Last night saw the first season finale of the new Showtime series The Borgias (after only 9 episodes which really feels like a problem that a first season show ran out of material that fast but anyway…). Problem is, the show doesn’t feel that new. Indeed, Showtime is the network that brought us The Tudors, and The Borgias feels probably a bit too similar to the former–and better known–show. Both shows feature a weird mix of one dimensional characters against an epic background, shows that try to make up for their ivory tower setting (The Tudors is English royalty, The Borgias is a 14th century Pope) with gratuitous sex scenes and double dealing intrigue behind those palace walls. In historical epics, I still prefer the HBO touch of the excellent Deadwood or the under appreciated Rome. Just in terms of dialogue and characterization alone, nothing in The Borgias can hold a candle to Deadwood’s crafty saloon owner Al Swearingin.
I want to be clear: I like the show okay. I just don’t love it and probably never will (not a great feeling to have for a first year series). Dialogue is one problem. Like The Tudors all of it is a bit florid and on the nose. And the show’s stubborn refusal to surround Jeremy Irons (adding life to every scene he’s in as Rodrigo Borgia, the scheming pope of Rome) with a single interesting supporting character is another problem. When Irons is onscreen, the show sizzles. When the show is following one of his adult children–which it does way too often–it makes you check the DVR clock to see how much longer each episode has. The two actors playing his sons are particularly awful and miscast–they seriously couldn’t have found better?–but one or the other is in nearly every scene.
So I’m in a pickle. I like this show and like that it shows a time period almost no one is familiar with, but can not really tell you why you should watch it. I guess this is a guilty pleasure for those that still have to have respectable guilty pleasures (i.e. not Jersey Shore). It’s apt I keep bringing up The Tudors because young women can watch this just as they did that show–like they’re watching a respectable drama but really only watching the 14th century version of soap opera trash.
Supporting Scene Stealers: Probably Jeremy Irons. He’s supposed to be the lead, but since his oldest son is technically in more scenes, Irons is really more of a supporting role. But he knows how to make the most of his limited screen time whether he’s plotting the downfall of his nemesis or seducing a redheaded mistress or just giving a seemingly boring line an extra sarcastic electricity.