In celebration of tonight’s second season premiere of THE TUDORS, theTVaddict.com is thrilled to be giving away a copy of the series first season on DVD. To enter, simply post your answer to the following question in the comments below.

Question: Which premium cable show has the most historically accurate sexiest take on world history:
A) THE TUDORS
B) ROME
C) JOHN ADAMS

A winner will be notified via email in one week. That said, please be sure to use a valid email address so that if you win, you’ll actually receive your prize! And don’t miss THE TUDORS second season premiere tonight on Showtime at 9PM

Who needs to stay awake after THE COLBERT REPORT to watch LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN when you’ve got the internet. Missed the cast of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA doing last night’s Top 10 List? Click here to check it out.

Can’t wait until March 30 for the second season premiere of Showtime’s THE TUDORS? Why not check it now on SHO.com or download it for FREE from iTunes.

And finally a quick reminder. In honor of tonight’s spring finale of LOST, this TV Addict is bringing back the LOST LIVE BLOG. So if you’re looking to occupy your time between commercial breaks, why not drop by theTVaddict.com between 9 and 10PM tonight for some lively LOST Chatter.

In other news, expect Showtime to announce a second season for THE TUDORS any day now. The debut of the pricey costume drama was the highest rated premiere on the channel in three years. In fact, the inaugural episode brought in over 40 percent more viewers than the first episode of DEXTER and nearly 80 percent more eyeballs than watched the launch of WEEDS. Assuming those numbers don’t slide drastically, Showtime will no doubt wish they had more than six episodes to offer fans hungry for the sexy saga.

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).

Oh, sure, the real people upon whom the series is based could never have been as stunningly attractive as the cast herein assembled, but given the caliber of acting and regularity with which their flesh is placed on display, this is a fact we’ll happily overlook. Unlike ROME, which often seems to presume that we did better in history class than it should, TUDORS, at least in its initial offerings, makes the period being examined easily accessible to even those who may have only a cursory knowledge of the period. The production values are beyond reproach and the entire offering proves, once again, why viewers looking for exceptional programming would do well to look beyond the networks. As an increasing number of network hours are being devoted to cheaply produced, mind-numbing offerings featuring the banal antics of those willing to humiliate themselves for exposure, the pay channels are providing alternatives which show just how much more interesting tales from the real world can be.

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.

1. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is incredible. He’s absolutely captivating. He’s got this stare that just burns a hole in his line of sight. His lips? To die for. Let us also not forget that he has a body that men would kill for. He plays Henry VIII as a petulant child that wants to be better than everyone around him. On the other side of the coin, he plays Henry with a maturity beyond his years. His suffering shines through every single scene that Rhys Meyers plays. He has chemistry with everyone. He has romantic chemistry with any lady he “beds,” as it were (and believe me…he beds quite a few in the first episode alone). He has friendly chemistry with his best friends (the to-die-for Henry Cavill, the hilarious Callum Blue). He plays noble and plays humble; you hate him one minute and love him the next. This role was seemingly tailor made for him and he blows me away.

2. The acting in this miniseries is intense. Nuanced and beautiful, strong, scenery-chewing at its best. Aside from Jonathan Rhys Meyers, actors like Sam Neill can look at someone and problems are solved. The kings, the queens, the mistresses, the clergy. Everyone is in top form and deserving of any award that comes their way.

3. Women weren’t even remotely as equal in those days as they are in our modern times, but the main women we meet as the hours progress are strong in their inequality. Gabrielle Anwar is gorgeous and strong willed as Henry VIII’s sister Margaret. Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn is charming and enticing. Her sister Mary, played by Perdita Weeks, is equally as delightful. Queen Katherine (Maria Doyle Kennedy) is disarmingly strong, against a world that should drag her down. These women, who all had a hand in what became of Henry VIII, are just brilliant to watch.

4. Hot boys!! Henry Cavill (swoon), Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Emmanuel Leconte (King Francis I)…they’re delightfully attractive! They pal around like modern boys, playing tennis, indulging in jousting matches, fulfilling the boys-will-be-boys mantra. They are fabulous! Let us not forget hot girls!! Natalie Dormer, Gabrielle Anwar, Perdita Weeks, they’re absolutely gorgeous. I want to be them!

5. Showtime has easily become one of the greatest networks for original material – The L Word, Dexter, Weeds, to name a few. This is no different. They’ve taken what could have easily been a retread of any story ever told about Henry VIII and they’ve spun a story that doesn’t stop. It’s rich, and enticing, and gorgeous, and funny, and sexy, and you name it, it has it. It’s just wonderful, and I encourage you all to watch it!

Do yourselves a favor – check it out on Showtime on Demand right now. The premiere episode airs on Showtime, starting April 2. Let us all know what you think of the show!!

In other news….

To echo everything that’s been said so far about the Battlestar Galactica season finale – Holy Frack! There are so many questions I have. I cannot believe we have to wait until 2008 to get the answers that we need!!!

I haven’t had the chance to really talk about it much this season, but Without a Trace, though it’s been treated pretty badly by CBS these days, is continuing to silently wow me. This week’s Samantha-centric episode does what any good procedural should do, but it adds so many layers. I love it!

Though Grey’s hasn’t been keeping me interested for these past few episodes, I have to say that I have not been wowed by an acting performance on that show as much as I was by the scene in the linen closet with Izzie and George. Say what you will about the relationship that miraculously appeared out of nowhere; this scene? They spoke NO WORDS. Katherine Heigl and TR Knight are easily the most underrated duo on that show. They made me believe everything that happened between them in that scene and for a minute, I invested in this Izzie and George are in love idea. It was intense, and I’m in it for the long haul. I want to wait to see what the writers have in store.

Feedback is always welcome! mytakeontv@thetvaddict.com