![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
HBO's Rome, first season
Nov. 13th, 2006 10:42 pmRome, TV
First season, covering the Death of Julia to the Ides of March. I have my objections, of course- how could I not? This is near and dear material that has never been done EXACTLY right- but this is pretty much the best screen version (Coleen McCullough being the best text one). My objections- the bizarre casting of Caesar- it's near-Brian-Blessed level miscasting (remember I, Caesar?). Some of the female characters from the period are combined. Mostly, though, some terribly interesting characters get the shaft- Cicero, Cato, the boni in general are far more interesting than seen here. The show could drastically benefit from taking three seasons to get where it goes, reducing the time-compression.
All that said, though- how do I love thee? Let me count the ways!
Atia- fantastic character. The sheer level of her manipulativeness, the sheer impudence of it, the way she seems so utterly convinced of her own innocence, and, in the end- her sheer ineptitude (and she is NOT a Livia clone. She's far too idiotic for that!). She steals every scene.
The actor cast as Octavian- at 15, a better actor than many I've seen. Chillingly cold and quite believable as Octavian. Looks perfect for it too.
Brutus- a desperately complex character, wrestling with loyalty and ideology, shame and manipulation and trust and... could have been so shallow, isn't.
The treatment of religion- ever present yet unremarkable, drastically different yet never ridiculous in the slightest, deeply and genuinely felt- best treatment of pre-Christian religion on TV, you know, ever.
The sets- the feel of the city itself, the graffiti and lived-in-ness.
But let's stop beating around the bush, shall we? We all know the real point- Titus and Lucius. The central conceit of the show is the "small men" entangled in these great affairs, the period through the eyes of ordinary soldiers, yadda yadda. It could have been so bad, and instead is so good, mainly because they avoid the one central historical fiction flaw. These are not 20th century men in Roman bodies. They are Romans, through and through- in their religious beliefs, political leanings, ideas about slavery, women, government- that's what allows it to work. After that, of course, they become both massively sexy and incredibly complex, believable, sympathetic characters. I could go on at great length about the huge writing and acting successes with both of these characters.
First season, covering the Death of Julia to the Ides of March. I have my objections, of course- how could I not? This is near and dear material that has never been done EXACTLY right- but this is pretty much the best screen version (Coleen McCullough being the best text one). My objections- the bizarre casting of Caesar- it's near-Brian-Blessed level miscasting (remember I, Caesar?). Some of the female characters from the period are combined. Mostly, though, some terribly interesting characters get the shaft- Cicero, Cato, the boni in general are far more interesting than seen here. The show could drastically benefit from taking three seasons to get where it goes, reducing the time-compression.
All that said, though- how do I love thee? Let me count the ways!
Atia- fantastic character. The sheer level of her manipulativeness, the sheer impudence of it, the way she seems so utterly convinced of her own innocence, and, in the end- her sheer ineptitude (and she is NOT a Livia clone. She's far too idiotic for that!). She steals every scene.
The actor cast as Octavian- at 15, a better actor than many I've seen. Chillingly cold and quite believable as Octavian. Looks perfect for it too.
Brutus- a desperately complex character, wrestling with loyalty and ideology, shame and manipulation and trust and... could have been so shallow, isn't.
The treatment of religion- ever present yet unremarkable, drastically different yet never ridiculous in the slightest, deeply and genuinely felt- best treatment of pre-Christian religion on TV, you know, ever.
The sets- the feel of the city itself, the graffiti and lived-in-ness.
But let's stop beating around the bush, shall we? We all know the real point- Titus and Lucius. The central conceit of the show is the "small men" entangled in these great affairs, the period through the eyes of ordinary soldiers, yadda yadda. It could have been so bad, and instead is so good, mainly because they avoid the one central historical fiction flaw. These are not 20th century men in Roman bodies. They are Romans, through and through- in their religious beliefs, political leanings, ideas about slavery, women, government- that's what allows it to work. After that, of course, they become both massively sexy and incredibly complex, believable, sympathetic characters. I could go on at great length about the huge writing and acting successes with both of these characters.