The Shadow of the Tower is a historical drama that was broadcast on BBC in 1972.
Follow the surprising rise of political outsider Henry, Earl of Richmond, who united England after the Wars of the Roses (Wars of the Roses was in a prior blog) and founded the royal house of Tudor. James Maxwell stars as Henry VII, father of Henry VIII, and grandfather of Elizabeth I. See how his reign sets the stage for the Protestant Reformation and opened the curtains on the cultural revolution brought about by the Renaissance. An enthralling, 13-episode BBC series created as the prequel to the BBC's award winning Tudor series, The Six Wives of Henry VIII (blogged about this previously) and Elizabeth R (will blog about in the future).
When Henry, Earl of Richmond, ascended to the throne as King Henry VII in 1485, he would not only unite England after the tumultuous Wars of the Roses, he would herald the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Modern Era. His reign would set the stage for the Protestant Reformation and the cultural revolution brought about by the Renaissance. Although overshadowed in history by his larger-than-life son and his remarkable granddaughter, his achievements can stand proudly alongside anything accomplished by his descendants. (Both paragraphs contributed by BBC)
The Series is on my YouTube site: http://www.youtube.com/user/TudorWorld/videos
13 episodes, approx. 50 minutes each episode (Very below has a synopsis of each episode)
| 1. Crown in Jeopardy 2. Power in the Land 3. The Schooling of Apes 4. The Crowing of Apes 5. The Serpent and the Comforter 6. The White Hart 7. A Fly in the Ointment 8. The Princely Gift 9. Do the Sheep Sin? 10. The Man Who Never Was 11. The Strange Shapes of Reality 12. The Fledgling 13. The King Without a Face |
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Stars
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 (Below synopsis of each episode is by the website: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1393636/) 1. Crown in Jeopardy Henry Tudor (Henry VII) emerges victorious over Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field and seeks to form a coalition from which he hopes to establish a Tudor dynasty. One of Henry's first moves is to recruit John, Earl of Lincoln, Richard III's designated heir, into his cabinet and obfuscate on his promised marriage to Elizabeth of York. Written by duke1029@aol.com 2. Power in the Land Henry VII consolidates his power when Elizabeth gives birth to Prince Arthur legitimizing Henry's claim of descent from the legendary monarch. Henry finds a way to overcome the plots of the treasonous plots of Stafford brothers, who has thus far avoided justice by claiming monastic sanctuary. Written by duke1029@aol.com 3. The Schooling of Apes Henry's enemies represent commoner, Lambert Simmel, as the Earl of Warwick, the York pretender. The Earl of Lincoln leaves for Ireland to head the army that is forming against Henry VII. 4. The Crowing of Apes Lambert Simnel, a commoner posing as the Earl of Warwick, lays claim to the English throne as the surviving nephew of Richard III. The Irish have gone as far as printing coins with his likeness, and German mercenaries along with the Irish launch an invasion fleet against England. Henry must raise an army to meet them. Written by duke1029@aol.com 5. The Serpent and the Comforter No Synopsis 6. The White Hart In 1494, the opportunistic Sir William Stanley is is believed to be plotting against Henry and is sent to the Tower. Sir William Stanley arrogantly boasts that it was his intervention at the Battle of Bosworth that cinched victory for the first Tudor king, but it's heavily believed that he did not join the attack until it was certain that Henry would be victorious. Stanley had initially fought with Richard III until switching sides, The victorious Henry rewarded him with the title of Lord Chancellor. Although Stanley is suspected of treason, there is no evidence against him, as yet. Written by duke1029@aol.com 7. A Fly in the Ointment Addle-brained Sir John Kendall joins with his dim-witted nephew John, an archdeacon, and others in a plot to overthrow the king. They employ an Italian astrologist to concoct an ointment potion that will cause the King's attendants to kill him, along with the rest of the royals and coordinate an ill-advised Scottish invasion. The hapless conspirators are taken in by the mountebank and his odoriferous but harmless concoction, and their ludicrous conspiracy fails miserably. Written by duke1029@aol.com 8. The Princely Gift Visionary Italian navigator is in England in 1494 with his wife and sons in the wake of Columbus' first voyage in order to get backing for his proposed western voyage to Cathay, a much shorter route than the eastern overland route. The Italian navigator is unable to get appropriate backing from Bristol shipowners, but his enthusiasm does win Henry over after he convinces him that he can avoid Spanish shipping lanes. Unfortunately, the penurious monarch expects him to finance the trip on his own. Written by duke1029@aol.com 9. Do the Sheep Sin? It is 1498 and enraged at the crippling taxation of Cornwall, local blacksmith Michael Joseph, leads a mighty pilgrimage to peacefully confront the King in London. However, a sinister figure behind the blacksmith places the King in a great crisis. Written by Jack 10. The Man Who Never Was Flemish Commoner Perkin Warbeck, who claims to be the Duke of Kent, the rightful King, remains the pretender to the throne and is a thorn in Henry's side. He has been a guest at the court of James IV, but is wearing out his welcome. Perkin Warbeck tries to get renewed support in Ireland but is rebuffed. The Spanish Ambassador does offer him comfortable asylum but with no military support. Perkin Warbeck's last chance is to lead the peasant army from Cornwall, which is marching to London to protest Henry's heavy taxation policies and is looking for a leader to rally around. Written by duke1029@aol.com 11. The Strange Shapes of Reality Henry ignores advice to have Perkin Warbeck, the bogus pretender to the throne executed and instead, maintains him in a comfortable apartment under house arrest. Warbeck continues to have delusions of grandeur and continues to talk about overthrowing Henry. He ultimately bribes his guards and escapes, but is rearrested and re-imprisoned in the Tower in much less than comfortable circumstances. Written by duke1029@aol.com 12. The Fledgling In addition to the pretender, Perkin Warbeck, who claims to be the son of Edward IV, Henry also has the Earl of Warwick, Edward's nephew and another contender for the throne, imprisoned in the Tower. Again, advisers urge Henry to execute them along with any other potential Yorkist rivals who might present a future threat against Henry. Henry resists, especially towards Warwick, who has never plotted against the King, and in fact, has been imprisoned since he was nine. In order to have the Tudor dynasty gain more prestige and credibility, Henry seeks an arranged marriage between his oldest son Arthur and Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. The Spanish Ambassador negotiating on King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella behalf insists on the execution of the two pretenders as a precondition of the royal union. Initially, Henry does not want to have the innocent Warwick executed without cause, but he knows it must be done. Written by duke1029@aol.com 13. The King Without a Face Henry is very pleased with his son Arthur's (Prince of Wales) marriage to Catherine of Aragon, daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. She is personable, clever, and carries a large dowry. Arthur is especially pleased with his new bride. Henry encourages the young couple to visit Wales, but unfortunately the young Prince of Wales falls victim to the "sweating sickness" and dies within two days. Henry VII and Elizabeth are shattered by the death. The royal couple try to have an additional son, but the new child, their sixth, is a girl. Elizabeth of York contracts a post-natal infection and dies leaving a forlorn Henry. After Henry VII, unsuccessfully lobby's to marry his son's young widow (Catherine of Aragon), the Spanish agree to allow her to marry the King's last surviving son, the future Henry VIII. Written by duke1029@aol.com |
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My personal review of the mini-series will be posted within the next few days.
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