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Public Broadcasting is currently running a series from the UK called Wolf Hall, The story of Thomas Cromwell, first Earl of Essex.

It is a bit dry, and the stepson and grandkids got bored rather quickly, and left us to enjoy it in peace.

I've read a bit on the period, and watched a series that focused on Henry VIII and his split with the Vatican, but now to see the events from the perspective of others is enjoyable.

I have enjoyed Damien Lewis in a number of roles. He seems to do a fine job as Henry.

Mark Rylance is superb as Cromwell.

It raised the eyebrow of several historians who prefer their history untinged by such heavily troweled bias but fiction really can't be done without it. Perhaps it's a compliment to the author that historians dignify her work by voicing their aggravation. The dramatization is impeccable, if you forgive the inspired selectivity and inevitable invention of the plot. The actors are beyond reproach.

If Thomas More were still around I'd dislike him on sight, I'm not saying the bias is at all distasteful. Given the adulation he was accorded in A Man For All Seasons it's about time he was pilloried.

And if Saint Thomas of Canterbury were still around I'd dislike him too.

spot;1508449 wrote: It raised the eyebrow of several historians who prefer their history untinged by such heavily troweled bias but fiction really can't be done without it. Perhaps it's a compliment to the author that historians dignify her work by voicing their aggravation. The dramatization is impeccable, if you forgive the inspired selectivity and inevitable invention of the plot. The actors are beyond reproach.

If Thomas More were still around I'd dislike him on sight, I'm not saying the bias is at all distasteful. Given the adulation he was accorded in A Man For All Seasons it's about time he was pilloried.

And if Saint Thomas of Canterbury were still around I'd dislike him too.


Yep, I took an quick disliking to More as well in this series. I never quite bought into his Heroic image as portrayed in other media.

I always enjoy a dramatization of historical events and people. I seldom get wrapped around the axle over discrepancies, unless they are so glaring that they cannot be overlooked within the story line.

I remember some years back, while in the UK for work, I caught part of a series with Ray Winstone Portraying the Good King Henry. I had to travel home before seeing the entire thing, and will have to hunt it down. I thought Winstone did an interesting Henry VIII.

I think historical dramas have got better at portraying people and events further back in time than Darwin and the Industrial Revolution which is quite an achievement, imo. It's not just the action and drama either, it's getting better at appreciating the different mindset and different world that existed when pretty much everyone believed that God and the Devil interfered in daily life in explicit ways to express approval and disapproval, the Earth was the centre of the Universe and the Bible had ALL the answers to everything we were meant to know about. Different regions have different things they believed before the rise of Science but the same principle applies.

Clodhopper;1508469 wrote: I think historical dramas have got better at portraying people and events further back in time than Darwin and the Industrial Revolution which is quite an achievement, imo. It's not just the action and drama either, it's getting better at appreciating the different mindset and different world that existed when pretty much everyone believed that God and the Devil interfered in daily life in explicit ways to express approval and disapproval, the Earth was the centre of the Universe and the Bible had ALL the answers to everything we were meant to know about. Different regions have different things they believed before the rise of Science but the same principle applies.


What is fascinating in this series is that while Mr Cromwell seems to understand all of that, he comes across as being above it all, at one level, and understands where the real power in the world lies. There is a scene with him confronting Percy where he spells out just how untenable Percy's claim to Anne Boleyn might be and how lacking in real power Mr Percy shall find himself should he persist. It speaks to the current Zeitgeist of today very well, and suggests it has always been so.

He has now found himself with a firm grasp of the Tiger's tail, and has so far ridden the beast with a determined grace and admirable wit. Rylance plays the part so well. I can hardly wait to see haw the ride fairs in the long term.

I am already looking forward to the next episode to be aired, and will wait patiently for it rather than cheating on PBS and watching it online.

Damnation! I got caught up in a customer call and missed the broadcast of the next episode. I will have to go find it, now to get caught up before Sunday next.

On the other hand, it seems the spousal unit is not as taken with the series as I though, so perhaps I should just go hunt down the series and watch it online.

LarsMac;1508601 wrote: Damnation! I got caught up in a customer call and missed the broadcast of the next episode. I will have to go find it, now to get caught up before Sunday next.

On the other hand, it seems the spousal unit is not as taken with the series as I though, so perhaps I should just go hunt down the series and watch it online.


That's what DVRs are for.

I'm in luck. Season 1 is included in my Amazon Prime.

Y Gwyll (English translation: The Dusk), titled Hinterland in the English-language version, is a Welsh noir police detective drama series broadcast on S4C in Welsh.

Series 3, which felt like the final series, finished on BBC4 this evening.

It's worth finding.

Final episode was interesting. The downfall of Queen Anne, and Cromwell was in charge of building the case to have her disposed of. He made the most of it, it seems, taking down a number his personal targets in the process.

I had missed the first episode, so went back to watch it after the final. The people he took down were the ones who helped end Wolsey. The final made more sense after that. Such intrigue, but in the end, you could already see the path to Cromwell's own undoing, as Miss Seymour now wins the King's favor and and we all know how well THAT turned out. I was reading up on Cromwell. It seems only recently his contribution to history was little appreciated by historians until very recently.

To consider all of this, within the context of all that was going on in the rest of the world at the time was very interesting. The Emperor Charles V and his machinations, and Henry in the backwaters of the Reformation. Somehow, I am reminded of King Henry when I read about the latest antics of our fair president.

Anything like The Tudors?

Ahso!;1509101 wrote: Anything like The Tudors?


Oh, not really. The Tudors is much prettier and tidier, with lots of baubles and bangles, and juicy tidbits for the masses.

Wolf Hall is much darker, and cerebral, I think.