henry VIII-related stories
Posted Aug 6th 2008 9:04AM by Erin Martell
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Celebrities, Casting
R&B singer Joss Stone is giving television acting a try.
Stone is taking on the role of Anne of Cleves in season three of Showtime's
The Tudors. Anne of Cleves was Henry VIII's fourth wife; the marriage was annulled after less than a year. The role is Stone's first significant part on a TV series. She previously appeared in an episode of
American Dreams and in the film
Eragon.Fans of the singer will have to wait a while for Stone to turn up on the drama series. The third season begins with the king's marriage to Jane Seymour (played by Anita Briem), with Anne of Cleves coming into the picture later on.
Continue reading Joss Stone joining the cast of The Tudors
Posted Jun 1st 2008 10:33PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(
S02E10) I'm just going to come out and say it. I really enjoyed the season finale of
The Tudors. The wife-number-two storyline is all wrapped up. And now
next season we'll move on to wife-number-three, Jane Seymour. I think I'm even more excited for next season because I know next to nothing about Henry's wives post Boleyn drama. I know many of you history buffs will disagree, saying that you'd rather they keep to the facts because Tudor history alone is interesting enough. I feel, at this point, I'd rather just watch the story --which is basically a primetime melodrama with corsets and crowns and public executions. So, I'm not as worried about accuracy. And by the way, public executions on
Melrose Place would have been awesome.
But, enough about what's to be, let's talk about what happened tonight. My review of the season finale is after the jump.
Continue reading The Tudors: Episode 2-10 (season finale)
Posted May 25th 2008 10:40PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(
S02E09) "These bloody days have broken my heart. My lust, my youth do them depart. And blind desire of ambitious souls who haste to climb, seeks to revert. And about the throne, the thunder rolls." --Sir Thomas Wyatt (voiceover)
This was a dark episode. As much as I disliked Anne during her ascension to the throne and sided with the steadfast and pious Queen Catherine, I hated seeing Anne's demise come to a head this episode. Somewhere along the way, Anne became the victim on this show.
The Tudors, in my opinion, has done a good job of creating a multi-faceted character on the part of Anne Boleyn. Once a villain, she ended up a sacrifice to male-dominated political power play.
Continue reading The Tudors: Episode 2-09
Posted May 18th 2008 10:08PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S02E08) Much to Anne's chagrin and Henry's delight, Jane Seymour joined the queen as the new lady-in-waiting. Henry, not as athletic and spry as he once was, was injured in a jousting match. Everyone scrambled to figure out who will succeed him if he does die. Pope Paul III decided to execute the Bull of Excommunication against the king. Jane Parker started planting her seeds of revenge against her husband. And Thomas Cromwell continued to do what he's done since the end of season one, play puppet master. (Okay, puppet master is harsh.)
What an episode! My review is after the jump.
Continue reading The Tudors: Episode 2-8
Posted May 11th 2008 10:13PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(
S02E07) I need to point something out first. When they show Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the opening credits, he stares into the camera and widens his eyes just a little bit at the last second. It's perfectly sexy and haunting and dangerous at the same time. I know some readers have commented that his portrayal of Henry is insufferable at times (too much screaming "I'm the king of England" and the like). But I think Rhys Meyers' Henry VIII balances a good amount of wanting to do the
right thing (or at least
feel like he's doing the right thing) with wanting to do exactly what he wants, because after all,
he's king.
A review of tonight's
The Tudors (not just the opening credits!) is after the jump.
Continue reading The Tudors: Episode 2-07
Posted May 4th 2008 10:19PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(
S02E06) "It's called a printing press, my lord. And it will change the world." --Thomas Cromwell to George Boleyn
Thomas Cromwell continues to wage war on the Catholic Church. Henry is haunted by the death of Thomas More. A paranoid Anne loses her grip on her husband's affections. The turbulent royal couple try to fix up baby Elizabeth with King Francis's youngest son. George Boleyn marries, much to his dismay and even more to the dismay of his new wife Jane (not to mention the dismay of George's lover Mark Smeaton).
Just another day in the life of a Tudor. A review of tonight's show is after the jump...
Continue reading The Tudors: Episode 2-6
Posted Apr 27th 2008 10:05PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(
S02E05) This was by far the heaviest episode of
The Tudors I've seen. I'll get to my review of the heavier parts later. First, however, I think I'll begin with some of the lighter parts of the episode, all of which were provided by the Pope. I know I've said it before but Peter O'Toole is an invaluable addition to this show. All of his scenes were impeccable tonight (not really anything different from any other night). I think by far his best scene was after Michelangelo threw a tantrum and used foul language when one of his apprentices didn't paint Moses right. Also great but a little haunting was the pope's mention of Cardinal Fisher's martyrdom. He had this eerie expression on his face while he "lamented" that he would not be able to die for Christ like Fisher.
