Henry VIII was a nasty bit of work who loved women, war, and God-though not necessarily in that order. Thanks to Henry, Protestants and Catholics have been killing each in England for a few hundred years and those funny little people known as Vicars have been popular in comedy skits for a almost as long.
Showtime’s The Tudors has played fast and loose with the history, but hey, who really cares? It was great TV-filled with sex, violence, and mad costume skills. I still think Jonathan Rhys Meyers was a little short for the part, but he gave Henry that perfect Elvis snarl, so I’ll forgive him his height.
It’s a story I was sort of familiar with, in the way that anyone who has read a couple of books and watched a couple of PBS shows over the years. Real history lacks the polish and glamour that made The Tudors such a wonderful show. The costumes and sets and frequent shots of The Tower of London were all pretty amazing. I also liked the few special effect shots of Henry’s folly Nonsuch Palace, which I had never heard of and would surely have made a trip to see if it were still around.
The Tudors was a great show and I will miss it.
