The Shadow of the Tower

I found this mini series quite by accident. Although it can be a bit stagey and talky, I really enjoyed it. It's not about the son, it's the dad. Can't recall many biographies or documentaries about King Henry VII. I think John Maxwell is awesome. Then as the series progresses we have Geoffrey Palmer, John Castle, Rachel Kempson, and. Peter Bowles, all early in there careers.

I like the production value and the costumes look right. It maybe a tad long but that didn't bother me too much. I binged for 6 hrs took a break..LOL then watched the final seven.

I always thought Henry VII was an interesting character, from being a loved King only to become miserly and miserable later in life. He'd make a great Psychological study.

The other upside was seeing some great acting from people I never her of. Bruce Hodgkins, Norma West, Hugh Sullivan and especially Marigold Sharman.

It takes great acting to make a rather talky production watchable and it certainly is for me.

In the early 1970's 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII' and 'Elizabeth R' enthralled the TV viewers of the UK with superb acting, gorgeous costumes, incisive scripts and high - for the time - production values. Even more exciting they were in colour, which was a real novelty at the time.

Looking for a follow-up project the BBC decided to go back in time to the founding of the Tudor line by Henry VII. The unfortunate truth is that Henry senior was far less colourful than his son or granddaughter. He was a shrewd ruler who used bureaucracy, the law and financial policy to maintain his power - and he was devotedly married to his wife Elizabeth and heart-broken when she died. In other words a bit of a cold fish with little fire and romance to turn into 12 hours of TV drama.

This story could have been told in half the time or less, but the BBC obviously thought they were on the crest of a wave and got too greedy. The result was a long-winded trudge through 24 years of history. Henry's reign was not uneventful, nor unsuccessful, but there were no wives or mistresses, no Spanish Armada and no rousing speeches.

The scripts are turgid and wordy and some of the acting positively amateurish. The younger women are also too much like 1960's 'dolly birds' as we called them then. If you enjoyed the other Tudor series of the time, don't think this is of the same quality. One to avoid.

Henry Tudor was second only to his Granddaughter, Elizabeth I as a successful monarch. Unfortunately, his latter years were bitter and overshadowed by illness. Further, his son, the future Henry VIII lived in his shadow and did much to outdo and erase his father's legacy. He was also cast by wishful thinkers as the murderer of the Princes in the Tower because they want to re-invent the worthless Richard III. The problem for the BBC when they wanted to complete their coverage of the Tudors, following The Six Wives and Elizabeth R series, is that Henry VIIIth claimed many of his father's achievements as his own and did much to bury the personal history. Thus, the writers of this series had little material to flesh out Tudor's rise from obscurity to creation of a dynasty, defeating his enemies and becoming a millionaire. So, notwithstanding a good cast and, potentially, a much more exciting story, the project was dogged by wordy and worthy scripts making an under-performing prequel to the bloodier dramas. This story needs a remake! A valiant effort at portraying the least bloodthirsty of the Tudors, but somewhat bloodless!

'The Shadow of the Tower' came to my attention as a recommendation, having been so taken with both 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII' and especially 'Elizabeth R' with Keith Michell and Glenda Jackson giving unforgettable portrayals as Henry and Elizabeth.

Finally seeing 'The Shadow of the Tower' it was intriguing certainly, but it was also somewhat of a let-down. It is definitely worth seeing for anybody who wants to learn more about King Henry VII, most famous for being Henry VIII's father and defeating Richard III at the battle of Bosworth (signalling the end of the "Wars of the Roses") and until seeing that was pretty much all that was personally known about him. To see 'The Shadow of the Tower' giving him much complexity and making him a richly and vividly drawn character was really wonderful to see, and is one of the series' biggest selling points.

As is the nuanced, understated, while still giving the character plenty of juice, and altogether marvellous performance of James Maxwell, one almost on par with Michell's Henry VIII and Jackson's Elizabeth I and definitely the best thing about 'The Shadow of the Tower. The acting other than Maxwell very much varies, the performances of Perkin Warbeck and Earl of Warwick (the best developed supporting characters too) come off best and are strong portrayals. Too much of the rest of the acting is either too overwroughtly hammy or too staidly stagy. Don't know what the writers and casting directors were thinking with that out-of-place and offensively stereotypical Jewish Spanish Ambassador character.

Production values, writing and storytelling also varies. The costumes are accurate, evocative and attractive and the photography is skillful, unfussy and attractively done, but too much of the production values have a shoe-string budget and confined look that rob the locations and period detail of their grandeur and expansiveness, the sets look like they were worth less than one pound or something. The music is beautifully composed and never intrudes, used at minimum in fact.

Some of the writing is very good, credit is due to making Henry, Warbeck and Warwick well-drawn characters and it is very literate and thought-provoking with no obvious factual distortions, so it will be no doubt fascinating for historical buffs. In other places though, a danger this said for script-writing so heavy in detail, it is a bit too rambling and wordy, with some scenes having too much talk that undermines the momentum. Some of it has lapses in continuity and clarity of where and when everything took place, as well as having some convoluted and clunky exposition.

In 'The Shadow of the Tower' there is a good deal of compelling storytelling and one is fascinated by a monarch that is much more interesting and complex than the two things that he's most well-known for. Some of the storytelling later on after starting grippingly does suffer from lack of narrative link which harms the continuity and causes confusion and some too staid pacing (yes 'The Shadow of the Tower' was a series where slow pacing was necessary, but it does feel dull and has too much of a drifting feel when there is a lack of dramatic conflict and a lot of talk).

On the whole, worth watching but disappointing. Nothing is done disastrously, but at the end of the day the development of Henry VII and James Maxwell are the only truly outstanding things, everything else is variable. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Everything most modern historical shows (especially about the 15th-16th century English monarchs-- you know what they are) are not. Writing, historical accuracy, and top-quality acting are prized over sensationalism and sex, and the show is all the more intriguing for it. It hardly matters that the budget is low or that the camerawork isn't super "cinematic"-- the political intrigue and Henry VII's tightrope walk between being a good king, businessman, and family man are just wonderful to watch.