of Thrones was going to be an HBO production. Thus far, Game of Throne is nothing but politics. The only hint that there might be something odd afoot was in the opening of the first episode, where a group of zombies killed a group of soldiers. Since then, it’s been all the usual Henry VIII kind of plots-sex and violence and death of innocence. There is also the added oddness of a little person who has nothing to loose and likes to spout bits of semi-wisdom.
The Borgias tells the story of a Pope and his family in the time of Leonardo Da Vinci, The Medici Bank of Venice, and various and sundry other famous names from the Renaissance Period. The main thrust of the story is the sexual escapades of the Pope and his children, a randy lot who live to have sex with everything that moves-even their spouses once in a while. Then there is casually killing of anyone who gets in the way of any Borgias going anywhere. I guess we are supposed to be shocked and horrified by this kind of behavior from someone as august as a Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, but frankly, this is pretty much ALL I expect from any Clergy of any Church.
Both shows have great costumes, great sets, and great actors-a lot of great actors. They are also both guilty of trying a little bit too hard to shock us with their random acts of cruelty and bloody violence and bits of nudity and sex. Like many shows of their type, there are no heroes here, only varying degrees of villainy. But I still like both shows, even if they are a bit over the top.
