Have you ever seen the TV show "The Tudors" and if so, did you like it?

I sent this to Jeruba – pretty sure she watched it.

Thanks, @janbb.

I did. I rented the DVDs one after another and went through the whole series pretty much at saturation level. I thought it was marvelous. It could have been twice as long, and I’d have stayed with it.

The principals were excellent, especially Jonathan Rhys Meyers. If I didn’t feel uniformly enthusiastic about every one of them, that’s a small matter. There were some dramatic flaws—for example, the rather prolonged thread about Thomas Tallis, the composer, didn’t seem to lead anywhere—but it really didn’t bother me. Also, some characters aged (Henry) and others didn’t seem to change at all (Princess Mary).

I didn’t expect perfect historical fidelity, but I do think great care was taken with sets, costumes, props, etc., to judge by the “special features” I watched. I’m not well enough versed in British history to pick out errors committed and liberties taken, but I wouldn’t base my understanding of the period and the politics on a TV show. In the broad strokes I’m sure it’s faithful enough, and the up-close depiction of intrigues and liaisons is certainly more vivid than anything I’ve encountered in history books.

Even though I knew what was going to happen (who doesn’t?), I hoped for a different ending for Anne Boleyn right up until the last moment, and when the inevitable came, it brought me to tears—not an easy feat for a TV show. I posted a comment about that here.

As so many of these history-based dramas do, it sent me off reading about various individuals and gaining a fuller perspective on the characters and the times.

When it was over, I went looking for help with my withdrawal symptoms and found some other interesting series, but nothing that gripped me quite the way that one did.

I really enjoyed it. I think it was well produced and entertaining. It isn’t a documentary. It’s a historical drama and as long as you watch it with that in mind, you’ll love it I’m sure.

Like @Jeruba, after it finished I wanted more historical drama and I was hoping The Borgias would be as enticing but for me, it wasn’t.

I’d watch The Tudors again. It was well done.

@Jeruba Your description has persuaded me to watch the series!