When in Rome...


Bloody historical epic.

If you're my age, you'd probably remember watching Saturday Fun Machine cartoons. Included in this banquet of animated fare was the Hanna-Barbera series Roman Holidays. It was basically a throw-away, lackluster clone of the more well-known Flintstones or Jetsons series, albeit set in Ancient Rome. Of course, the real Rome of antiquity didn't have a happy home life like that of white-picket fence America, with every family owning a family chariot, a clean home with the distinct Roman pillars and a wardrobe of immaculate white togas.

Nope... life in historical Ancient Rome was dirty, smelly, brutal and bloody. There was political unrest, courtesy of the conflict between two great men- Gaius Julius Caesar and Gaius Pompeii Magnus, each commanding legions of soldiers and ranks of politicians. There was class warfare, between the common plebes and the nobility. There's sex, violence, blood and death aplenty whether it's on a road or a street or a battlefield. This is the Rome as depicted by HBO's new and gritty mini-series, and I'm hooked.
I've always been intrigued with HBO's features, such as Band of Brothers, though I've passed on stuff like Carnivale and Deadwood. HBO's Rome serves you raw, bloody sex and violence on a steaming platter with all the trimmings- crucifixions, baths in ox blood, pagan worship, big battles, bad-ass legionaires, conspiracies and political intrigue laced with poison and bloody blades. This is a Rome where family members order executions as easily as dinner (this IS Ancient Rome, where eventually the Mafia and the Cosa Nostra originate, after all), where you truly have to keep on hand free to shake hands with friends, and the other armed with a sword to keep enemies at bay. It's a terrifying time... I certainly wouldn't want to live in this era, not even if I was a noble or a wealthy merchant. But it's a great place to visit and watch.

It's epic yet base, sweeping yet very personal, as seen through both the eyes of powerful historical figures and commoners. The 'heroes' of the series, rowdy womanizing and worldly legionaire Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) and the hard-principled, morose centurion Lucius Veronus (Kevin McKidd) are great protagonists; such polar opposites that they blend perfectly together to bring humanity and humor in a very harsh and brutal time. Seeing their fortunes rise and fall with the Empire they help or hinder to build makes for an absorbing watch.

I'm definitely getting this on DVD when it becomes available. Now THIS is Roman Drama. Heh. Catch a new episode of Rome's 12 part first season (and supposedly it's already been signed on for a 2nd Season) every Tuesday on HBO.