Is this really as good as its massive rating here? I don't believe so.
The problem is it resembles a tabloid newspaper version of history, a sort of Rome through the eyes of the Daily Mirror or the Sun ( British newspapers of the sex, scandal and Television sort for any confused readers).
As I watched it, it struck me as more like a straight faced version of the Blackadder series than historical drama, minus the laughter track. The characters here are all either psychopaths, idiots, perverts or monsters, and when a character is none of these, they are soon dead.
The acting is good however and i enjoyed watching it, its the faulty characterisations that let it down. Augustus (Octavian) Caesar simply bears no resemblance, physically or characteristically, to the man who totally dominated the roman world through his cunning and political skills and seems more of a brash jolly old shopkeeper, (not to take away from brian blessed who plays the part hes been given well). His wife Livia is like some witch from a fairy story, there is no real support from either contemporary historians or even the later ones with access to the official documents of her having been involved in any of the deaths seen in the show beyond rumor. I could go on but you get the idea...
That said, it is an entertaining program and well acted, but due to the limited money behind it, fans of the far more splendid looking "ROME" by hbo/bbc may be disappointed. If your just now becoming interested about Roman History, do not get this, wait until you've read some more(have a look at this great site :http://www.roman-empire.net/) THEN watch it or you may be put off Rome altogether such is the venom of this work towards all things imperial Roman.
Cheers, Crayon
The problem is it resembles a tabloid newspaper version of history, a sort of Rome through the eyes of the Daily Mirror or the Sun ( British newspapers of the sex, scandal and Television sort for any confused readers).
As I watched it, it struck me as more like a straight faced version of the Blackadder series than historical drama, minus the laughter track. The characters here are all either psychopaths, idiots, perverts or monsters, and when a character is none of these, they are soon dead.
The acting is good however and i enjoyed watching it, its the faulty characterisations that let it down. Augustus (Octavian) Caesar simply bears no resemblance, physically or characteristically, to the man who totally dominated the roman world through his cunning and political skills and seems more of a brash jolly old shopkeeper, (not to take away from brian blessed who plays the part hes been given well). His wife Livia is like some witch from a fairy story, there is no real support from either contemporary historians or even the later ones with access to the official documents of her having been involved in any of the deaths seen in the show beyond rumor. I could go on but you get the idea...
That said, it is an entertaining program and well acted, but due to the limited money behind it, fans of the far more splendid looking "ROME" by hbo/bbc may be disappointed. If your just now becoming interested about Roman History, do not get this, wait until you've read some more(have a look at this great site :http://www.roman-empire.net/) THEN watch it or you may be put off Rome altogether such is the venom of this work towards all things imperial Roman.
Cheers, Crayon