LauraAnnG

First, this is based on watching the entire series (just so you know).

I am a huge fan of Scandi Noir. There's no doubt in my mind the best crime/detective series have come from Scandinavia. Admittedly the Brits produce good series as well.

So it is probably unfair to compare this with Scandi Noir, but, honestly, the people who made it invite such comparison.

And it holds up okay. It takes its time to develop the characters and the plot, but to its credit you don't have to wait very long for things to start happening.

The issue is that while it is slow, unlike the best Scandi Noir (or even the Brit counterparts), it becomes boring. I felt it drag and wanted to fast forward, especially in the latter episodes.

Granted, I watched it all in a single day and maybe if I'd broken it up over several days I would not have been so anxious to finish it.

At any rate, I'd watch anything with Sam Neill. I adore him, and he does not disappoint in this series. He's really a wonderful, physical actor.

And no one can side-eye like Sam Neill.

Eric Bana is good. He is in a preponderance of the scenes so you need to not dislike him to enjoy this series.

The other actors are reasonably good. I thought Santiago's character was interesting and she did a fine job with it.

It is beautiful to watch. I love wildlands and they do a good job with the scenery.

Finally, there's a twist at the end and I admit, while I probably should have seen it coming, I didn't. I like it when that happens. And it is why I am giving it an 8 instead of a 7. It was an okay way to spend a day.

Okay. So I have watched all 38 episodes of "The Tudors".

It's an old (2007 - 2010) Showtime series that is now on Amazon.

First the bad: It is so historically inaccurate as to be almost total fiction. It is mind bogglingly inaccurate in a way. The characters are all there... they are based on people who actually lived during that time. BUT there is so much that has been fictionalized about them.

Clearly this was made for entertainment purposes and it is not a documentary. It is, when you come down to it, pure storytelling. Historical fiction.

The thing that perhaps bothered me the most was the casting of Henry. The actor is small (short) with dark hair. The other actors tower over him. Henry VIII was super tall (over six feet) and red haired. Add to that in mid-life Henry became grossly obese and this production does not show that.

I don't know, can't fathom, why they chose this actor.

But... but... the actor does a good job. If you can let go of your sense of disbelief, he's very good. And he has to be because he is in like 80% of the scenes.

And now for the good: there are some incredible actors in this. Henry Cavill is wonderful (he's Superman!). As is James Frain (a favorite actor of mine, who plays Cromwell -- "mercy, mercy, mercy"). The actresses who play the wives are all good.

The costumes are amazing. The scenery is amazing. It is beautiful to watch.

It's 15+ years old and of course it is "dated" production-wise. You can't miss that it is not a modern production.

So do I recommend it? I expect if you have not seen it that may be because you're not interested in the time or the personalities. And if so, you may not want to watch it.

But if you're open to a bodice-ripping romp, with a Henry who is not ALL BAD (they do try to make him somewhat sympathetic) and a Cromwell who is terrible (unlike Wolf Hall), and an Anne Boleyn who is hateful but (again) you are supposed to feel sorry for at the end, this may be for you. It's fun.

8 out of 10 stars because I enjoyed it and I did watch the whole thing.

I'm interested in medieval history and I have seen references in some of the books I've read to the "Secret History of the Mongols" (Genghis Kahn).

I was pleased to find a documentary based on that history.

Being Euro-centric I am embarrassed to admit I knew very little about the Mongols other than the typical "they were barbarians" opinion.

Now from the History we start to see how oversimplified and frankly wrong that opinion is.

Although they were to be sure incredibly violent and thus "barbaric" in that sense, so were the other powers at the time (look at the crusades, for example, or England's wars with Wales).

So I learned a lot watching this documentary. It is well done and thankfully is not repetitive like some documentaries are. I never found it boring.

The scenery where it was filmed is beautiful.

The costumes are beautiful.

To be sure some of the experts (well one of them) are a bit woo-hoo out there. But in general I found the experts interesting and informative.

Bonus point is I now understand why in the 13th century, on the verge of invading (and likely crushing) Western Europe, the Mongols packed up their tents and went home.

I recommend this if you're interested in the history of this time.