Wolf Hall Anticipation

[Meredith Quill]

Anticipate Here!

 

 

I, for one, am looking forward to this; love me a period drama!

[kieyra]

At the risk of looking like a crazy person ...

 

I love both of the books so far feverishly, and I was already a Tudor history nerd to begin with. While I'm not sure they can capture the unique feel of the books (which have received some criticism both for the writing style and for making Cromwell too perfect), I'm still really looking forward to this. I wish they had spent more time/episodes per book. Each book (Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies) is pretty hefty, with lots of meaty stuff that falls way outside of the usual 'The Tudors' soap-opera content. Not that I blame The Tudors and other works for mining the soap opera aspects--there is certainly a ton to be mined. But Wolf Hall gets you invested in a lot of other characters and aspects than the ones we're all extremely familiar with. There's also a lot of humor--Hilary Mantel's characterizations of Suffolk, Norfolk and lots of other characters, from Cromwell's cook to Chapuys, all carry a lot of unexpected hilarity. I hope we'll see some of that, although the first trailer doesn't suggest it. 

 

I'm not sure what to make of the Damian Lewis casting. He's not my favorite actor, but I know he's relatively high profile, which makes me worried they may make the show Henry VIII-centric, when the books are 100% Cromwell POV. 

 

(Also, thank you, Silverstormm, for setting up the forums. I don't think a lot of people--certainly not a lot of US viewers, anyway--realize the show is about to happen, but with the US airing coming up in a few months, hopefully it won't just be me in here talking to myself indefinitely.)

Edited January 8, 2015 by kieyra

[MichelleAK]

I'm looking forward to this, although I do have my reservations.  I loved both books (I liked Wolf Hall better, just because of its breadth), so I hope the miniseries does the books justice.  I am a bit concerned about the actor playing Cromwell. From the trailer, he looks a bit too delicate and a bit too old for the first part of the series.  However, if the actor does a good job otherwise, I can let that slide.

[kieyra]

I'm looking forward to this, although I do have my reservations.  I loved both books (I liked Wolf Hall better, just because of its breadth), so I hope the miniseries does the books justice.  I am a bit concerned about the actor playing Cromwell. From the trailer, he looks a bit too delicate and a bit too old for the first part of the series.  However, if the actor does a good job otherwise, I can let that slide.

 

He also seemed to be sort of ... whispering his lines. in the book, Cromwell certainly comes across as having unusual levels of self-restraint, but it didn't read to me as a flattened outward affect in his actual dialogue. 

 

And I don't recall that Liz, with what little we saw of her in the books, bothered being afraid of much. 

Edited January 9, 2015 by kieyra

[Constantinople]

I'd anticipate it more if it weren't 3 months away till being broadcast in the US.  Thanks again, PBS.

 

Speaking of, it's scheduled to air in the US on PBS on April 5th, which means it's will be going head-to-head with Game of Thrones on HBO when it premieres on April 12th.

[Peper81]

I am beyond excited about this show. I am obsessed with this time period and I can't wait to see how it's portrayed.

[blackwing]

Damian Lewis is already a better Henry VIII than Jonathan Rhys Myers, and I say this without even seeing any trailer.  JRM was the absolute worst thing about the Tudors.  So incredibly miscast.  And Lewis even has red hair.

[MichelleAK]

Damian Lewis is already a better Henry VIII than Jonathan Rhys Myers, and I say this without even seeing any trailer.  JRM was the absolute worst thing about the Tudors.  So incredibly miscast.  And Lewis even has red hair.

 

Yeah, that was really...something.  I will never understand that.  It also annoyed me that they cast Katherine of Aragon as having dark hair and dark eyes, but Henry VIII productions always seem to do that.  We did dodge one small bullet with The Tudors. Natalie Dormer (Anne Boleyn) said in an interview last year that the Showtime execs wanted Anne to have blonde hair.  Yeesh.

 

As I noted above, I'm still concerned about the physical appearance of the actor playing Thomas Cromwell, but I'll wait until seeing some longer scenes pop up (I'm in the states, so won't get to see this for months), before giving a final verdict.  I also hope that he isn't always whispering/hissing at people (as Kieyra noted above).  However, I think it's difficult to draw any conclusions about that from the relatively short trailer, since they want to put the most dramatic parts in those.

[kieyra]

I was one of the people rolling my eyes at S1 of The Tudors and laughing that they made the gestalt princess Marygret, but in later seasons I thought they did a good job. And, I hesitate to say it, but I was okay with JRM, especially in the middle seasons. I thought he did a good job with the egomaniacal menace, enough so that I remember feeling fear for Jane Seymour when she spoke up on religion, and fear for Anne of Cleeves, even though we knew they would both escape the block.

And I do regret that James Frain can't be this Cromwell too, but here's hoping the trailer gave us a less than full idea of what Rylance will do.

[turbogirlnyc]

And I do regret that James Frain can't be this Cromwell too, but here's hoping the trailer gave us a less than full idea of what Rylance will do.

 

Yes! It's going to take a while to get used to a different Cromwell. I loved Frain in that role. Here's hoping Rylance's portrayal is just as good. I won't miss the rest of The Tudors cast. Although I did like Sarah Bolger as Princess or Lady Mary.

 

I'm stoked about this show. I guess I need to finish the book ASAP!

 

Edited February 12, 2015 by turbogirlnyc

[Constantinople]

3 more days until this airs in the US on PBS.

I hope the wait was worth it.