Anybody else catch the premier episode last night? I didn't think it was too bad for a first episode that had to introduce a big cast of characters. I thought the guys that played Caeser, Brutus, Pompei, and the brawling centurion were pretty good. It looks like it might have potential.

Yes - lot's of necessary exposition and character introduction in this one and they were still able to put forward some compelling individual performances. This isn't going to be a Sopranos or Deadwood but the quality is there enough to keep me interested. And it's historically interesting that even in ancient Rome the women appear to have had bikini waxes.

That the sexual mores of ancient Rome appear above our own (40 year old virgin… sorry, can't get that piece of trash out of my head) was uplifting.

The premiere of Rome was interesting if not compelling. I’ll tune in next week too. Do we have any history buffs that can attest to its accuracy? If high school history were presented in such fashion I bet I would've stayed awake...

I happen to be reading a history called "Rome at War" at the moment. I was just about to begin the section on the Roman Civil War. After last night's episode I was inspired to start the chapter. What I was reading was pretty much the episode! Right down to mention of Caesar's daughter Julia being married to Pompey, and dying in childbirth.

The events place the episode in 54 BC. Caesar has 10 years to live.

Julius was on rather thin ice at the time, having been away conquering Gall for all those years. He was not well liked. He had to buy his way back into public favor with spoils from his conquests. Cato was indeed calling for him to be turned over to the Germans and let them try him for war crimes. Whether Cato was the only senator wearing an evil black toga, though, is questionable!

My wife and I commented upon the ancient Roman bikini waxing as well. Might be a bit of turnoff to show naturally-haird ancient Roman women, though. Underarms, legs and such.

I was also happy to see young Octavian given his proper name, instead of the "Octavius" used in NBC's silly "Empire" miniseries.

Side note on the capture of Vercingetorix portrayed in the episode - the Gallic chieftan was held prisoner for 6 years until Caesar could arrange a public triumph for himself, at which time the poor guy was publicly executed by strangulation. Thanks for waiting, buh-bye.

And it's historically interesting that even in ancient Rome the women appear to have had bikini waxes.

What? You didn't know that the "Venus" brand of feminine razors dates back to a time before the founding of Rome? It was actually invented by some Greek dude and sold it under the name "Aphrodite". When the Romans conquered Greece decades later they, of course, renamed it "Venus" and the rest is bikini shave heaven, er, history.

Now, if later on the show a character is portrayed as having a "Brazilian", then that's totally historically inaccurate.

José

Julius was on rather thin ice at the time, having been away conquering Gall for all those years.
Julius Caesar conquered Gaul. He had plenty of gall.

Very watchable drama so far. Definitely not run of De Mille!

I always get them mixed up :).

According to the "making of..." HBO ran tonight, even the two soldiers who rescued Octavian are based on real people. They're the only 2 soldiers Caesar actually named in his historical writings.

The producers admit to lots of soap-opera-fying of the basic story, though.

I wish I had HBO...

Until then..."Friends! Romans! Countrymen! Lend me your beers!"

I gotta say, after the second episode, this might be another Deadwood.

Centurion Friday: Okay, what's your name?

Antony: Antony. Mark Antony

Centurion Friday: What did you have to do with Caesar's murder?

Antony: Nothing. I came to speak his eulogy - no one would listen until I yelled "friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!"

Centurian Friday: Okay, you can go. Say, what's in the sack?

Antony: Ears.


(credit: comedy skit written by a classmate in English class 30 years ago)

I'm not sure I want to sit through another scene of ancient Roman cranial surgery. That was just about as bad as Al Swearingen passing that damned kidney stone.

Yes, I too am trepedacious about trepanation :freak:.

I've been reading some more about the Caesar/Pompey civil war, and I think they named the series wrong - looks like much of the war took place in other countries, and ends up in Egypt, leading to that whole Cleopatra thingie.

The first two episodes make me want to read more about it, even though I'm sure it is "soap opera'd" up a lot, it still seems like it was a fascinating time of history.

How 'bout the quick thinking of what's his name's wife (he'd been away 8 years), her telling him the babe in arms was his granddaughter rather than her daughter?

Yeah, the brain surgery scene was well done. Didn't know they had micro-mark back then.

Notice also how they're following the grand tradition that Romans spoke with British accents, and the lower class spoke with Cockney accents?

funny... that.

They say today's southern accent is close to how brits spoke 200 years ago so it stands to reason they got their accent from the ancient romans. (Probably has more to do with Russel Crowe's zealander/aussi accent.)

Would anyone take it seriously with an Italian accent?

Do it in Latin with subtitles! :) A Mel Gibson production!

Stanley Kubrick followed the same tradition in Spartacus, where the patrician Romans had upper-crust Brit accents and the slaves had American accents. There's just something about classical civilization and High Culcha that demands a "proper" English accent. Imagine Sly Stallone as Hamlet: "To be, or what?"
They say today's southern accent is close to how brits spoke 200 years ago so it stands to reason they got their accent from the ancient romans. (Probably has more to do with Russel Crowe's zealander/aussi accent.)
The old joke is that Aussies talk the way they do because they have to keep their lips close together to prevent bugs from flying in.

I thought this was a one-time mini-series, but HBO is now running ads for the second season. Good news, it seemed like the show was just starting to pick up steam when ol' JC got whacked.

yeah, they paid for another 'season' at least. I'm happy. One of the few shows wifey and I watch together.

But Niobe is dead, so it won't be half as much fun. :(

They say today's southern accent is close to how brits spoke 200 years ago . . .

According to what I read on Jonathan Frid's website (he is truly a great man and accomplished in many ways) the "posh" accent of the typical upper crust in England is actually a German accent mimicked by the aristocracy when the royal family was predominantly German and spoke English with a heavy accent.

Before that time (late 19th century or thereabouts) the English accents were more lyrical and, typically, the more you get out into the country the more lilt you hear to the accents even today.

The broad vowel sounds and rhythm you hear today in Southern accents are probably closer to the Englilsh accents spoke in times past. There is also some German influence from the Pennsylvania Dutch (lowland deutsche) there as well including the "ah-oo" vowel sound (rather than the "ow" or "ah" sound) for "aw," "o," and "au" in words such as "awful," "dog,"crawl," etc.

I understand Shakespearean English would have been spoken with hard American-style Rs, not today's Veddy British "ah" sound.