Considering that nearly everyone has seen some version of the reign of King Henry the eighth, this shows unbelievably sloppy writing, woeful miscasting in key roles, and reduces the central character to a narcissistic sociopath, and not the deeply flawed but charismatic ruler, scholar and musician he was. It also blithely ignores the speed with which the King degenerated from being the athletic, idealistic, hero of his people to the bloated, diseased, morally bankrupt tyrant he became, as the consequence of his desperate desire for an heir.<br /><br />The fact that the writers ignored the real drama, inherent in the historical facts, for some cheesy sex scenes with the royal frat-boy depicted, just shows the inherent cheapness of their intent.<br /><br />Truly the worst historical adaptation I've ever seen. The only good things about it are some excellent actors trying to cope with the dreadful material, and really admirable production values.