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My sister has just been telling me about an upcoming TV series which is certainly of interest to me, and I believe will be to others on my friends list. Entitled simply 'Rome', it is a co-production between HBO and the BBC, and is coming to the latter on Wednesday November 2nd at 9pm.
Judging from the webpages, it's not likely to be overflowing with historical accuracy. (Historical events, maybe, but that is not the same thing). I think what we have here is epic costume drama, with plenty of sex and violence: 'I, Claudius' with a big budget, perhaps, or maybe something more along the lines of other recent American mini-series such as Cleopatra (1999), Julius Caesar (2002) or Imperium: Augustus (2003) (which, coincidentally, I've just finally managed to win on Ebay - rah!).
But it does look like a feast for those keen on Classical Receptions issues. Why, even from the BBC website alone, I note that it is already inserting itself firmly into the epic tradition with statements such as: "Rome boasts the largest standing film set in the world, comprising five acres of backlot and six soundstages at the world-famous Cinecittà Studios" (has there yet been a Classical epic which didn't?) and "Rome used a peak of 40 horses in one scene, and on the largest day of shooting, 750 actors/extras were used for the scene of Caesar's triumph." (Cast of Thousands! See it with your whole family!). You can also already buy T-shirts and baseball caps with the series logo on them. How long will it be before there are Cleopatra perfumes and Nero boxer-shorts to add to the Christmas list?
My sister seemed to know on the phone that three series are planned in all, and also not only that the first series would be about Julius Caesar and his conflict with Pompey (which is clear from the website), but also that the second would be about Octavian's struggle with Antony (which I can't find online support for, but I'm sure she wouldn't have said without good reason). Presumably the third will be about the actual reign of Augustus, then. In that case, pity they didn't start screening it all earlier, as I could advise my Augustus students to watch the second and third series, and also cover them in the last two lectures of their course, which will be about Augustus in film. Ah well. I, Claudius and Imperium: Augustus should suffice between them.
Judging from the webpages, it's not likely to be overflowing with historical accuracy. (Historical events, maybe, but that is not the same thing). I think what we have here is epic costume drama, with plenty of sex and violence: 'I, Claudius' with a big budget, perhaps, or maybe something more along the lines of other recent American mini-series such as Cleopatra (1999), Julius Caesar (2002) or Imperium: Augustus (2003) (which, coincidentally, I've just finally managed to win on Ebay - rah!).
But it does look like a feast for those keen on Classical Receptions issues. Why, even from the BBC website alone, I note that it is already inserting itself firmly into the epic tradition with statements such as: "Rome boasts the largest standing film set in the world, comprising five acres of backlot and six soundstages at the world-famous Cinecittà Studios" (has there yet been a Classical epic which didn't?) and "Rome used a peak of 40 horses in one scene, and on the largest day of shooting, 750 actors/extras were used for the scene of Caesar's triumph." (Cast of Thousands! See it with your whole family!). You can also already buy T-shirts and baseball caps with the series logo on them. How long will it be before there are Cleopatra perfumes and Nero boxer-shorts to add to the Christmas list?
My sister seemed to know on the phone that three series are planned in all, and also not only that the first series would be about Julius Caesar and his conflict with Pompey (which is clear from the website), but also that the second would be about Octavian's struggle with Antony (which I can't find online support for, but I'm sure she wouldn't have said without good reason). Presumably the third will be about the actual reign of Augustus, then. In that case, pity they didn't start screening it all earlier, as I could advise my Augustus students to watch the second and third series, and also cover them in the last two lectures of their course, which will be about Augustus in film. Ah well. I, Claudius and Imperium: Augustus should suffice between them.
