Showtime’s BORGIAS Review: A Captivating Saga of Suspense
| March 30, 2011 at 1:15 PM EDTThe Borgias is the new Showtime series about what has been called the first crime family in history. But will it hold your attention if you’re not at gunpoint?
Much like The Tudors (of which I was a fan) what I enjoyed in this show was all of the history and the attention to the historical details of interior design, costumes, and physical mannerisms. What’s more, in the world of the Borgias you’ll find enemies, sex, and keen wisdom dropped into conversations.
The opening credits for The Borgias have an emphasis on historic art, and the music is sublime. It’s suspenseful, sexy, and dramatic.
What I didn’t like was the first and second episodes’ emphasis on what I suspect this show will have a great deal of: religion, crime/justice and politics. (I say this with maturity: Yack.) As a legit fan of The History Channel, I am still far more drawn more towards the inter-dynamics of characters, and okay – romance. The show can be a little slow moving, and yet it is so beautiful and captivating that it already compelled me to come back and watch more.
Show Description: Over a decade in the making, The Showtime Original Series The Borgias is the sordid saga of one of the most remarkable and legendary families in history. Set in 15th century Italy at the height of the Renaissance, The Borgias chronicles the corrupt rise of patriarch Rodrigo Borgia (Academy Award® winner Jeremy Irons) to the papacy, where he proceeds to commit every sin in the book to amass and retain power, influence and enormous wealth for himself and his family. The unbounded audacity of this original crime family went on to inspire Machiavelli’s The Prince and Mario Puzo’s The Godfather. Don’t miss a minute of the lavish, sexy, scandalous drama from the creative mind of Academy Award® winner Neil Jordan.
The Borgias Pictures:
The Borgias Season 1 Episode 1 and Episode 2 Synopsis: In the Season 1 premiere, Rodrigo Borgia bullies and bribes his way into an election as the new Pope Alexander VI then wastes no time consolidating power by elevating his sons into high office and his daughter into a politically motivated marriage.
The Borgias premiere date is Sunday, April 3 at 9 pm et/pt. Plan for a two hour premiere.
Visit Small Screen Scoop for your Showtime scoops.