I really dont like these cable series often, and part of it is needless softcore porn, but the characters are very, very well presented and acted. I was afraid that Thomas More in particular would be made into a sop (having been made a saint, after all) but I am happy to see his character written and acted as a robust man of true honor.

but...

Im wondering about the weapons and armor. The series is gorgeous to look at with the costumes and sets, etc, but it looks to me that some of the weapons are mismatched, and I think I spotted a couple rapiers on hips that really didnt emerge for many years until after Henry.

Am I off on this? Anybody else watching and noticing?

I haven't seen it yet, although I do have a DVD release in my blockbuster.com queue...

I'll let you know in a few years when I can rent it someplace!

:-)

I'm watching it. So far it's pretty enjoyable. The arms, armour, and costumes are inaccurate and misplaced. The armour during the tilt, in particular, made me cringe as it was not only from a completely different era, it wouild have been very ineffective for the tilt! They were jousting with bare arms and legs, no gauntlets, and, and.. it doesn't matter. :) I wouldn't expect something like this to be well researched. It's entertainment for the masses and, as I've said, I've found it pretty enjoyable so far.

I may be insane, but I tuned into that show (or I think it was that show) and at first it seemed fine, but then two of the characters played some sort of modern indoor racket ball type sport. I am not on any medication, so what was I seeing? :)

Im glad I wasnt alone in some of this. The Pakistani swords and such are distracting to those of us with this hobby. The script, cast, and acting I think are quite good for the series. Too bad some of the physical details are off.

If you'll recall, tennis balls were mentioned in Shakespeare's Henry V.

William Shakespeare wrote:

We are glad the Dauphin is so pleasant with us; His present and your pains we thank you for: When we have match'd our rackets to these balls, We will, in France, by God's grace, play a set Shall strike his father's crown into the hazard.

Were those balls the insult that let to the invasion and the subsequent battle at Agincourt? I've never actually heard a definitive answer to that. It's a good story anyway. If we trust the Bard, that would put tennis over a hundred years earlier. :cool:

The tennis you are talking about was actually its ancestor, the french jeu de paume,italian pallacorda.

L\'ancêtre direct du tennis

1415. Conséquence de la bataille d\'Azincourt, le duc d’Orléans est emprisonné pendant deux décennies en Angleterre. À l’occasion de cette captivité à Wingfield dans le Norfolk, le duc introduit en Angleterre le jeu de paume qu’il pratique quasi quotidiennement. Quatre siècles plus tard, le descendant du chatelain de Wingfield, Walter Clopton Wingfield, invente le tennis en adaptant le jeu de paume sur herbe. Le tennis prend d\'ailleurs au Royaume-Uni le nom Lawn Tennis (tennis sur herbe) tandis que le jeu de paume est désigné sous le nom Real Tennis.

See

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pallacorda

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeu_de_paume

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Jeu_de_paume.jpg