BORGIA VS THE BORGIAS

[jenni_blog]

The Borgias was a TV series on the Showcase channel here that I dearly wanted to see but it was being shown too late for me (10:00 PM). Since I've had Netflix I discovered recently that it was showing a TV miniseries called Borgia and at first I mistook it for The Borgias, not noticing the difference in the titles.

I watched the first episode of Borgia and was hooked. It's very involving from the start, and very graphic; in fact, one of the executive producers on the show also worked on Rome, and the two series have a lot in common. Borgia is a French-German production, but in the English language.

Another curiosity is that one of the characters is played by the same actor who plays Samwell Tarly in HBO's Game of Thrones.

Borgia was produced in 2011 and first shown in July. I had never heard of it before, but it's really good. There is an interesting review on IMDb, comparing it to The Borgias, here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1736341/

While I still want to see The Borgias, I am enjoying Borgia so much that the Showcase production will have to wait!

Borgia is highly recommended! :)

EDIT: Because the stupid IMDb link might not work, here is a link to the official German site:

http://borgia.zdf.de/

But I loved the review so much at IMDb that I think anyone interested in watching one or both Borgia series would like to read it. :)

Comments

[aglaiya.livejournal.com]

I watched 'The Borgias' in original and was fascinated! Now they show it on TV here in GERMAN and it's like HORROR!!! German language isn't working for me :(
Can't wait for the second 10 parts!

I think they have shown 'Borgia' on our TV but I didn't want to watch because I love the other series too much and the pics didn't make me want to watch it.

you cannot link IMBD sites

[just-jenni.livejournal.com]

I need to watch both 'Borgia' series in full before I make a decision as to which is best and for what reasons. I'd like to make a post after I have done so and point out all the differences. At first glance (I have watched both first episodes) I would say Borgia is definitely more graphic and the girls have more important parts. But The Borgias has better-known (and probably prettier) actors. Both held my interest pretty well, although I found Borgia seemed to drag in some spots, but was riveting in other places.

_{Thanks for the info. I didn't know it.}

[aglaiya.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I dodn't want to watch something.

The actors in 'The Borgias' are really good!!! Jeromy Irons as pope is ähm... OMG! and the very best!
I love all actors. They have many sex scenes!!! You can also see the not that beautiful side of that time! Can't wait for the second session!!!

[just-jenni.livejournal.com]

YEAHHHHHH11111 Jeremy Irons!!!!!!!!!

Have watched Parts 2 & 3 of 'Borgia'! It's still GOOD! :)

[crazy-girl-86.livejournal.com]

There has been a six parts documentary on TV here some weeks ago, which I wanted to watch but got to know about it too late so that I had already missed the first three parts, therefor I didn't watch the other either. :(

Now, the series is on TV but I also missed the first two parts... and afterwards decided they are showing it too late anyway and I would rather fall asleep watching it than paying much attention. It's a pity, because it actually sounds really interesting.

Maybe, I'll find a book about them. ;-) Books work better for me.

[just-jenni.livejournal.com]

It's very interesting about The Borgias. I particularly was interested in learning more about Lucrezia. I think a book about them would be be fascinating. :)

[txorakeriak.livejournal.com]

I read an article about the series and was very intrigued because it sounded really interesting and well-made and all, and John Bradley-West is in it, so there are enough reasons to watch it! However, I'm going to wait till the DVD comes out because I don't like dubbed stuff AT ALL. :D

Btw, have you seen the HBO show Rome? A friend and I are currently watching the second series, and we're completely hooked! :D

[just-jenni.livejournal.com]

It's a great show! I want to watch the American one too, once I finish the German-French one.

Yes, I watched Rome too! It is just awesome! I so fell in love with Marc Anthony. :P ;)

[lady--croft.livejournal.com]

I have loved the Borgias in all their gloriousness - both the fictional versions and the historical family - for many years now. If I were to go back to university for my Masters I'd study Italian Renaissance history just because the Borgias and the Medici are soooo interesting. While I have seen the primarily Cdn series (The Borgias) I have not watched any of the French-German version, Borgia...I have been limited to clips from that series on Tumblr. I loved the CBC series. Truthfully my greatest hope was that after Rome ended on HBO that HBO would make a series about the Borgia family. It would have filled the void left on HBO from both Rome and The Sopranos. I am fine with the Showcase production though. Jeremy Irons is a fabulous actor. He would not have been someone I would have thought could play Rodrigo but he has turned out to be completely believable in the part. The Borgias does a great job capturing how the family was caught up in the tide of the world they lived in - that their actions were shaped by the circumstances around them. For the first season Chez and Crezia are pretty much still learning their place in society and I am assuming in the second season, as they become more 'tainted' by the society and the people around them, they will start growing and grasping for more power regardless of how they achieve it(aka the ends justifies the means). I love the cameos by other great historical faces - Machiavelli, Savonarola, Il Moro (Ludovico Sforza)...I'm hoping next year for Leonardo da Vinci to show up.

There are plenty of historical fiction books on the Borgia family if you are interested. I guess the basic one is The Family by Mario Puzo (yes that Mario Puzo, the one who wrote The Godfather. But there are plenty of other novels - some sympathetic to the Borgias, others not so friendly. I love the books by Jeanne Kalogridis - she keeps me hooked on the Italian Renaissance and has a couple of books with the Borgias as main characters. There are also plenty of genuine biographies about the Borgias with one the better ones being written by Sarah Bradford. Enjoy :)

[just-jenni.livejournal.com]

The Borgias are truly fascinating. I can't wait to watch the CBC series once I've finished the German-French one. While I am very impressed with it and thank Netflix for bringing it to us, I really want to see Jeremy Irons. I'll probably get the DVDs.

Oh my gosh...Mario Puzo wrote about the Borgias? That's great. I really like him as a writer...I've read The Last Don as well as The Godfather. I'll have to get The Family for sure now. I'd like to read a non-friendly book and a friendly one, just to make the comparisons between them. :)