Who payed the critics

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

recommended

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

I am a huge History buff, and when I saw an ad for this on TV two years ago, I thought "What a cool topic!" But then I saw the PBS logo and grew disheartened. From my experience, PBS documentaries often show the only good bits of the show in the trailer, and the rest is boring. This was FAR, FAR from the truth in this case! But fast forward two years, and I am sitting at home with nothing to do. I am scrolling through the IMDb pages of my favorite actors, trying to find something new to watch. On Tom Holland's page, I found Wolf Hall and remembered back to the ad from two years ago. I thought I'd give it a whirl. And boy was it fantastic. I will admit, all of the jumps in time were confusing at first, and Thomas' daughters looked like the daughters of his sister-in-law, adding to my confusion in some of the scenes. But once you get the hang of the time jumps, the show really shines. The acting was fantastic, Mark Rylance's performance especially. The political drama was not at all boring, and it was very satisfying to watch all of the pieces come together and to watch Cromwell's "playing of the game," as Petyr Baelish from Game of Thrones would call it. This is a must watch for all history buffs out there, as well as for anyone into a good political drama with relatable characters and a good plot. As a side note, I love to play a little game where I try to spot as many familiar actors as I can in a new show. Careful viewers might be able to spot King Theoden, Tycho Nestoris of the Iron Bank of Braavos, Qyburn, Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Captain Winters, the brother of the actor who plays Stannis Baratheon, and if you are really careful, Shireen Baratheon. Happy hunting!

I'd been avoiding it and the novels it's based on but finally sat down to hate watch it after Rylance was nominated for a best actor BAFTA for it while no one bothered to give Capaldi one for Doctor Who. And I have to say, yes, this is Rylance's year, he deserves it. I'm still sick of seeing Rylance and other RADA babies treated like gods while British actors I think are equally talented like Cumberbatch and Capaldi are treated like the generic brand, but that's the English class system for you.As for the program, it's a first-class Sunday night potboiler and you should watch it if you enjoy that sort of thing. I'm sick of them but I was drawn in by Rylance's portrayal of Thomas Cromwell as a man who loves little scruffy dogs and is no better or worse than the people he has to live with. I'm currently reading Antonia Fraser's biography of his relative Oliver Cromwell, so I went into this knowing that this Cromwell is a fictional confection. As Fraser noted Oliver's historical reputation has suffered by people getting confused and blaming him for Thomas' crimes. But Oliver wasn't in any way directly involved with a sexy queen, so no miniseries for him.

Overall, I loved Wolf Hall. Only Damien Lewis is too fit. Portraits of the real Henry VIII show him fat, and he probably didn't bathe often. Costumes and sets were impeccable; I hope this show gets awards. I will not miss the way Anne says "Cromwell," which sounds like Krim-well with a very guttural R. What was that about? I'm only sorry we won't get the rest of the wives. We only got the beginning of Jane Seymour. Perhaps a sequel with Jane and the other three wives? Only one more execution, the others got "furloughed" and only one died young, soon after childbirth which was dangerous back then. Bravo! We want a sequel. Damien must gain 50 lb.Regards, Diane Regis

I really enjoy watching Mark Rylance. I haven't read the series of book, but I've read a lot about the Tudor period. However,it was more of the six wives and Elizabeth I. So, I can't really say if this portrayal is what Cromwell and Wolsey were really like. They seem more human in this series than say, Anne of the Thousand Days or A Man for All Seasons or the great 1971 series, The Six Wives of Henry VIII. I will say this though, in my opinion, the best Henry VIII was still Keith Michell in that series. Going from a young idealist to old age as a sick tyrant gives a better portrait of him. The make up was astonishing and the costuming as he grew so fat, was excellent. Damien Lewis, so-so. Robert Shaw, I couldn't see it. And, Richard Burton, that was a poor choice in 1969's Anne of the Thousand Days. He always was a bit of a scenery chewer. Genevieve Bujold was an excellent Anne. I think that Claire Foy will do a very good job as Anne as we see more of her in the series. I've always have felt that Anne was wrongly accused. For a woman to accomplish what she did in her time was pretty incredible.Anyway, back to Wolf Hall. I do find it a little slow. I'll keep watching just for Mark Rylance. John Colicos, Leo McKern and Wolf Morris have played Cromwell, but their portrayals were a little out of touch and I couldn't relate that well with them. Mark Rylance breaks that. I can understand what Cromwell's points of view maybe were as a lowly born commoner. I think that there is a lot of contemporary speech in this series. I don't know if that's a plus or a minus when considering the subject matter and when the story takes place. I do know that I won't care to read the books. It would be pretty ponderous. I know that I don't have the patience.We'll see what episode three brings.