The Six Wives of Henry VIII: Difference between revisions

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''[[The Six Wives of Henry VIII]]'' is a six-part landmark British mini-series made in 1970 which details the life of one of England's most colorful kings. (It's also one of the first British drama series to be videotaped in color, and was first introduced to American audiences via PBS' ''Masterpiece Theatre'' series.) Each episode is a self-contained play which revolves around each of Henry the VIII's hapless spouses, who are as follows:

 

'''Wife #1: Catherine of Aragon''', a Spanish princess brought from across the sea to marry Henry's older brother Arthur. Unfortunately, the sickly Arthur died soon after the ceremony, leaving Catherine at the mercy of Arthur's skinflint father, Henry VII. It only was after his death that Catherine was finally able to fufill her destiny as the royal baby-making machine for the new King, Henry VIII, but her performance in that department left much to be desired since she could only produce a single daughter, Mary, and a few stillborn children. Henry eventually tried to trade her in for a new, younger model (one of her Ladies-in-Waiting), who was to become...

 

'''Wife #2. Anne Boleyn.''' An opportunistic, dark-haired beauty with a cutting dry wit and an uncanny ability to generate enemies all around her. But she rode the moon as long as Henry loved her--and as long as there was a possibility of her bearing him a rightful son and heir. Henry's battle to convince the Catholic church to allow him to divorce Catherine and marry Anne was a long, protracted affair, but eventually the bombastic, over-the-top monarch hit upon a perfect solution: break off from the church in Rome and start a new church with himself at the head! Soon Catherine was out of the picture (to die later on from neglect) and Anne was in. Unfortunately Anne wasn't nearly as good at the "dutiful wife" thing as she had been at the "snarky outspoken mistress" thing and Henry soon tired of her increasing nagging. Anne also wasn't very good at the whole "bearing a male heir" thing, as she was only able to produce a daughter, Elizabeth. A few trumped-up charges of adultery and incest later, and Anne was on the chopping block, to be replaced by--

Whew. This series had a lot of history to cover, and it did it well. Helping it along was its main star, Keith Michell, who did an excellent job of portraying the bombastic, stubborn, larger-than-life Henry VIII. (Once you've watched him in the role you'll have a difficult time picturing anyone ''else'' as Henry VIII.) Rich with period detail and great performances, this series (which is now available on DVD,) is a must-see for anyone interested in the drama and history surrounding one

of the most interesting men who ever lived. (This mini-series inspired a sequel series, ''[[Elizabeth R]]'', about the life of Henry's second daughter who, ironically, turned out to be the "son" that Henry always wanted, a powerful, intelligent monarch who was to usher England into one of its greatest Golden Ages. )

 

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* [[Blackmail]] -When Queen Catherine Howard's old boyfriend comes back into her life blackmailing her for a job, one has to wonder why she doesn't simply point out the very logical fact that if he reveals their earlier indiscretions, ''he'' would be liable to face the same punishment that she would. But then again, Catherine Howard wasn't portrayed as being very smart...

** Actually, I'd say this version of her was portrayed as pretty cunning. The problem was, she was also pretty impulsive and didn't stop to think of the consequences of her actions or devote much time to using her cunning to finding the best possible solution.

* [[Boisterous Bruiser]] - Henry has elements of this in his personality. ("Ol' Bluff King Hal" was one of his nicknames.) Of course if you crossed Henry in any way, he could drop the jolly act and quickly [[Complete Monster|get mean]]...

* [[The Caligula]] - Henry became more and more like this as the years went by. As a Christian King and Head of the Church of England, he believed himself infallible and his actions infused with Divine authority. (Of course his frequent habit of offing those who displeased or disagreed with him would have qualified him for this trope even without his near-insane levels of egotism.)

* [[Chessmaster]] - In a court full of schemers, Cromwell stuck out as being the most ruthless and manipulative. It was his efforts that sent Anne Boleyn to the block. His Chessmastering eventually backfired when his scheme to create a Protestant Alliance in Europe failed because of Henry's dislike of Anne of Cleves.

* [[Corrupt Church]] -Bishop Gardiner and his faction who routinely tortured and burned anyone they deemed as "heretics". No doubt it's guys like this who inspired many evil [[Crystal Dragon Jesus]]-style anime and RPG religions...

* [[Gorgeous Period Dress]] ( An example of this in television. ''[[The Six Wives of Henry VIII]]'' was one of the first major British TV to be videotaped in color, and the costumes and settings take advantage of that fact.)

* [[Heroic BSOD]] -Catherine Parr has one of these after learning that her husband plans to send her to the Tower of London. It takes a talking down by her friend, Bishop Cranmer, to get her sane again.

* [[Historical Beauty Update]]: Averted with Henry, for the most part. Unlike that [[The Tudors|other show about Henry the VIII,]] this one didn't feel the need to keep its star looking like a hunky supermodel throughout the character's entire life. Keith Michell is just as compelling as the Older Henry covered with makeup and a fat suit as he was as the thin, handsome Younger Henry.

* [[Kick the Dog]] - Katherine Howard insulting the king's beloved jester and having him banned from court, just because she didn't like his looks. Considering he was one of the only members of the court who wasn't a self-serving jerkass this comes across as particularly mean.

[[Category:British Series]]

[[Category:Masterpiece Theatre]]