Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived. If you don’t know what this phrase refers to, you probably don’t watch the wonderful show The Tudors. To a history buff like myself, this show is a match made in heaven. Not to mention Jonathon Rhys Meyers as Henry the Eight. I’ve seen portraits of Henry Tudor and Meyers is much easier on the eyes. This show is fascinating to watch for many reasons.
To see Henry progress from a young man with his first queen, Katherine of Aragon, aging slowly and painfully until his final marriage to Katherine Parr, who is played so well by Joely Richardson is a joy to behold. I found myself feeling empathy even for Anne Boleyn. Scheming vixen that she was, she was falsely accused and convicted mainly because she failed to give Henry the son he so desperately wanted. Katherine Howard was portrayed as silly and childlike. Her fully adult carnal nature led to her downfall.
In this Showtime production Henry the Eight comes off as almost a monster. His desires are the most important thing in the world to him and woe to anyone who thwarts him. I hardly watch network programming anymore thanks to the excellent variety of shows found with my satellite tv plus hd dvr package. I only wish they had continued The Tudors into the reign of Elizabeth the First. This was one of my favorite shows of all time still.
