Rome (Episode 1, "The Stolen Eagle")




"A salad recipe? Is this a joke?"

If TV series like Rome are to believed, in the ancient world the only way a sex scandal could get noticed is if it involved a goat, and someone would have to have proof the goat was an unwilling participant. I guess the attraction of the late-Republic era as a setting for political intrigue is that there is a perception, correct or not, that politics was never as much of a contact sport as it was then. Or maybe it’s just that they threw great parties back then.

In HBO’s new Rome, the story appears to be centered on some of Julius Caesar’s cousins, chiefly Octavian and his mother Atia (Polly Walker). With Julius away conquering Gaul, Atia sets about to win her cousin’s favor by sending Octavian to Gaul with a gift, while trying to marry her daughter Octavia to Pompeii, a Plebian Senator who appears to be Julius’ friend but is really a rival waiting for his chance to strike. There is also a subplot about two mismatched soldiers in Julius’ army who are assigned to find Julius’ stolen battle standard. I take it these two will become more important characters later on, presumably to keep the violence quotient up to a level that wouldn’t be possible in a show featuring just politicians. (Why yes, I do like gladiator movies. Why do you ask?)

I think HBO has another winner here. So far none of the characters are as colorful as those on Deadwood, but the writing and acting is sharp. The production values are also nice. I suppose we need to brace for a deluge of internet posting and newspaper articles complaining about the historical inaccuracies of the series, but I don’t think that’s really the point of the series any more than it is with Deadwood. The actors are from the British part of Italy and the sequence of events suggests that the corridor between Rome and Gaul is served by light rail, but it's all in the service of an interesting story.

Posted: Tue - August 30, 2005 at      

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