"I went to a place to eat. It said 'breakfast at any time.' So I ordered french toast during the Renaissance". --Steven Wright ... If you are a devotee of time travel, check out this song...

Friday, March 13, 2009

The Tudors Season 3: Hard History and Sweet Flesh

The Tudors returns for its third season on Showtime early next month. I've seen the first two episodes - thanks to a preview copy from Showtime - and the series looks to be as wonderful as ever, just the mix of hard history and sweet flesh we've come to expect from this drama about one of the most important eras in our past, a time when our British ancestors clawed and fought and loved their way into the modern age.

What's most new about this season is Jane Seymour, now Queen, and now played by Annabelle Wallis (Jane was played last year by Anita Briem). I like Annabelle's performance much more than Anita's, whose Jane was bland. Annabelle has a soft, engaging power, and reminds me, in terms of accent and looks, of Princess Diana.

There are other powerful performances. James Frain returns with a superb rendition of Thomas Cromwell, Alan Van Sprang is new in the court as the feisty, piratical Sir Francis Bryan, and Max Von Sydow and his expressive face is in Rome as Cardinal von Waldberg. Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII and Henry Cavill as Charles Brandon are as good as they've been, too - which is to say, quite good.

And there are some fine ladies in court. Look for Charlotte Salt as Lady Ursula Misseldon, and an outstanding nude scene, which made me glad that the FCC has not yet expanded its repressive rule to cable.

Censorship and the struggle for democracy is also very much in the air on The Tudors, where rebellion and religious intolerance serve as midwives to our ways of life. I'll be back with more after the season gets under way in April.




5-min podcast sneak-preview review of The Tudors


See also ...

Tooling Up for The Tudors and The Tudors: Transformations and Assassins ... John Adams Concludes, The Tudors Continues, The First Amendment Abides ... The Tudors and the Printing Press ... The Tudors Concludes and America Begins ... and links there to reviews of episodes from Season One.









Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Rent-a-Car, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle








The Plot to Save Socrates




"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book


Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates
.... FREE!





Enjoy listening to audio books? Get a free audio book copy of The Plot to Save Socrates - or any one of 85,000 other titles - with a 14-day trial membership at Audible.com ...
 

5 comments:

AiringMyLaundry said...

I heard about entry from IMDB.com and came to check it out as I'm a huge fan of The Tudors.

I cannot wait for the new season. I'm glad to hear that it's just as good as the others.

Paul Levinson said...

Thanks for coming by ... you'll love the new season!

Anonymous said...

Charlotte Salt's nude scene was stunning. Only seen Episode 1. Is there nudity from Charlotte or Annabelle in Ep 2? The rumour was that Anita Briem was dropped for refusing to do nudity.

Paul Levinson said...

Nothing extraordinary - nudity-wise - in the second episode.

Charlotte Salt's scene was indeed stunning. The Tudors has several times had the quality of coming right out of a painting - and that scene of Ursula (Charlotte) by the window was like a painting come to life. (And she looks like a woman should look - in contrast to some of the Hollywood implants.)

I'd say it's in the same league as Atia's nude scene early in Rome, Season One ... which is a fine league, indeed.

Interesting rumor about Anita Briem - my sense is that Annabelle is better for the part, in any case.

Anonymous said...

Paul, agree on the painting aspect. I remember a similar scene with Natalie Dormer at the start of Season 2 when she finally allowed Henry to consumate their relationship.

Atia's scenes were amazing. Particularly when in the first episode when she was in "action" too.

Good point about the Hollywood implants. Some of the best nudity I've seen has come from the English girls - Polly Walker, Jaime Murray, Charlotte Salt who have stunning natural breasts.

Annabelle is much better in the role. I'd be surprised if Showtime lets such a pretty girl leave the series without getting her clothes off.

InfiniteRegress.tv