Yes, that's why we haven't seen it yet. I don't particularly care for that, but if I'm reading or sewing or half-asleep when it's on, I can tune in and out depending on what's happening.
The real problem is that we couldn't turn it until all our children were in bed, and by that point I'm usually not interested in TV.
Certainly not for the kids. There’s an arena scene toward the end of the first season that makes the film Gladiator look positively tame. But the show captures the reality of life in Rome better than anything I’ve ever seen. It brilliantly shows all the different strata of Roman society from patrician to slave and captures the squalor of the time. It’s clearly a labor of love and if you’re interested in the period it’s not to be missed.