The Borgias -- starting Sunday

[Artemis@BC]

Placeholder for discussing this new series, beginning on Sunday. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, I've been disappointed before with this type of show (*ahem* The Tudors) ... but given the material, it seems pretty hard to screw up. Plus there's Jeremy Irons, who at age 63 is still .

In Canada it airs on Bravo!, 7:00 Pacific / 10:00 Eastern, with the 2nd episode immediatly following. Oddly enough, no repeats.

Can someone give the US broadcast deets?

[AragornElessar]

It's Jeremy Irons, so I'm there w/bells on. Still kicking myself for forgetting he was back on L&O SVU this past week, as he was just beyond fantastic the first time earlier this season. Anyway...I'm very much looking forward to this series and can't wait for 10 pm Sunday night!!

[IceAlisa]

Thanks for the reminder. What channel is it on in the US?

[Lanie]

I'm assuming Showtime?

I won't watch it. I don't have Showtime and I really got pissed off by season four of The Tudors.

[Artemis@BC]

^ Just Googled and yes, it is Showtime. Banner says 9:00 E/P. Here's the link: http://www.sho.com/site/borgias/home.sho

[IceAlisa]

Thanks, looking forward to it.

[Tinami Amori]

Plus there's Jeremy Irons, who at age 63 is still .

One of the reasons why I am watching this show...
Irons makes a great "historic villain" and "villains" in general..... .
http://www.zuguide.com/image/Jeremy-...asanova.10.jpg

I hope for the next season they produce "Machiavelli" and keep Irons in the main role before he becomes too old to play him.
http://www.messagefrommasters.com/Os...velli_Osho.jpg

[rfisher]

The first episode was on Showtime/Ions preview last night. Sadly, on Ions they blurred out all the naked parts. The actor playing Cesare Borgia is hot and I wanted to see his butt. The Borgias were such a nice family.

[Yehudi]

Sadly netflix no longer streams episodes of Showtime programs that are currently running. So I'll have to find other means to watch :'(

[Satellitegirl]

I'll watch it online somewhere...but I definitely want to see it.

[Yehudi]

Thoughts? Managed to find someone nearby with Showtime and i think I will keep watching. Whoever is playing Cesare certainly holds his own with Jeremy Irons.

[IceAlisa]

Not 10 pm in my time zone yet. But glad to read the first good review!

[Skate Talker]

The actor who plays Cesare looks like John Kerr. Not sure if we are to think that at this point Lucrezia is quite as naive about some things as she would appear to be - specifically her chat with her mother after getting the seahorse necklace as a gift. (Don't want to give anything away yet.) Obviously in some matters they make it clear that she is very aware of what is going on.

[Artemis@BC]

The actor who plays Cesare looks like John Kerr. Not sure if we are to think that at this point Lucrezia is quite as naive about some things as she would appear to be - specifically her chat with her mother after getting the seahorse necklace as a gift. (Don't want to give anything away yet.) Obviously in some matters they make it clear that she is very aware of what is going on.

Yes, her naivety does seem a bit a of an act, no? (Of course she's also fooling them all into thinking she's only 14, when in fact she's 23. )

I thought it was pretty good overall, although with some pacing problems. Too bad Derek Jacobi is gone already, I always love seeing him -- and really, is it legal to make a period drama without Derek Jacobi in it? But having Colm Feore as a continuing foil will be great.

François Arnaud, the guy playing Cesare, reminds me of someone else, another actor, and it's going to drive me nuts until I figure it out.

[rfisher]

All I have to say is watching for Mr. Arnaud alone is worth the price of Showtime.

[Rob]

I agree on the pacing problems. It started out good and got a little slow. But I will stick with it.

[Tinami Amori]

François Arnaud, the guy playing Cesare, reminds me of someone else, another actor, and it's going to drive me nuts until I figure it out.

Me too…. At first I thought in certain shots he looks like young Denis Lavant. Then in some shots he looked like Vincent Perez when he had a beard and mustache.

I agree on the pacing problems. It started out good and got a little slow. But I will stick with it.

And there are people also complaining about the “slow pace” in the topic about the remake of the “Mildred Pierce” classic…

For goodness sake…… we’re watching classics, historic classics, where details are the biggest part of the “art”….. and they can’t be flashed in a fraction of a second… A Film on a classic subject is not a video-game on I-Phone….

This is a beautiful production! The costumes, the sets, the details….. They deserve more than to be flushed in a second between 3 sodomies and 5 murders……

Take the sets alone…… The series were not filmed on location or in real buildings. All the buildings, inside and outside, the decorations, the sculptures, the St. Peter’s Plaza, the “old” Vatican, etc were hand-created in a studio outside of Budapesht.

A lot of work, creativity, mechanics and engineering went into this process……

The costumes, make-up, interior decorations were deeply researched and painstakingly recreated……

Enjoy it …… all these details are very unique.

[Artemis@BC]

re: pacing -- For goodness sake…… we’re watching classics, historic classics, where details are the biggest part of the “art”….. and they can’t be flashed in a fraction of a second…

I for one wasn't complaining about the pacing being slow, I thought it was uneven. Not enough time spend on some scenes, and too much time spent on others.

I agree that visually it's superb. Glorious stuff.

[lmarie086]

For anyone that doesn't get Showtime, like me, the first episode is on hulu!

http://www.sho.com/site/order/previe...orgias_s01_e01

The pacing is a bit off here and there, but I'm already addicted. I'll definitely be watching if I can find a way to get the channel.

[emason]

And there are people also complaining about the “slow pace” in the topic about the remake of the “Mildred Pierce” classic…

For goodness sake…… we’re watching classics, historic classics, where details are the biggest part of the “art”….. and they can’t be flashed in a fraction of a second… A Film on a classic subject is not a video-game on I-Phone….

This is a beautiful production! The costumes, the sets, the details….. They deserve more than to be flushed in a second between 3 sodomies and 5 murders……

I haven't seen The Borgias, so I can't comment on that, but, in general, the costumes, sets, details, etc., are there in support of the story, the drama. In the case of Mildred Pierce there is no drama because the whole thing moves at a glacially, deadly dull pace with deadly dull performances to match.