I note that The Tudors has finally found a UK home on BBC2. The Tudors is a 10 part Showtime Network series that’s just started in the US. It stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII, Sam Neill as Cardinal Wolsey and Jeremy Northam as Thomas More. In other words it’s a “British” costume drama that hasn’t been made by a British TV company. And unusually, it seems that a British co-producer wasn’t even sought (or at least signed up) prior to production. In any case, tax incentives being what they are, the series was shot in Ireland. Don’t believe any of those stories suggesting that there’s nowhere in this country suitable to shoot, which emerge when British-set period dramas are filmed abroad. It’s cheaper to shoot in Ireland or Romania or wherever.
It did strike me as very strange, that even with the full series in the can, nobody in the UK had stepped forward to buy the series. Absolutely every US series gets a British buyer somewhere down the line – it’s normally just a question of how much. I’d imagine that The Tudors is a very expensive series, and that Showtime wouldn’t just want to sell it to Living for tuppence happeny.
Anyhow, BBC2 has bitten the bullet and bought the series for broadcasting this Autumn. I suspect as well as cost, there was wariness after the expense of the last big US co-production with a US premium cable network. I’m talking, of course, about Rome – the second (and final) series of which has now aired on HBO. I’d imagine that it’s due for BBC2 sometime soon. It’s not that Rome’s a bad series, it’s just that you know it’d be handled a little differently if the Beeb had been able to take more control over it.
I’ve only seen the first episode of The Tudors – no website I can link to incidentally, since Showtime insists that it’s entire website is not meant for prying eyes from outside the US – and it’s ably done, but I’m not in a great rush to continue watching. I probably will out of curiosity, and the cast is strong. But it’s just a little lacking and the script wasn’t vibrant enough for me. We’ll see how it fares properly later in the year.
The Tudors
Tags:
Comments
2 responses to “The Tudors”
I would have enjoyed The Tudors more if someone had checked the historical detail before committing it to film! Apart from striped lawns and tarmac drives, it would have been useful not to have two kings of France out of order, not to have confused Princess Margaret Tudor (Queen of Scotland) with her younger sister, Princess Mary Tudor who was promised that she could choose her own second husband (Charles Brandon) after she was married to Louis X11 of Francen who died shortly after their marriage, NOT THE OLD KING OF PORTUGAL!!! This was followed this evening by the death in childhood of Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and bastard son of Henry VIII who actually died at the age of seventeen! I know educational standards have slipped over the last decade, but for goodness sake, do you imagine that no-one in this country studies history! Get it right and don’t insult your viewers!
Ireland has been one of the hardest hit countries in the downturn of the world economy. It is said that when Ireland gained its independence, the Irish Republic emerged as a country behind the curve, but over the next 50 years they become the richest nations of Europe. The Celtic Tiger boomed for years until recently, as the Anglo Irish Bank was nationalized amid fears of a collapse. But because of this recession Irish many turned to cab driving to sustain the needs of its people. They never granted any no fax cash advance as well as short-term loan. Radical budgets cuts appear in the prospect, as there may not be a large enough short-term loan for Ireland to keep things as they were. Just imagine how many countries suffers from this economic downturn, well I guess we should act a little fast now before it’s too late. So can we hope for miracle? Nah, I suggest let’s act now let the government know our sufferings and let’s try to pray for blessings for all our sakes.