The TV Addict 

Proving that there’s more than one kind of “reality” television, Showtime’s latest offering, THE TUDORS (premiering Sunday, April 1 at 10 p.m. ET, with episodes one and two currently available both on-line and via Showtime On Demand) offers viewers a sexy, sudsy saga based on the life of England’s King Henry VIII. Borrowing a page from HBO’s ROME, Showtime’s royal fleshfest offers up a history lesson one isn’t likely to sleep through. As the series opens, England and France sit poised on the very cusp of war, with King Henry (the charismatic Jonathan Rhys Meyers in a career-defining performance) eager to send his troops into battle if only to guarantee his own name will be remembered for generations to come. But his trusted (perhaps more than he should be) advisor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, proposes that the young King seek fame by instead brokering peace. And thus is set into motion a series of events which put the unhappily married king on a collision course with the beautiful Anne Boleyn (the lovely Natalie Dormer, whose flirtatious glances can’t help but remind one of Juliet Landau’s BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER alter ego, Drucilla… during her saner moments).

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I’m not proud to say that the only thing I remember from European History in high school and college about Henry VIII is the fact that he married Anne Boleyn and that he fooled around with her sister Mary.

Maybe you’re like me. Maybe you only know that he had 6 wives, or you know that he liked to “take a mistress,” or you know that he had some illegitimate kids. Maybe that’s the only thing you know.

I’m happy to tell you that the minute details of his extraordinary early life are not required knowledge before you dive into the 10-part miniseries that explores the world of King Henry VIII.

Showtime was kind enough to send over the first 6 episodes of this amazing show and I’m indebted to them for life.

Rather than focus on the things you may have learned in your European History classes, there are 5 basic things you should know about this show before diving in, head first, and enjoying every minute of it.

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HBO watch your backs. SHOWTIME is definitely stealing your spotlight and gaining the attention of this TV Addict.

Thanks to some dreadful/gloomy/rainy weather, I recently was stuck inside on a Saturday and decided to give DEXTER a try. After fifteen minutes of Showtime’s newest killer series, I was hooked! DEXTER revolves around Dexter Morgan, a respected police officer who in his free time channels his gruesome homicidal tendencies by killing villains who have literally gotten away with murder. Michael C. Hall (SIX FEET UNDER) stars as Dexter and does a brilliant job of making me sympathize with a serial killer. While I’m not exactly sure what that says about me, I have to say that DEXTER is the most engrossing new series I’ve seen all fall. I can’t wait for TMN (on Demand) to release further episodes (as I’ve only seen the first six).

And before I move on, a quick theory if I may (I’m a few episodes behind, so please don’t spoil anything for me in the comments!). Would it not be incredible if the ice truck killer (and Dexter’s rival) was his sister? Episode six did a fantastic job of illustrating in a flashback how left out Debra (Dex’s sister) felt when it came to Dexter’s special relationship with their father. Nobody knows more (or anything) about Dexter’s true nature than Deb, so my money’s on Debra.

Continuing with the Showtime theme was last night’s season finale of WEEDS (up here in Canada we’re two weeks behind!). All I can say is WHAT AN ENDING! How on earth is Lacy LaPlante (Nancy Botwin) going to get herself out of this little jam. Also, is Silas not the dumbest kid on the planet? I honestly was hoping he was the big ‘rumoured’ death in the finale — I can’t stand how self-centred and moronic he is.

Finally, the second season of SLEEPER CELL premieres this December. To show us how excited they are about the upcoming season, Showtime blew up a car. Check it out below!