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The Tudors

Jonathan Rhys Meyers as King Henry VIII and Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn in The Tudors
  • Posted at 11:34am
  • 29 July 2008
  • by AlisonGraham-RT
  • 1 comment

Well, what have we here? Is this The Tudors, a historical drama, or is it some sexy romp packed with men in cloaks looking askance at one another across rather lovely refectory tables as the women drape themselves over the furniture, bosoms heaving like twin Heston Blumenthals peering over a wall? Is Hugh Hefner perhaps directing?

Well, no, as it happens, but yes, it is The Tudors, because that's sloe-eyed young Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII, hurling himself around like a boy-band member who doesn't like the after-show sandwiches. Or should I say that's young Jonathan Rhys Meyers AS HENRY VIII BECAUSE HE SHOUTS A LOT. And, bless him, Rhys Meyers does his best, but his Irish origins do leak out a bit from time to time DURING ALL THAT YELLING.

But the very best bit of Friday's opening episode, the first of the second series, lasts just over four minutes and is right at the beginning. You know how American TV dramas do those "Previously, on [insert name of drama here]…" little catch-ups at the start of their episodes, possibly aimed at dense viewers who can't retain information from one week to the next because they're too busy thinking about where the next tub of coleslaw is coming from?

Well, there's a minor miracle of the most brilliant editing in the four-minute summary of series one - yes, just four minutes to encapsulate knocking on ten hours of rich and fruity telly - that precedes the new series-two action. Crikey, it's exciting.

You might remember series one as being a bit patchy, though it had its moments. Well, think again! The bite-size encapsulation makes it look like Casino Royale meets David Starkey (now there's a thought). The bums! The boobs! The cardinals! The sexy leather riding clobber! The beheadings! The drinking! The treason! The real tennis played in slashed vests! The manly chests! The necklaces! The woodland! The annulment! Crikey!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if acres of other TV series could be dispatched in such a neat way? Think of all the hours you could save watching boiled-down versions of whole series of, say, New Tricks: old men! Unlikely plot! Down the pub! Preposterous solution! Or Heartbeat: the stranger in the village! The crime! The absurdly literal use of 60s music! Everyone lives happily for ever! Or House: the patient! The mystery illness! The brush with death! The stubble! The look in Hugh Laurie's eyes when he knows, by George, that he's got it!

Anyway, you get the idea. Try it yourself with some of your favourites. I guarantee it will give you hours of fun. Now if only I could edit my life in such a way…

**

Alison Graham is TV editor of Radio Times.

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  • Posted on 02 August 2008
  • at 1:33pm
  • by mazza

Pedant alert. I'm surprised to see Alison Graham describe Jonathan Rhys Meyers as 'sloe-eyed' - sloes and therefore sloe-like eyes are black or at least very dark, but Mr JRM's eyes are noticeably pale.

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