Tubegazing: 'The Tudors' and 'Cat-Minster'

A Game Show Network competition for cat lovers and Showtime's lusty Henry VIII historical drama hit small screens this week.

from the March 30, 2007 edition

The Tudors (Showtime, April 1, 10 p.m. EDT): Now that lusty and incredibly bloodthirsty historical dramas have proven their power on premium cable (think HBO's "Rome"), Showtime is jumping in the act with a portrait of one of history's most notorious womanizers and political schemers. Henry VIII's appetite for power and personal indulgence changed the course of the known world, so of course we start with his early, most intemperate days. True to form for this new take on an old genre, we see Henry (the eminently watchable Jonathan Rhys Meyers) strip countless times – to wrestle lovers as well as the French King. Uneasy may lie the head that wears a crown, as Shakespeare wrote, but this distracted and hormonal Henry certainly didn't help matters much. Grade: A–

Cat-Minster (GSN, April 1, 7 p.m. EDT): Animal competitions are as much about people as pets. So tune into the Cat Fanciers Association International Cat Show for the gorgeous Persians, Ocicats, and Birmans, but also for the folks who feed a Burmese raw buffalo and turkey meat or give up on men to focus on their felines. Since cats scarcely care about pleasing humans, part of the fun here is watching owners and judges fight the natural apathy of the feted, petted, and pampered pets. Grade: A