Posted: 4/5/15 at 10:28pm
I gave this series 15 minutes, and, I'm sorry, it is just too slow to keep my interest. I will try again, but every dramatic pause feels like 15 minutes.
Posted: 4/5/15 at 11:48pm
I stuck with it and enjoyed it. The jumping around in time is a bit of a chore. Sometimes it says the year, other times something like "eight years earlier" and I'm all, "from when?".
Posted: 4/6/15 at 5:17am
First episode is very slow. I thought the purpose of the first episode was for Rylance to show his acting skills. 'Ooh look I can do thoughtful, I can do contemplation and I can do melancholy'.
But it does pick up. I really enjoyed episodes 2-6.
Posted: 4/6/15 at 7:28am
I agree with the first episode being slow. I watched the whole series and enjoyed it but was a one shot deal for me. I am still on the fence about seeing the Broadway production.
Posted: 4/8/15 at 10:25pm
The Broadway production is magnificent, it really is event theatre at its finest. See it
Posted: 4/8/15 at 11:54pm
Other than the time jumps with only vague descriptions (as Namo mentioned), I found it quite enjoyable. I found Pryce to be particularly outstanding. I'm looking forward to installments 2-6.
Posted: 4/9/15 at 3:50am
I've read the books, so found it fine to follow, but my friend watching with me had trouble with the time jump too (and when she would ask me for specifics, I admit I usually had to answer "oh who knows...")
Posted: 4/9/15 at 10:33am
I've read the books as well. Had no problem following the episode and it seems completely in keeping with the tone and style of the books. (and, not surprisingly, if I'm representative, Rylance seems perfectly right on from the perspective of one who's enjoyed the books).
This might prove a curious case.
How does one dramatize a very popular but intellectually driven historical novel (set of two) which tones down the well-trodden "drama" and pageantry of its oft told tale in favor of relatively quiet philosophical reflection, political calculation and incisive character treatment?
However one does it some are likely to be very unsatisfied.
Updated On: 4/9/15 at 10:33 AM
Posted: 4/9/15 at 11:15am
I watched it and ended up loving it. The time-jumping was confusing only until his wife and daughters died. That seemed to be such a turning point in his life (and overall demeanor) that after that, I had no problem following it.
Posted: 4/9/15 at 12:50pm
Posted: 4/9/15 at 1:37pm
I've read the novels as well, and thought it was a marvelous adaptation. Smart writing and great acting all around. I didn't have any trouble following the plot, despite it having a different structure than the books. The choice to light the entire show by sunlight and candles was a mistake, as it makes the show look quite ugly and doesn't seem to add any value.
Posted: 4/9/15 at 1:57pm
Posted: 4/9/15 at 1:58pm
Me too! It's nice to get a somewhat better sense of what life was like then.
Posted: 4/9/15 at 2:05pm
I agree; I think the lighting is beautiful and lends a wonderful authenticity.
Dame Hilary said that some of the actors told her they were afraid of being set alight while filming. Her response was "Welcome to the world of the Tudors." She went on to say she thought it gave their performances "a certain frisson."
Posted: 4/9/15 at 2:40pm
Well I'm glad it worked for you guys. Maybe I need to watch it on a nicer screen than my computer.
Posted: 4/9/15 at 2:42pm
"A certain frisson" should be the title of her next book.
Posted: 4/9/15 at 3:06pm
Ha! Actually, the next one is going to be called "The Mirror and the Light."
Posted: 4/9/15 at 3:08pm
I forgot that there is going to be a third book. I wonder why they decided to adapt it to stage and screen before the third book came out.
Posted: 4/9/15 at 3:25pm
Money? Also Mantel writes quicker than, say, George R R Martin. Though she took a break with a book of short stories (I believe? I still haven't read it,) the third book is due this year, and by that time--at least for the TV series--I assume they will be ready to start pre production work on it--I believe the TV producers even have a copy of it.
Also, Mantel has said the focus is somewhat different for the upcoming book, so maybe she and others involved felt it made more sense to adapt the first two together.
Posted: 4/9/15 at 3:45pm
The third book won't be this year. Fall of 2016 is the earliest I expect we might see it.
Posted: 4/9/15 at 3:48pm
For those who find it slow I think this is almost certainly deliberate. I used to wonder why the first twenty years of the reign of Henry VIII passed uneventfully with little evidence of the ogre he eventually became (okay, there's the odd war with France but that's nothing unusual for the time). There seems a desire here to address that.
Henry experiences an Epiphany moment in either episode 4 or 5 (can't remember which) when an historical fact overlooked in most Tudor dramatisations becomes pivotal and Henry takes up his sword and sings They all deserve to die. Tell you why Mrs Tudor, tell you why.
Not literally of course, but it's quite thrilling when it happens.
Updated On: 4/9/15 at 03:48 PM
Posted: 4/9/15 at 4:52pm
Thanks Reginald--I see that she has changed her projection for the novel to Summer 2016.
Posted: 4/9/15 at 5:26pm
I also felt this was a very feminine perspective on the court of the boy-racer king.
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