Read on after the jump for my full review of
The Tudors...
Continue reading The Tudors: Episode 2-5
Posted Apr 22nd 2008 8:37PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
The Tudors just got picked up for a third season slated to air in 2009. Production will begin June 16th in Dublin, Ireland and Jonathan Rhys Meyers will star once again as Henry VIII. Season three will follow Henry as he weds Jane Seymour and then Anne of Cleves.
This really doesn't come as a surprise to me. The show, when it premiered in April 2006, garnered both a large audience and critical acclaim. In fact, the series and Rhys Meyers earned Golden Globe nominations. "
The Tudors is now a fixture for us at Showtime and we're on our way to completing the entire saga of all six wives of Henry VIII," says President of Entertainment Robert Greenblatt. He goes on, "We are enormously proud of this show, the extraordinary cast, and the production team that recreates the grandeur of the Renaissance year in and year out. There is nothing like this anywhere on American television."
I only have one question,
Is season three the season they will make Rhys Meyers wear a fat suit? I love the JRM but come on, he doesn't look one bit like the real-life portly king that changed the political and spiritual landscape of England.
Posted Apr 20th 2008 10:04PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(
S02E04) The 16th century soap opera continues... George Boleyn is having an affair with Mark Smeaton. Anne's pregnant again. Henry's on mistress number two to keep him company while the bun is in the oven. Henry passed a bill making him supreme ruler of everything. Lady Mary lost her title to a little baby named Elizabeth.Trouble is brewing overseas with the French king not recognized Anne as queen and the Spanish emperor planning Anne's assassination. Now, all we need is for someone to come back from the dead or have a sex change.
I can barely keep up with The Tudors. How about you? Let's talk about it after the jump...
Continue reading The Tudors: Episode 2-4
Posted Apr 13th 2008 10:05PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(
S02E03) And to the right, my dear readers, is the main reason I watch
The Tudors. Let's face it, if they hired an actor who actually resembled King Henry VIII, I don't think this show would be quite as popular. But shameless appreciation of Jonathon Rhys Meyer's hotness aside, I
kind of like the show too. *wink*
Tonight's episode had some big plot progressions but in between was a lot of the same old stuff they've been using since the very beginning of the series. There was more Team Katharine (led by the Duke of Suffolk and loyal Catholic Thomas More) versus Team Anne (led by her family...oh, and the king). For a discussion of what happened tonight, read on after the jump.
Continue reading The Tudors: Episode 2-3
Posted Mar 22nd 2008 1:11PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, OpEd, Early Looks
If you are excited for season 2 of
The Tudors on Showtime but can't wait until it airs on Sunday March 30th, check this out. Showtime is making the season premiere available to fans online now. Just
click here and enter the password: Royal.
For an early look at the show, read on past the jump...
Continue reading The Tudors season two -- An early look
Posted Jan 28th 2008 12:30PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, TV on DVD
Period television is hard to keep on the air these days, regardless of quality or ratings. And it always seems to come down to one thing...cost. After losing
Deadwood,
Carnivale and
Rome before their time, it was with trepidation that I took a look at
The Tudors. Showtime has touted
The Tudors as the most expensive production they've ever undertaken. Looking at the extras on
The Complete First Season DVD set would seem to back this up, and it certainly shows in the beauty of the sets and costuming on display on the screen. It's been renewed for a second season, but how long will Showtime be willing to pay for it? They did seem to save some money on the editor for the packaging of the DVD set, since she/he didn't seem to know which episodes were on which disc.
Continue reading The Tudors: The Complete First Season - DVD Review
Posted Mar 16th 2007 11:05AM by Julia Ward
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Showtime, OpEd, Early Looks
So, it turns out Henry VIII isn't just that portly guy at the Renaissance Faire with a gigantic turkey leg greasing up his maw. He was an athletic would-be humanist with an over-the-top appetite for sex and a body hard enough to qualify him for gay porn, or at least, that's how Showtime's
The Tudors, the latest in bodice-ripping historical dramas, portrays him.
Continue reading The Tudors - an early look
Posted Mar 14th 2007 10:09AM by Julia Ward
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Showtime, Web
Holy history porn. If you dig
Rome, and
Deadwood does it for your fictive nonfiction-loving self, then Showtime's
The Tudors may be right up your alley. It's a journey through Henry VIII's kingship and many, many marriages with more tits, ass, intrigue and bloody violence than you can shake a royal stick at.
Showtime is offering a VIP preview of
The Tudors' first two episodes
online. (The password is "king.") The series, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, premieres on Sunday, April 1st at 10PM. The series focuses primarily on the king's affair with Anne Boleyn, his obsession with producing a male heir and the political intrigue of the court. And, did I mention that it's essentially softcore for the Anglophile set?
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