#THE TUDORS SEASON 1 EPISODE 1 SEX SERIES#

I am sure it will be said that The Tudors is ShowtimeвЂ™s answer to HBOвЂ™s The Sopranos. Much of the episodes are filled with the whispers of political rivals, beheadings, jousts, tennis games, and sexual liaisons. Gorgeously filmed in Ireland, each episode contains multiple scenes of HenryвЂ™s life in his castles and his court, with all the details of furniture, costumes, tableware and music carefully recreated. Showtime has spent close to $40 Million on The Tudors. For example, relations with France sour after Henry loses a wrestling match to the French king.

It is fascinating to watch him wield power autocratically and impetuously. We also see Henry launch an English navy. It is interesting to see the beginning of the Renaissance when Henry talks with his advisors, Cardinal Woolsey and Sir Thomas More, about the new Humanism movement of human worth and individual dignity. And internally, Henry must guard against traitors and usurpers. England, France, the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope jockey for position with alliances made and broken as well as treaties signed and ignored. The European political situation at this time is also very complicated. She is portrayed as a calculating vixen who seduces King Henry at her fatherвЂ™s bidding. Also disturbing Henry is his lack of a male heir, which he fears is caused by GodвЂ™s disapproval of his marriage. To keep relations with Spain on an even keel, Henry VIII married ArthurвЂ™s wife, Katherine of Aragon (daughter of Ferdinand II and Isabella I).ДЄlthough Katherine vowed that her marriage to Arthur had not been consummated, the question of the validity of Henry and KatherineвЂ™s marriage and the efficacy of the PopeвЂ™s dispensation to allow the marriage haunt Henry. Henry VIII was the second son of Henry VII and only rose to power upon the death of his older brother, Prince Arthur. He took the throne despite his convoluted claim to it following the War of the Roses. His father, Henry VII, was the first Tudor. King Henry is not yet thirty years old in the first episode that begins in 1520, but he has been on the throne since 1509. Not only did they hold my interest despite my hazy condition, but they also intrigued me enough to search out my old textbooks on English history.

I watched six episodes of The Tudors while I was home with the flu. HenryвЂ™s youthful impetuousness is complemented by a superbly understated Sam Neill as the crafty Cardinal Thomas Woolsey, with Jeremy Northam as the earnest Sir Thomas More, and Natalie Dormer as the fetching Anne Boleyn. The Tudors has a great cast, starring hunky Jonathan Rys-Meyers ( Elvis, Match Point, Mission, Impossible III) as young King Henry VIIIвЂ¦.looking nothing like the famous Holbein portrait of the rotund 40 year old King. Filled with war, sex, intrigue and religion, the ten episodes of The Tudors focus on Henry VIIIвЂ™s early reign from 1520-1530.

#THE TUDORS SEASON 1 EPISODE 1 SEX SERIES#

Strong acting, gorgeous sets, beautiful costumes and the fascinating historical period combine to make the series come alive. The Tudors, an exuberant and engrossing series about young King Henry VIII, begins on Showtime on April 1st at 10:00 PM ET/PT.

The tudors season 1 episode 1 sex