The mini-series Rome, an HBO and BBC co-production that boasted some of the highest production values for a made-for-television mini-series, is back for its second, and unfortunately for fans, final season, starting tonight on HBO. BBC costume dramas come in many flavors, but this is certainly not your regular Jane Austin or Anthony Trollop adaptation, for though filled with political and romantic intrigue, it also pushes the boundaries, for a television mini-series at least, of violent and sexual content, occasionally combined.
The first season of the series, released in 2005, took its story from the rise of Julius Caesar, his assumption of absolute power and his assassination by men whose stated object was to preserve the Roman republic. The second season picks up the story from Octavian, Caesar's adopted heir, seeking to claim his inheritance, in the process destroying many of Caesar's erstwhile comrades-in-arms and establishing the Roman empire. But Rome is anything but a dry history lesson, quite apart from the poetic license it takes with the facts. It takes its cue from the Emmy Award winning mini-series I, Claudius (1976), directed by Herbert Wise and staring Derek Jacobi in the title role. This was based on a novel by Robert Graves, who in turn took his story from the classical authors Tacitus and Suetonius, both of whom were writing in the middle of the first century and were masters of the art of muckracking through the lives of the rich and famous.
So Rome carries on in this venerable tradition, throwing in elements from Desperate Housewives and Gladiator to boot. It makes up a mesmerizing concoction.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF HBO
Attention to detail gives Rome a strong sense of taking place in an historical past, and its treatment of issues like slavery, torture and such is matter-of-fact. This willingness to take risks, to fly in the face of modern sensitivities, also contributes to its contemporary edginess. The producers have seen no need to moralize about life in the ancient world. A benefit of this attitude of calculated callousness is the opportunity to make the most of violence, both sexual and otherwise, to appeal to an audience sated on graphic images of this type. But such is the finesse with which even the most grotesque scenes are managed — with a few reservations about the massed orgy set in the court of Queen Cleopatra — that viewers can sit back and have their lower appetites pandered to without their critical faculties being offended.
That said, the second season does not quite have the freshness of the first, and Ciaran Hinds who played Caesar and Max Pirkis as the young Octavian are both sorely missed. A little too much time is taken to get the show back on the road, but despite, or even because of the elaborate effort to make the second season accessible to newcomers, the early episodes are a tad stogy, especially after the fast pace and high dramatic tension that the first series managed to maintain. But things pick up quickly enough: Octavian is making the running in his imperial ambitions, Mark Anthony is on the back foot, Cleopatra is pushing the limits of how much cleavage can be shown while still wearing clothes, and everyone's favorite centurion Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) is managing to make a pig's breakfast of family life.
Vorenus and his friend Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) are one of the most effective dramatic devices used in Rome, providing a kind of Upstairs, Downstairs dimension to the main story of high politics and military action. Soldiers in the ranks who have proven themselves useful to people in high places, they bring the story down to the level of the street. Vorenus' failure to turn good standing in the army into a position in his local community, Pullo forced to turn to contract killing to make ends meet, both face romantic frustrations that have tragic consequences. As the historical story winds towards its inevitable and well-known end, it is the tale of Vorenus and Pullo that keep the audience wanting more.
As a counterpoint to this swords and smelly sandals aspect of the story, there is also the deadly rivalry between Atia of the Julii (Polly Walker) and Servilia of the Junii (Lindsey Duncan), whose preferred weapons are sex and the barbed remark rather than the sword, and the destruction and death that they bring about is not less than that of the men.
It is the great achievement of Rome that fictional characters such as these manage to establish themselves as integral parts of the story, and while liberties have been taken with history, the historical characters and events are still recognizable, embellished and realized in ways that do not grate against the grain of accepted knowledge.
It is tempting to say that Rome would make an invaluable introduction to this period of history for school children, but given its explicit nature and late time slot, parental discretion is advised. It is worth noting that the version aired on HBO Asia is that approved for Singapore and is likely to have some of the more raunchy scenes of the original removed.
Information on the series can be found on HBO's Web site (www.hbo.com/rome/).
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