Two TV PSAs

[strange_complex]

1. Rome - new series starts tonight at 9pm on BBC2. DigiGuide sez, "With Caesar lying dead on the Senate floor, the deadly battle for control of Rome is set to begin. Brutus and his accomplices come up against the might of a vindictive Mark Antony. But with Octavian declared Caesar's rightful heir, alliances will have to be made in order to prevent all-out war." I got pretty disillusioned with it by the end of the last series, but I'll still watch all the same.

2. Browsing the schedules, I also noticed that that the documentary, Castrato, which was first broadcast a year ago on BBC4 is now being repeated on BBC2, next Tuesday (26th June) from 23:20 to 00:20. Presented by Nicholas Clapton, and featuring recordings of Alessandro Moreschi as well as a beautiful performance by Michael Maniaci and a (less-than-successful, in my opinion) attempt to recreate the sound of a castrato voice by blending a boy treble and an adult tenor, it is actually really worth watching - especially if you're coming to the opera with me in October!

In other news, Boots today sent me some 'exclusive vouchers just for me' through the post, including one worth 500 Advantage points if I buy a hair straightening kit. Well, thanks for that, Boots. I'm sure it will come in really handy.

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I loved the first season of Rome. I know it was inaccurate, but I found it plausible- the way Shakespeare's Rome is plausible.

And, besides, I fell in love with Pullo.

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

I think I might have liked it better if it hadn't presented itself in the first place as being unprecedently detailed and 'realistic'. My hopes were raised too high, and it hurt when they came crashing down. I'm going to try just taking it on its own terms this time, without any great expectations.

[ashavah]

Hmm, that's interesting. See, they never presented it that way here. Here they were all "sex, corruption, deceit, violence", without any focus on alleged reality. And yeah, I found it plausible ... more in the atmosphere of the city and stuff like that than the political events and things.

But then I'm not an expert on Roman cities, unlike you.

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

No, I'm happy enough with the sets. I mean, if you freeze-frame it and look too closely at the inscriptions, there are faults to pick. But generally, the look of Rome is pretty good (although I'm annoyed about them moving the Capitol). It's the historical events and characters that wind me up (with honourable exceptions for Caesar and Octavianus).

Over here there was a lot of publicity about how Rome was going to be unlike any previous costume drama, showing us the Romans as they 'really' were - probably mainly an attempt to distance themselves from I Clavdivs. But while Rome certainly is different, it's not really any more accurate - and to me it also isn't as much fun to watch as good old IC.

[ashavah]

Yeah, the messing with events annoys me.

And because I annoy easily about things like that, "Octavian" pre-adoption really, really annoys me.

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Yes, I know! It's like "Roman names were really important indicators of a person's status and family relationships. But modern audiences might be confused! Let's just ignore it!"

It's the same reason why I feel annoyed about the Capitol. Its hill-top location was really religiously significant. But audiences might be confused if they have to deal with another location! Let's just stick it in the Forum.

GAH!

[ashavah]

I admit that I hadn't actually really noticed that, but now that I think about it ... how hard would it be, really? It's only just up the hill from the forum!

*growls*

* blinks at icon*

[newwaytowrite.livejournal.com]

Me miss CJ Craig....sob

[sturmed.livejournal.com]

i didnt get to see much of the first series, but im going to give this one a go, its got james purefoy in it, so it cant be all bad