I’m a sucker for historical drama. Maybe it’s because I never paid attention in high school history class, and these vast re-tellings (for all of their historical inaccuracies) serve as my personal “History for Dummies” guide. Maybe it’s because I love those glorious costumes and settings that speak of a time of more grace and pageantry.
Anyway, in our household on Sunday evenings we’ve been in a bit of a quandary. When 8:00 p.m. comes round (we live in the Central time zone) we are faced with the choice of two grandly staged historically-based television series. It’s not so much a question of what to watch (because we eventually will watch them both), but what to watch “real time” and what to TiVo for later consumption.
Showtime is in its second season of The Tudors, a lavish production starring Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as a younger (and a bit too buff for the 16th Century) Henry VIII. HBO, doing its bit for American history, has been featuring John Adams, starring Paul Giamatti, against the backdrop of this country’s earliest days. It’s an interesting study in contrasts, as John Adams mainly focuses on the inner workings of a new nation, its politics and the varying (and conflicting styles) of the Founding Fathers, and The Tudors tends to focus on the seamier side of Henry’s court: intrigues and love affairs. The Tudors has its political side but it's couched in intrigues and back-stabbings; power grabs and sex. Lots of sex. John Adams thinks with its head; The Tudors with its heart (and regions a bit lower). It’s almost as if the tone of each series reflects its protagonist: the frenetic Henry VIII vs. the more ploddingly, and decidedly unsexy, John Adams.
Full disclosure: I am not a history expert, nor even a history buff really. I enjoy the history and historical insights I glean from literature, but I can neither vouch for, nor really care, about the historical inaccuracies in either series. I mean, unless they’ve got it really wrong, which I don’t think they have (as a history non-expert). I have been enjoying both series; however, because the Adams series simply moves at a slower, more sedate pace, I have to confess to a slight preference for The Tudors.
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