8/9/2019 The Tudors: Historical TV or TV History?

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The Tudors: Historical TV or TV History?

Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived. Four seasons and six wives later,Showtimes groundbreaking historical melodrama The Tudors has come to an end. Mnemonic

devices aside, The Tudors went out with a ghostly bang, bringing back three of Henry VIII's

most important wives (Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boelyn and Jane Seymour--each of whombore him a monarch), in a haunting finale that pensively ushered Henry to his death.

The final episode followed Henry as he prepared for, and accepted, his own death. Henry ordersa portrait of himself as he fades, and when the painting is revealed Henrys life and loves flash

before his eyes. For four seasons, Jonathan Rhys Myers and the rest of the show broughtaudiences into the world of the most notorious king of England, more deeply and poetically than

any other show or film has been able to before.

The shows finale was a fitting end in every way, but now that The Tudors is over, what has its

impact been? Historical dramas have always been popular on film, and even in miniseries. But

sustaining a long-term television show was always questioned--untilThe Tudors

came along. Inhonor of the shows finale, heres a look back on how The Tudors challenged and quite possiblychanged the game.

The truth of historical dramas in film and TV have always been taken with a grain of salt, and

The Tudors is no different. The plot is loosely based on historical fact--loosely because whengetting into such detail with historical figures, its hard not to go wrong somewhere. What the

show does best is realize the facts and turn them into a soap opera that has garnered Showtimesome of its highest ratings ever.

Liberties were taken with many things, including the favoring of romantic myth over fact and--as

has been particularly publicized--beauty over reality. Jonathan Rhys Myers is a star, andthe

star--his dashing presence is primarily the reason the female demographic tunes in. The original

Henry VIII was 300 pounds and somewhat disgusting, and while the creators made an effort toage Rhys Myers over time, he aged very gracefully--the creators know how to keep viewers

watching.

Critically, the show did not go completely unnoticed--alongside high ratings, The Tudors

garnered two Golden Globe nominations, and eight Irish Film and Television Awards (and wonseven). The awards are a testament to the immense craftsmanship of the show, which is

unparalleled. Creating a world that existed 500 years ago takes dedication that not many showsare willing to give (and many more simply can't afford it).

One of those IFTV awards was for costume design, which is the best example of the enormity of

The Tudors craftsmanship. The sheer volume of costumes on the show is magnificent--rarelydoes one person, in this case costume designer Joan Bergin, get to delve so deeply into a timeperiod as rich as that of the Tudor dynasty.

8/9/2019 The Tudors: Historical TV or TV History?

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Some of the most beautiful dresses and jewelry came from that era, but designing costumes forhundreds of people is a mammoth undertaking. In every scene each queen has a different dress,

and Henry a different doublet. The production value is such high quality, that, if anything, theshow can be viewed as a showpiece of the time period. The feel of the court is never false,

because the world of Henry is completely brought to life by these details.

Despite any critiques surrounding inaccuracies or simplification of history, The Tudors managedto popularly revive Henrys notorious life by sheer dedication to the detail of the era as well as to

the steamy drama that drew in millions of viewers.

Period pieces are immense undertakings, especially for a TV show, yet The Tudors proved that it

can be done, and done well.

In its wake, Showtime has already announced a new historical drama coming this fall with

leading man Jeremy Irons, based on another infamous historical family--The Borgias. Yearsdown the road, and many similarly high-quality monarch-based TV shows in the future, TheTudors will be recognized as the original.