Mary and George

[Lucius5]

I'm very much enjoying 'Mary & George', currently airing in the UK on Sky Atlantic and due, I believe, in the US next month. Julianne Moore is terrific as the fearsome matriarch (with cut glass English accent) propelling her pretty second son, played by Nicholas Galitzine, to fame and fortune as lover of the king, James 1st as played by Tony Curran. I'll not give too much of the plot away but it all looks very handsome, there's some witty dialogue, some fairly entertaining sex scenes (given this is primetime UK telly) and its all based - apparently - on true events. There are some excellent performers also in secondary roles including Nicola Walker as one of Moore's acid tongued rivals at court, Trine Dyrholm as the long suffering Queen Anne and Mark O'Halloran as a quietly spoken but deadly Francis Bacon. All good fun! I'm only about halfway through but its very entertaining so far. 

[SirBillybob]

CRAVE/STARZ TV channel in Canada April 5th, or STARZ as Prime Video adjunct subscription. Looks like great fun. 

Edited March 11 by SirBillybob

[dutchal]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOlEI9-_tnA

Redband trailer. 

[+ Charlie]

James I (he was also JamesVI of Scotland) was the son of Mary Queen of Scots, and he was notorious for his fondness for pretty young men: George Villiers was not his first favorite to be showered with titles and wealth. However, he was not just a pretty face--he eventually became Duke of Buckingham, and one of the most important figures in early 17th century European politics. He also became a close confederate of James's son, Charles I, who didn't mind his relationship with Charles's father; George was murdered just before his 36th birthday, while on his way to a military mission for Charles in France.

As the young Duke of Buckingham, George acquired land in Buckinghamshire, where he built a huge country house called Cliveden. At one point much of the original house was burned down and then rebuilt. Over the years it passed through many owners, including other noblemen, even the Prince of Wales, and the American millionaire William Astor, who passed it on to his son and his wife, the famed British political figure Nancy Astor, before it was finally acquired by the National Trust. In the 1970s, it was used by Stanford University as their international residential campus. A close friend of mine was teaching there at the time, and I went to visit him there for a few days. I was given Nancy Astor's bedroom for my stay.  True to tradition, my gay friend had a favorite pupil, who was a very pretty boy indeed. It is now a hotel, and if you want to lay out a lot of money for a room in the country for the night, you can make your own connection to George Villiers.

 

[+ stevenkesslar]

On 3/12/2024 at 1:49 PM, Charlie said:

It is now a hotel, and if you want to lay out a lot of money for a room in the country for the night, you can make your own connection to George Villiers.

Is it a package deal?  I mean, will Nicholas Galitzine fuck me?  Or is that extra?

[TonyDown]

Khalil Ben Gharbia had a supporting role in epi 1.

Very pretty

A couple of scenes gave a nice tease.

Looking forward to epi 2.

 

[Rod Hagen]

I can't believe I'm going to have to subscribe to STARZ, temporarily.   :-)

Edited April 7 by Rod Hagen

[Welshman]

On 3/12/2024 at 8:49 PM, Charlie said:

James I (he was also JamesVI of Scotland) was the son of Mary Queen of Scots, and he was notorious for his fondness for pretty young men: George Villiers was not his first favorite to be showered with titles and wealth. However, he was not just a pretty face--he eventually became Duke of Buckingham, and one of the most important figures in early 17th century European politics. He also became a close confederate of James's son, Charles I, who didn't mind his relationship with Charles's father; George was murdered just before his 36th birthday, while on his way to a military mission for Charles in France.

As the young Duke of Buckingham, George acquired land in Buckinghamshire, where he built a huge country house called Cliveden. At one point much of the original house was burned down and then rebuilt. Over the years it passed through many owners, including other noblemen, even the Prince of Wales, and the American millionaire William Astor, who passed it on to his son and his wife, the famed British political figure Nancy Astor, before it was finally acquired by the National Trust. In the 1970s, it was used by Stanford University as their international residential campus. A close friend of mine was teaching there at the time, and I went to visit him there for a few days. I was given Nancy Astor's bedroom for my stay.  True to tradition, my gay friend had a favorite pupil, who was a very pretty boy indeed. It is now a hotel, and if you want to lay out a lot of money for a room in the country for the night, you can make your own connection to George Villiers.

 

Plus, it didn't just stop in 1605, either because King Charles I appointed him First Minister of England (in effect Prime Minister) which means that the lead character in my Musketeer retellings meets him a lot, with the following taking place on top of a mountain in the Himalays during the lead characters journey around the known world in 800 days

"Please, Henry I beg you" moaned the Duke, "you know that I am in love with my fellow man, the bigger, the stronger, the better. Henry, you are the strongest man I have ever met, and...I wish I could have seen you become even larger"

"But your Grace, my manservant is also dying on that mountain and if as you say is true that I am dying as well, I...I cannot accept your offer of becoming your man, but, I promise this, allow me and my manservant to live and when I return to Paris I shall ask Aramis, to bind the soul of Porthos to yours, so that when he dies, not a while yet, you will have a manservant who is able to fulfil your desires, just please, allow me and my manservant to live your Grace!"

[TonyDown]

Story arc starts out a bit like Sense and Sensibility, but way, way, way darker.

Julianne Moore (Mary) made epi 1 watchable.   She's great.

Previews suggest George's scenes may get more steamy.   Looking forward to that.

Edited April 7 by TonyDown

[+ jeezopete]

 

1 hour ago, Rod Hagen said:

I can't believe I'm going to have to subscribe to STARZ, temporarily.

Best case would be to wait for all episodes to drop and then go for a free (or cheap) trial:

 

Read on for Starz's current deals.

• Starz 2024 deal: $1.50 for one month.
• Starz Prime Video Channel Deal: $1.99 for three months.
• Starz Free Trial With Hulu.
• Starz Free Trial With Amazon Prime Video.
• Starz Free Trial With Fubo TV.
• Starz Free Trial.

Mar 21, 2024

[pubic_assistance]

On 3/12/2024 at 4:49 PM, Charlie said:

James I (he was also JamesVI of Scotland) was the son of Mary Queen of Scots, and he was notorious for his fondness for pretty young men

Strange how they never mentioned these interesting facts in my High School history class 🤔.....

[dutchal]

12 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

Strange how they never mentioned these interesting facts in my High School history class 🤔.....

Bet they never mentioned all of Alexander the Great's adventures, either.