Henry VIII: The Mind of a Tyrant - Season 1

Henry VIII: The Mind of a Tyrant - Season 1

Season 1

Network
Episodes4
DatesApr 6, 2009 - Apr 27, 2009

Episodes

Prince
Season 1Episode 160 min

Prince

David Starkey follows the dramatic events of Henry's childhood, events that shaped his personality and his attitude to kingship. In 1485, on the field at Bosworth, Henry's father, Henry Tudor, seized the crown from the defeated Yorkist king Richard III. To us, this event marks the end of the Wars of the Roses but to contemporaries it was not clear that this bitter dynastic struggle was truly over. Henry, Tudor's second son, was created Duke of York to link the royal house to the defeated faction. But Henry had a rival in the shape of Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be the real Duke of York and rightful king. Henry Tudor would have to defend his throne twice in battle, and his son's life depended on the outcome. The death of his brother Arthur made Henry Prince of Wales, and his father's heir and rival.
Apr 6, 2009
Warrior
Season 1Episode 260 min

Warrior

Henry's father had won and defended the crown in battle. For Henry, this was the mark of true regal legitimacy and he was determined to emulate his father and win even greater glory. However, to wage war Henry had to free himself from the councillors he had inherited from his father and be his own man. Starkey traces Henry's quest to become a major player in Europe, his successes at the Battle of the Spurs and the Field of the Cloth of Gold and his eventual humiliation after the Battle of Pavia. Throughout these years, his relationship with the brilliant, Machiavellian Thomas Wolsey was central to his reign. But even Wolsey could not disguise the relative impotence of England and her monarchy compared to the great European powers. These foreign disappointments were mirrored by the gradual deterioration in Henry's marriage. If Henry had died, like so many, of the sweating sickness in 1525, he would have barely registered in history, his reign a feeble coda to the story of England's medieval monarchy. But events were about to take an extraordinary turn. Henry would remake himself, his throne and his kingdom - and all for love.
Apr 13, 2009
Lover
Season 1Episode 360 min

Lover

This episode traces Henry's ten-year affair with Anne Boleyn. Henry began to pursue Anne in early 1526. As lust turned to love, he conceived the idea of marrying her. But that required a Papal annulment of his marriage to Catherine. David Starkey's research in the Vatican archives has revealed the real story of Henry's futile six-year struggle to get what he wanted from Rome. During this time, and prompted by Anne, Henry began to re-think the nature of the English monarchy. He came to believe that the King, not the Pope, should rule the Church in England. The result was the break with Rome, a new wife for Henry, and a new religion for his subjects. But the marriage did not last. Henry's court had always been a dangerous place, and when Queen Anne turned against Thomas Cromwell, Henry's chief minister, Cromwell knew that he had to move against her to save himself. He manipulated Henry's naturally suspicious nature to engineer Anne's execution. Money and power had triumphed over love
Apr 20, 2009
Tyrant
Season 1Episode 460 min

Tyrant

The final programme in the series examines how Henry, having inherited a chronically weak English crown, forged it into an instrument of unprecedented power, and then wielded it to change forever the nature of England and the English. The courtiers who had helped Cromwell dispatch Anne Boleyn hoped that the schism with Rome would now be reversed. They were soon disappointed. The destruction of the monasteries proceeded apace, with the loot flowing into Henry's coffers. But such unprecedented actions caused isolation abroad and rebellion at home. Henry's response showed him at his most duplicitous and ruthless. He lured the rebels' leader to London with the promise of talks and then had him hung, drawn and quartered. Meanwhile, Henry's private life was hardly less turbulent. The death of Jane Seymour robbed him of someone he was genuinely fond of, and who had given him the male heir he craved. His marriage to Katherine Howard briefly rekindled the flames of desire, but her adultery (real, this time) made her another victim of court intrigue. David Starkey's archival research has revealed the full story behind her tragic fate. But as Henry grew older, more ill and more dangerous to all around him, he was busy forging a fiercely independent England, where coastal fortifications and an expanding Tudor navy gave tangible expression to a new sense of national destiny.
Apr 27, 2009

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.
The Upshaws
Running

The Upshaws

The Upshaws centers on a working-class African American family in Indiana struggling to make it work and make it right without the blueprints to do it.

GenreComedy, Family
Sight Unseen
Running

Sight Unseen

Homicide detective Tess Avery is forced to quit the job she loves after nearly killing her partner and being diagnosed as clinically blind. Reluctant to accept help, Tess uses an assistance app and connects with Sunny Patel, a professional seeing-eye guide and agoraphobe living 3,000 miles away. Haunted by the unsolved cases she left behind, Tess uses a hidden camera and earpiece, while Sunny remotely steers Tess through life's obstacles -- and crimes -- as the two challenge preconceptions about ability, trust and where to draw the line.

GenreDrama, Crime
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Running

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert brings his signature satire and comedy to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the #1 show in late-night. Featuring bandleader Jon Batiste with his band Stay Human, the Emmy Award-nominated show broadcasts from the historic Ed Sullivan Theater. He talks with an eclectic mix of guests about what is new and relevant in the worlds of politics, entertainment, business, music, technology, and more. Stephen Colbert took over as host, executive producer, and writer of The Late Show on Sept. 8, 2015. 

Colbert is best known for his work as a television host, writer, actor, and producer, and lest known for his charity work teaching English as a second language on Tunisian date farms. Before joining the CBS family -- and being officially adopted by network president Les Moonves -- Colbert helmed The Colbert Report, which aired nearly 1,500 episodes and required Stephen to wear nearly 1,500 different neckties. The program received two Peabody Awards, two Grammy Awards, and several unwelcome shoulder massages. It won two Emmys for Outstanding Variety Series in 2013 and 2014, both of which appear to have been lost in the move. Colbert is pronounced koʊlˈbɛər, according to Wikipedia. His understudy is William Cavanaugh, who will be hosting The Late Show approximately one-third of the time. Good luck, Bill!

GenreComedy
Shark Tank
Running

Shark Tank

An exciting new reality show that, in these trying economic times, gives budding entrepreneurs a chance to make their dreams come true and become successful - and possibly wealthy - business people. But the entrepreneurs must first try to convince five tough, multi-millionaire tycoons to part with their own hard-earned cash and give them the funding they need to jumpstart their business ideas.

Enter the Sharks of Shark Tank, who lifted themselves up by their bootstraps to make their own entrepreneurial dreams come true and turned their ideas into empires. The five Sharks of this ruthless panel are real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran, "infomercial" industry pioneer Kevin Harrington, technology innovator Robert Herjavec, fashion icon Daymond John and financial expert Kevin O'Leary.

Celebrity Jeopardy!
Running

Celebrity Jeopardy!

Celebrity Jeopardy!, produced by Sony Pictures Television, is an all-new game show premiering this fall. This new series welcomes celebrity contestants to compete for a chance to win money for a charity of their choice.