Showtime's New Tudors: The Borgias.

Last evening I had the privilege to screen the first two episodes of Showtime's THE BORGIAS.  This period piece about The Borgias family (basically the inspiration for THE GODFATHER'S Corleon family).  As we see the evil and manipulative Cardinal Borgias rise to the role of the papacy, we see that the world of the Church is not as clean as it appears.

With some truly fine acting by lead Jeremy Irons and his clan (Francois Arnaud, David Oakes, and Holliday Grainger) the series soars like it's predecessor, THE TUDORS.  Clearly Showtime is attempting to rein in the same demographic from the other successful period piece.  After THE TUDORS concluded, this was the next major historical piece for the cable network.  And while the writer and executive producers are new to Showtime, the directors for subsequent episodes are all in the Showtime family and fresh off their successful run with THE TUDORS.  And with that "all in the family" vibe, comes a docu-drama all about the family.

The story begins with a pope on his death bed (foreshadowing how the series will end, perhaps?) and the two would-be popes are chomping at the bit.  With some clever manipulation (which is historically accurate) Cardinal Borgia places bribes in cooked meats for the other Cardinals to insure that his votes will come in as planned.  And soon, he rises to the top creating some enemies (one of which is murdered by the new pope's son's lackey) and some confidants.  The air in the Vatican is tense as we see the Cardinals falling in line to insure their own safety, regardless of what this will do to the Church.  And for those who fear this may be too pope-y for you, don't worry, cause apparently even the pope and his underlings (bishops and cardinals) had sex.  And quite a bit, apparently.

And just like THE TUDORS, Showtime presents historical accuracy right down to the costumes and the sets.  While it was filmed in Budapest on a backlot of a studio, the effect is seamless.  And while some may complain that the Showtime "look" is too flashy, at least there is thought put in to it.  Each scene and every action sequence has been modified to give a cohesive look and feel to the show.  And while each scene may be to "pretty" to be realistic, it serves well as historical narrative and particularly well as entertainment.


See this if you...
-Love THE TUDORS
-Watch Showtime
-Like historical fiction
-Enjoy watching controversial moments of the Church's history