The Tudors

By Paul Levinson 24, Battlestar Galactica, Brotherhood, Californication, Damages, Dexter, Fringe, Heroes, In Treatment, Life on Mars, Lost, Mad Men, Sanctuary, The L Word, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, The Tudors, Weeds, ...

By noreply@blogger.com (Paul Levinson) Some wonderful, decisive moments in history have been brilliantly portrayed in the past few episodes of The Tudors on Showtime. I've currently seen 8 of the new season, thanks to Showtime On Demand. Back on The Tudors, the other great moment of historical drama is the Pope's gradual declaration of cultural war on Henry VIII. You couldn't ask for a better actor than Peter O'Toole to play Pope Paul III, and his every word rings with resonance and almost cosmic authority. It won't be enough to overthrow Henry in England, but it's a pleasure to see on TV. See also ... Tooling Up for The Tudors and The Tudors: Transformations and Assassins ... John Adams Concludes, The Tudors Continues, The First Amendment Abides   [read the full post]

By Paul Levinson I saw the first episode of The Tudors, Season 2, on Showtime On Demand ... Not to worry, this is history, after all, so it's not easy to give much away, and I promise to be mum about anything embellished, in this or any review I may post before the episode's full-bodied airing... Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII and Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn are as sensual as last year, and, who cares if this Henry's a rail like Abe Lincoln and not hefty like the real Henry. Rhys Meyers' performance still carries the requisite weight. This setting of this momentous stage of history will appear on Showtime this Sunday evening. See also ... my reviews of all of last season's episodes, beginning here ... a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News   [read the full post]

By Paul Levinson Mad Men on AMC was the most original, powerful new series of the year - which is not taking anything away from Showtime's The Tudors (Henry VIII) and HBO's Big Love (polygamy today), which were also superb, also nominated, and I loved. Jon Hamm was magnificent as Don Draper in Mad Men - but I wouldn't have been unhappy, either, had nominiee Michael C. Hall won it for Showtime's delightful serially killing Dexter. And nominees Jonathan Rhys Meyers in The Tudors, Bill Paxton in Big Love and Hugh Laurie in House gave powerhouse performances, too. It was a great year for riveting drama on television. That's why I call this the Platinum Age. a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News   [read the full post]

By Paul Levinson I was delighted to find out the following today, in the Golden Globe Nominations announced for television ... Best Television Series - Drama The Tudors Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama Michael C Hall, Dexter Johnathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical Californication Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical David Duchovny, Californication Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds In the meantime, and apropos Dexter, I wanted to let you know that I have three big Dexter posters all set to give away in a brand new contest! See you on Sunday... a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News   [read the full post]