Everyone at one time or another has heard of Henry VIII. After all, he was the king that had so many wives. If anyone knows about one English king it would be him, but few know the real life story of this king who lived so infamously. In fact, historians know very little of all the details. Thanks to season one of the Showtime Original series "The Tudors," we all get a chance to not only see the story filled in, but we also get to see some terrific actors play out some very complex and intense characters.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays the part of "Henry VIII." Impassioned, intense, frustrated, and prone to angry outbursts, his part was anything but easy. He pulled it together nonetheless and what we got was not only a seamless performance, but one that also made us like this almost unbearable character. Even in his scenes with the seasoned Sam Neil he does a terrific job of matching up to Neil's performance.

Sam Neil plays the part of "Cardinal Wolsey." His is cardinal whose primary goal is to become pope. As head counselor to His Majesty he holds all the political power to try to make this dream a reality. Subtle and surprising he definitely has a performance power to reckon with. His emotions range from sadness, anger, and kindness within a few seconds. He does it in such a way that is subtle enough to where he doesn't look like a mad man. It is one of his best performances.

Natalie Dormier plays the ever infamous "Anne Boleyn." In this series "Anne's" primary motive is to become the Queen of England even though there is already a queen on the throne.  In order to do so she knows she has to refuse the King sex until they get married. Mistaking his lust for love, he continues on his path to make her queen. Dormier does a great job of not only being conniving, but slightly likeable all at the same time. She is so good at being conniving that you have to remind yourself that she is a sneak half the time.

The sets and costumes were absolutely incredible. It makes one understand why there was only about 10 episodes this season. All of their budget must have gone here and rightly so. What is an epic piece without the costumes of that period? "Queen Catherine's" costumes just overcame everything and made everything that much more believable. I have to admit that I often do not pay enough attention to men' costumes, but Meyer's wardrobe was incredible and fitted his station. A must see is the costume in which Boleyn comes into the court wearing purple. It was very beautiful.

Also the editing and directing worked together simultaneously. Music was cued to make certain points, such as the playing of "Greensleeves" at one point. The editing worked completely with the directing. The suicide scene involving "Wolsey" was edited to show the court laughing at a small farce that they were doing in the court involving "Wolsey." It was very well done. This season was so well done in fact, that every episode could be an Academy Award winning movie.

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