Posted on 10/10/2005 12:45:21 PM PDT by Callahan
This show is co-produced by John Milius of "Red Dawn" fame. It has its' flaws, but it's still better than most of the crap on TV.
My husband's been watching this.
Personally, I think it's just "too much". Every kind of sex thing (of course full female nudity, no males), graphic glorying violence, etc. Just more stuff I will not allow around any kids I have.
My only major problem with the historicity of it are the constant threats by the various parties to have someone crucified.Crucifixion was not permitted as a sentence for Roman citizens. It is why St. Paul was beheaded while Jesus and St. Peter were crucified. Aside from that. I'm really enjoying it, although I wish there were more scenes of the Roman Army in combat. Having lived through third year Latin, I can't wait for Cicero to get his.
Point taken, but you can't really accuse this show of lacking male nudity. One of the main characters, Marc Antony, spends alot of time sans toga, and in the previous episode, Atia gave Servilia a "stud slave" with a bejeweled phallus as a gift. The flaccid male member hasn't seen this much screen time since "Bill Clinton: My Life" the movie.
You touched on my least favorite part. Given all the bragging about the huge budget for this series, the montage treatment of the battle between Ceasar and Magnus felt really cheap. It totally reminded you that you were watching a TV show and not an epic film like Spartacus or Gladiator.
I guess I don't watch it enough! The 1st ep was enough for me (I saw last of last nite).
In some ways this show could be good. However, even w/o the graphic stuff, it comes off mainly as a glorified soap opera IMO.
I've never looked back, and my family (kids and now grandkids) are the better for it.
In my opinion, HBO is the literal heartbeat of the rabid Hollywood lefties.
From what I've heard about current comedians such as Chris Rock, and others, HBO is only getting worst.
At least they finally mentioned Titus Labienus, commander in Gaul of Caesar's Xth Legion, and commander during the Civil War of Pompey's cavalry [He was subsequently killed in Spain]. He would have made a truly fascinating character in the series.
Minor beef, first episodes. Vorenus wore his gladius on the wrong hip [He's a centurion], and was never seen carrying a vine staff [his badge of rank].
"of course full female nudity, no males"
You didn't see the 'gift'?
We're fans of the show. The nudity, from what I gather, was part of Roman culture in its decadence.
Yes, the first episode had a decent but short battle scene in Gaul. I found the Roman system of rotating the troops and the role of The Centurion coordinating it fascinating. Also, I had no idea of the pagan religion system and the brutal treatment(slavery) of their conquered foes. Good stuff.
Crucifixion was the worst form of several types of capital punishment, and , although seldom employed on Roman citizens, it was within the law, as the defense by Cicero of Rabirius ( a Roman citizen and in fact a senator ) against the penalty of crucifixion in 63 BC demonstrates.
There are instances of Rome employing crucifixion on its citizens, such as in 66AD by procurator Gessius Florus.
In general, from its earliest days, crucifixion was almost exclusively used on slaves and noncitizens.
I have been watching religously. Being a bachelor, there is not many shows that I rush home to see (even with TIVO-HD), but this is a great, great, Great show!
I have a BA in history with a focus on ancient rome , and this show is by far, one of the most accurate portrails of roman debauchery and roman life. It goes to show how much of "too much" can happen in a society...and interestingly enough, the romans were so "bad" because Christ had not yet appeared on earth! (Rome: HBO takes place from 55BC-15 MAR 44 BC (ides of march)). I was at dinner tonight for a family birthday and we had all been watching this and several relatives said it was "too much" and very perverse and bloody...
I replied that that is the way the world was before Christ, and how the world will be when/if they reject Christ. Someone at another table chimed in and said that that was an excellent observation and that he was a fan of the show and now has an explaination to his wife on why Romans are portrayed so accurately.
Another thing that I found interesting is the true depictions of how the women were just as insidious and cruel as the men. As the men (at this time, most soldiers were still patricians, even though the Marius reforms from 107BC allowed all Italians/Romans to enlist) were off fighting wars, there were major families of females left to do business, keep farmsteads, trade slaves, and keep the power for their husbands/sons/brothers to return to....and the Julii (pronounced Julie-eye), Scipii (Scipy-eye), and Brutii (Bruty-eye) all veid for power at a facinating point in history.
In all the thousands of years of recorded human history, this one has so many facets which are even practiced today, to numerous to list. This is the time of Cleopatra, Marc Antony, Ides of March, death of republicanism( for a time), etc. Despite this one, of many, Roman civil wars, this one ushered in the golden age of the Roman Empire that was the richest and most advanced, per capita, until the United States post 1945!
Anyways, rant mode off, I really enjoy the series and love the characters....the honorable, unbridled Cato, the patricarchal Pompey, the quiet, but oustanding general Scipio, and of course the self-serving yet probably first republican, Cicero. I like the awkward and bratty/spoiled Brutus who will eventually kill Caesar. He reminds me of Ben Afflack(sp) because in roman times he was beautiful, yet very ignorant, and threw hissy-fits, but unfortunately very rich and powerful, and in company of powerful people even though he was a coward, a liar, and a backstabber (literally) "et tu brute?!"....maybe liberals today are direct descendents of the Brutii?
If you want to read more into roman history, and do not have the time, just type in "ancient rome" in wikipedia.org to get a good touch and go lesson.
If you like accurate, historical fiction, I would suggest "First Man in Rome", by Colleen McCullough of the Thorn Birds fame.
Any other ideas? Like a ping list or a FR:Rome thread?, please contact me!
DCB
I knew the "reality" rationale was going to come out.
You're probably correct, alot of this stuff is probably quite accurate (and DUH, we'd see nudity in some1's bedroom! That's true now, no? So why not show more nudes in sit-coms? That's not decadence, that's just normal stuff.)
The point is this is readily accessible to children - and also "adults" who take it as affirmation for their own decadent ways.
Don't tell me they can't infer the various "decadence" rather than show it outright. Maybe people's minds aren't able to get around the subtle approach any more; "sophisticated", huh?
Too bad it's not alot easier to lock this stuff down. Too much TV IS this bad right now, and we don't need more.
And there's more to it than just the sex stuff (including homo garbage) - seeing the heads chopped off, any1?
As a matter of curiosity, one of the 2 judges who found Rabirius guilty and occasioned Cicero's appeal happened to be none other than C. Julius Caesar; the other judge was Caesar's cousin Lucius, keeping the verdict in the family. Of course it is absolutely irrelevant that both were champions of the "popular" party, while Cicero and Rabirius adhered to the other "senatorial" party. You could think of this as something like the 9th Circuit handling the DeLay matter.
I was appalled and offended that they cut away too soon.
And good news its been picked up for a 2nd season which unfortunately won't air until 2007
Given all the bragging about the huge budget for this series, the montage treatment of the battle between Ceasar and Magnus felt really cheap. It totally reminded you that you were watching a TV show and not an epic film like Spartacus or Gladiator.
That's the biggest complaint I have right now, with all the money they were suppose to have spent I was expecting a awesome Braveheart/Gladiator type battle but instead there was nothing, nada, zip. grrrrr even in USA Network's Atilla we got battles.
I'm hooked on the show. I love the characters and the whole look of the show. Glad someone started a thread. I went to the hbo site and you can read lots of what other viewers are saying.
Any word on a DVD release?
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