July 2004
According to Outpost
Gallifrey, the new Doctor Who series will feature an
appearance by Henry VIII:
An article in the
June 29 Daily Star says that the new Doctor Who series "will feature
historic figures including Shakespeare, Henry VIII and Einstein - who
are locked up together inside a Big Brother-style house. Famous
housemates will face eviction and death from aliens when the classic
sci-fi show comes back to our screens next year. The new series, which
stars Christopher Eccleston as Dr Who, is aiming to win over a whole
new generation of young followers of the Tardis timelord. Christopher
said: 'We can parallel things with science fiction and address what's
going on around us to a certain extent for young people without being
pompous.' In one of the planned episodes of the hotly-awaited series,
some of the world's most famous figures from the past are kidnapped
from their time zones by aliens. They are put in a Big Bruvstyle house
for extraterrestrial television entertainment." (Thanks
to Paul Engelberg)
The Ninth Doctor is
being played by Christopher Eccleston, who played the duke of Norfolk
in 1998's Elizabeth. Yes, these are tenuous Tudor links
but I'm a Doctor Who fan as well.
Thanks to the
Barbie collector who emailed me the link to
the
'World of Royalty: Queen Elizabeth I' doll. For those of you
who missed the 1995 Elizabeth doll, mark September in your
calendars. And start saving - the doll will probably retail at
$250.
Elizabeth
sequel in the works?
(Source: http://www.comingsoon.net/news.php?id=4977)
Aussie's The
Daily Telegraph spoke to
Elizabeth director Shekhar Kapur who says that he is working on a
sequel to the 1998 Cate Blanchett drama.
Blanchett is expected to take the throne again and star in the epic -
based on Queen Elizabeth I - which has the working title of Golden
Age. "It is about the battle between her life as a monarch and her
personal life," Kapur said. "It ends in the destruction of the Spanish
Armada on the larger level."
The Indian-born Kapur said the script, which Michael Hirst is working
on, would be ready in six months. "And then it depends on Cate's
schedule and my schedule as to when we start shooting."
More links:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127536/news
http://in.news.yahoo.com/040604/139/2dhbb.html
EARLIER NEWS
The Criterion Collection (which
has collected quite a bit of my money over the years) has just released
Laurence Olivier's
1955
version of
Richard III. This was the third Shakespeare play which
Olivier both directed and starred in (after Henry V and Hamlet)
and remains the definitive film treatment of Richard III.
Olivier's work is incredible, - he is the physical embodiment of
villainy, plotting with gleeful malevolence one moment and inspiring
our pity the next. And if anyone is wondering why this is
included at the Tudor Media News page, well - the future Henry
VII does make an appearance and the Battle of Bosworth Field marks both
the end of Richard's life and the beginning of the Tudor dynasty.
Elizabeth
and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens by Jane Dunn was recently
released. I am still working on the new and improved Reviews
section, but here is a quick review - a worthwhile addition to your
Tudor library. I've read enough about both women to wonder if I
would learn anything from this book, but I was pleasantly
surprised. A liberal use of primary sources plus a lovely
selection of portraits - and the book jacket and boards are beautifully
designed. As competition for Alison Plowden's Two Queens in
One Isle, this book is the better choice.
At last!
Finally, another major biography of Mary Stuart has been
released.
Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart is by
noted Tudor historian John Guy. Antonia Fraser's biography
was serviceable but my own casual research revealed large gaps in her
use of primary sources. I always wondered - when would another
historian focus on Mary's tumultuous life? I should note that the
UK version of this work is entitled My Heart is My Own: The Life of
Mary Queen of Scots and the jacket features the Clouet sketch of an
adolescent Mary. The American edition, shown above, has the 'hat'
portrait minus the hat! As an admirer of
the hat
and its fluffy feather, I'm rather disappointed.
Anne
Boleyn: A New Life of England's Tragic Queen by Joanna Denny
will be published in April
in the UK. In comparison with the
two existing major biographies of Anne (by Carrolly Erickson and Retha
Warnicke), this one is the most successful 'popular' biography.
And no, I don't mean 'popular' as a slur; far from it. I'll post
my review at the new Reviews section when I've finished.
The Folger Shakespeare
Library has finished its nine-year restoration of the Trevelyon
Miscellany. It's now the focus of an excellent
exhibit.
Professor
Eric Ives, who wrote the definitive biography of Anne Boleyn in 1988, has
just released The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn: The Most Happy (US
and
UK), which incorporates new research and addresses issues raised by
the biographies of Anne which followed his own (including Warnicke and
Starkey's work.) Tudor enthusiasts know that
Warnicke's The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn questioned many of
Ives's conclusions.
Henry's
38-year reign saw England transformed from a sleepy backwater of
jousting tournaments and Catholic piety to a nation torn by religious
and political strife - all because the king wanted a male heir.