Rome

This lavish and groundbreaking HBO Original Series brings you the story of 49 BC Rome through the eyes of two soldiers in Caesar’s 13th Legion., The Roman Empire’s rise gets a royal treatment in this sprawling drama, which begins in 52 B.C., when Julius Caesar finally conquers Gaul, after years of war. Back in Rome, however, the Senate seeks to undermine Caesar’s power, setting the stage for inevitable civil war., The Roman Empire’s rise gets a royal treatment in this sprawling drama, which begins in 52 B.C., when Julius Caesar finally conquers Gaul, after years of war. Back in Rome, however, the Senate seeks to undermine Caesar’s power, setting the stage for inevitable civil war. The HBO-BBC co-production took more than a year to make on acres of sets at Italy’s legendary Cinecitta studios., No dull, dry, pedantic tract this, the British drama series Rome covered the progression of Rome from Republic to Empire in a vivid, vibrant, spectacular and often sordid and profane fashion, succeeding brilliantly in putting a human face on ancient history–in many cases, all too human. This up close and personal look into the intrigues of the last half of the 1st century BCE was seen alternately from the perspective of the famous and infamous power brokers of the ruling and military class, and through the eyes of two humble foot-soldiers in Caesar’s army, Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson). Vorenus was a respectable family man who hated war and could not wait to return home to his wife Niobe (Indira Varma) and their children, and to start a small business that would provide him a modicum of security for life. Conversely, Pullo was an unabashed hedonist who loved the blood and stench of battle, and whose mission in life was to loot, pillage, ravage women and guzzle as much wine as possible. Ironically, Vorenus encountered virtually nothing but tragedy and failure, while Gallo thrived and prospered–and, through a combination of street smarts and dumb luck, always managed to avoid being executed for his many misdeeds, invariably emerging from his latest scrape drenched in glory and prestige. (Contrary to popular belief, both Vorenus and Pullo actually existed, and were mentioned in Caesar’s “Commentaries”–though undoubtedly a great deal of dramatic license was taken with their personalities). While for many viewers Pullo was the series’ most fascinating character, he was given a run for his money by the scheming, duplicitous Atia (Polly Walker), the niece of Julius Caesar (Ciaran Hinds). Using every wile at her disposal to increase her political power and wealth, Atia was not only a skilled bedroom diplomat, but was also eager and willing to misuse and exploit her children Octavia (Kerry Condon) and Octavian (Max Pirkis) for her own gain. Deceptively callow and sickly-looking, the young Octavian became the series’ strongest and most ruthless player during its second season, ultimately morphing into what one historian has described as “The Michael Corleone of Rome.” Though the dialogue and acting were as “modern” as possible under the circumstances, the producers of Rome strove for historical realism in every aspect of production. The standing sets representing the city, the Forum et. al. were the world’s largest, covering five acres of Rome’s Cinecitta studios. And the costumes, props, weaponry etc. were authentic right down to the smallest sandal and coin–to say nothing of the obscene Latin graffiti scrawled on the rotting walls of the Eternal City. Created by John Milius, William MacDonald and Bruno Heller, Rome premiered August 28, 2005 on the American HBO cable service, and November 2, 2005 on the U.K.’s BBC., The stunning, lavish historical epic comes to UKTV History, in feature-length episodes., The Roman Empire’s rise gets a royal treatment in this sprawling drama, which begins in 52 B.C. when Julius Caesar finally conquers Gaul after years of war. Back in Rome, however, the Senate seeks to undermine Caesar’s power, setting the stage for inevitable civil war., Drama series looking at the birth of the Roman Empire through the eyes of ordinary citizens, as well as famous historical figures. After eight years of war, Julius Caesar has triumphed over the Gauls and looks set to return to Rome. But his soaring popularity is making his co-counsel Pompey Magnus fear that he wants to seize control and return as a dictator. When Caesar’s personal standard is stolen, Mark Antony entrusts two unwilling soldiers, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, with the near impossible task of retrieving it., Drama series looking at the birth of the Roman Empire through the eyes of ordinary citizens, as well as famous historical figures. After eight years of war, Julius Caesar finally triumphs over the Gauls and is set to return to Rome. However, his soaring popularity is making his co-counsel, Pompey Magnus, fear that he wants to seize control and return as a dictator., Triple Emmy Award-winning drama chronicling the events of the Roman Empire.