BY: JERRY P

Showtime's original series The Tudors details the reign of Henry VIII, whose lusts changed the face of the English monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church forever. The show stars Sam Neill, Jeremy Northam, Natalie Dormer, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry.

When I picture King Henry VIII I see Hans Holbein’s portrait of the monarch, where he appears as a square headed fat man in resplendent attire. I dare say that is how most people identify him. In a similar fashion, we think of Sir Thomas More - Henry’s Lord Chancellor after the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey, until he too fell out of favor - as Paul Scofield’s dignified portrayal of a betrayed Humanist in the 1966 film, The Man For All Seasons. In Showtime’s series The Tudors, both men are depicted in a quite different way, which demands some adjustment as the interpretations are dramatic and surprising.

Both are presented as Renaissance figures. Henry is in his late twenties, very trim and athletic, a dashing figure who loves richly brocaded and bejeweled garments. He is intellectual enough to speak several languages and to be familiar with More’s Utopia and Machiavelli’s The Prince. And last but not least, he is a lusty monarch. Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Velvet Goldmine, Match Point), a popular young Irish actor, is Henry VIII. He plays him as passionate, very dependent on advisors, super-concerned about a male heir, and a would-be Humanist. His Henry is even able to lose a contest without beheading the winner. And he certainly keeps his tailor busy, as his taste for fine threads is deep and continuous. In fact, the wonderful costumes are one of the great pleasures of these ten episodes. The woman who was in charge of costuming said it was a rare opportunity to do such beautiful costumes. She spared no expense in doing the best job possible. The overall look is head-spinningly gorgeous. Everyone at court cuts a splendid figure.

In contrast, Sir Thomas More (Jeremy Northam) wears only black, like a sober clergyman should. He is older, a family man who avoids the gaiety and sex-infested nature of the court, a scholar and a writer, a politician, and, most importantly, a God-intoxicated man. But not in a mystical sense, like it was for, say, Meister Eckhart; no, it is more as a good soldier of the faith, eternally vigilant and ready to attack heresy. He hates Luther, all forms of reform (as he is a strict traditionalist), and when he replaces Cardinal Wolsey as Lord Chancellor, he starts burning heretics - six before the end of Season One.

He may call himself a Humanist and be a friend to Erasmus, the best-known Humanist of the era, but he sounds more like Savonarola, the firebrand preacher in Florence, Italy, who saw Humanism as a prideful turn away from the Church and God. More blames the plague and the dissent in the land on humankind’s sinfulness and innate depravity. His fundamentalist attitude really is a blind spot in his nature, as he doesn’t perceive how close his King is to out-and-out revolt against Rome and its corruption. His fall from grace will take place in Season Two, currently on the air. 

The other major male figure in The Tudors is Cardinal Wolsey (Sam Neill) who understands Henry better and basically serves him well as counselor, particularly in foreign affairs. However the King gives him responsibility for obtaining an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, when the Cardinal knows how difficult, if not impossible, that is going to be. Henry is so hot for Anne Boleyn, he is desperate for dissolution of his marriage. Catherine has not provided him with a son and he must to have one. The series portrays Boleyn (Natalie Dormer) as a golddigger for her family’s benefit, as her father, along with the Duke of Norfolk, are Wolsey deadliest enemies and seek his downfall in the worst way. (Court intrigue is as plentiful as sexual liaisons in The Tudors.)

Though Wolsey plunders the treasure of the King and enjoys having power, he gets things done for Henry, which is not true when Norfolk and his cronies gain power. But the fickle King can change in a moment, and he does eventually abandon his most competent administrator. Sam Neill plays the Cardinal as sardonic and clever, and he is the only character with a keen sense of humor. He is also the only member of the King’s inner circle who doesn’t lose his head.

I will be curious to see Season Two, to see how they handle Henry’s weight gain. He also would go through six wives and become the creator and leader of the Church of England, which cost Rome a king’s ransom. Wolsey tried to warn the Vatican that Henry was on the edge of total revolt and to deny him the annulment would cost them dearly. The Act of Annates in 1532 cut financial payments to the Vatican, and then two years later Parliament passed The Act of Supremacy that abolished Papal Authority in England. One third of the land of England had been owned by Rome. The King did indeed confiscate all that property and the monasteries throughout the country. Being dogmatic and “pure” intensified the Reformation started by Luther. The Roman Church hasn’t been the same since.

Strangely enough, after his epochal decision to part with Rome, Henry still thought like and felt like a Catholic. All for a woman he had executed three years later for not bearing a male heir.

Season One of The Tudors is now available on DVD.