TV: Rome HBO

[Mr Fahrenheit]

Posca was awesome too

 

[les Habs]

Rome was quite good. They spent a lot in producing the show (just look at all those extras) which was part of it's downfall. Still it had two very good seasons with as noted some very good performances.

Since people are reminiscing, when Vorenus saves Pullo was of course amazing. I also still laugh thinking of Pullo's reaction when Ceaser presented his child with Cleopatra.

 

[RobBrown4PM]

Every house must have at least one turtle slave.

 

[Franck]

Love this show. 1st season is some of the greatest tv ever, 2nd season is still pretty great but a step down.

They got word that HBO was cancelling the show early in production of the second season, so they were forced to squeeze in three seasons worth of storylines into a single season.

The showrunners had planned for five seasons initially, Brutus death was meant to be the end of the second season, while the time in Egypt was meant to be in the third and fourth seasons, the fifth and final season was meant to be set in Israel at the time of Jesus.

It's a shame it ended prematurely, because if they had put out five seasons with the quality of the first, it would be up there as one of the best TV series of all time.

 

[sully1410]

Such a good show.

 

[Blender]

They got word that HBO was cancelling the show early in production of the second season, so they were forced to squeeze in three seasons worth of storylines into a single season.

The showrunners had planned for five seasons initially, Brutus death was meant to be the end of the second season, while the time in Egypt was meant to be in the third and fourth seasons, the fifth and final season was meant to be set in Israel at the time of Jesus.

It's a shame it ended prematurely, because if they had put out five seasons with the quality of the first, it would be up there as one of the best TV series of all time.

It was before it's time unfortunately. Massive budget and on HBO at a time when cable shows didn't get the viewers some do now. If they made it today I'd bet that it would have lasted longer.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

It was running same time as sopranos and the wire. I know there budget was nothing close but in terms of viewers

 

[Blender]

It was running same time as sopranos and the wire. I know there budget was nothing close but in terms of viewers

It's ratings weren't even close to The Sopranos, and it cost far more to make. Now though you have people streaming, delayed viewing, etc. You can catch more people than just a raw viewership number.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

It's ratings weren't even close to The Sopranos, and it cost far more to make. Now though you have people streaming, delayed viewing, etc. You can catch more people than just a raw viewership number.

I know it didnt have the viewers Sopranos did, that was my point. People were watching just not Rome

 

[Bruins4Lifer]

Where the hell were all the current Game of Thrones fans back in 2005? Rome was everything GoT is and more; it should have been a hit.

 

[DaDucks*]

Where the hell were all the current Game of Thrones fans back in 2005? Rome was everything GoT is and more; it should have been a hit.

I could have used the social media we have today, to spread the word about the show

 

[Duke33]

I watched Rome back in the day and really enjoyed the first season. The second, not so much. Like others have said everything was rushed and many of the episodes felt like they were missing something.

Also the biggest issue for me was it was becoming more and more like a soap opera through the second year, with way too much focus on Atia, someone who in real life was nothing like her representation in the show and died years before Octavian took the throne.

But overall the show was pretty good. Historically they took some liberties but the first season was closer to factual. Loved the friendship between Pullo and Vorenus.

 

[Knave]

Where the hell were all the current Game of Thrones fans back in 2005? Rome was everything GoT is and more; it should have been a hit.

I'm just glad Game of Thrones is successful. Hopefully we get more historical dramas.

I loved Rome.

Spartacus was OK.
Marco Polo was pretty good (I didn't really like the character Marco Polo - I liked everyone else).

Maybe do some Greek/Egyptian/Mesopotamia stuff? I think in the past few years British TV has had a few classical Greek-ish shows but they had major fantasy elements to them.

 

[Mount Suribachi]

I never really enjoyed it that much - far too HBO with its BOOBS! and SEX! and MOAR BOOBS!


Best Roman drama ever remains the BBC's 70s production of I, Claudius. The sets were horrifically cheap, but the script, and the acting.....talk about an all star cast. Derek Jacobi as Claudius, Brian Blessed as Augustus, a young John Hurt as Caligula, a young Patrick Stewart (with hair!) as Sejanus.

I'm still waiting for some to do a TV version of Colleen McCullogh's Masters of Rome series, that would be epic

 

[sully1410]

It's ratings weren't even close to The Sopranos, and it cost far more to make. Now though you have people streaming, delayed viewing, etc. You can catch more people than just a raw viewership number.

It was on right after sopranos. My parent's used to watch one after another.

 

[Player big P]

I'm pretty sure the sets were one of, if not THE most expensive sets in the world, though...not just like filming in North Jersey. The money was the big thing, I believe.

 

[Blender]

I re watched Rome start to finish and stand behind my original sentiment. Season 1 is incredible, season 2 is good but a step down.

Due to the rushed story of season 2, it's really unfortunate that they had to recast Octavian, because I think Max Pirkis was much better in the role. If they had progressed naturally as they originally intended he would have aged with the show.

 

[Player big P]

I was looking earlier today for a clip of Antony flirting with Atia, specifically the "Let me die in your arms" bit.

This was the only result.

 

[RobBrown4PM]

Rome had some of the strongest female characters I've seen in a show outside of a show like Buffy and BSG.

Atia in particular was great. Polly Walker is both extremely hot and a very talented actress.

 

[Kurtz]

Rome had some of the strongest female characters I've seen in a show outside of a show like Buffy and BSG.

Atia in particular was great. Polly Walker is both extremely hot and a very talented actress.

The kid was a great actor too; shame he quit acting.

 

[RobBrown4PM]

The kid was a great actor too; shame he quit acting.

Really? I had no idea he quit, he was an amazing actor! I think his successor is equally as good.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

The kid was a great actor too; shame he quit acting.

What the hell? Did Jack Gleeson basically follow this guy's lead on quitting?

I always thought they went to a different actor because they wanted to try and accurately represent the time jump between his last appearance and when he comes back.

Edit: After checking, he has done very little work, but still appears to be active. He did some work in 2014. Just never really broke through, it appears.

 

[Kurtz]

What the hell? Did Jack Gleeson basically follow this guy's lead on quitting?

I always thought they went to a different actor because they wanted to try and accurately represent the time jump between his last appearance and when he comes back.

Edit: After checking, he has done very little work, but still appears to be active. He did some work in 2014. Just never really broke through, it appears.

He didn't quit Rome, because they did recast out of a plot need, but he did quit acting to go to Cambridge. Must have been a tough choice, because up to that point he only did two things; Master and Commander, for which he received great accolades, and then Rome.

He did do a couple of things 8 years later in 2014.

You're right though, extremely similar to Jack Gleeson in many ways.

 

[Osprey]

I just watched Season 1 for the first time. This thread convinced me a few months ago that I needed to watch it after I finished Game of Thrones, and I finally got around to it.

I really wasn't feeling it through the first 2/3rds of episode 1 (until Caesar sends Lucius and Titus to recover the Eagle and we get some adventure, action and the start of the bromance), but I was hooked after that point. I also had a little difficulty not seeing McKidd as the doctor that he played in Grey's Anatomy, since that was the only thing that I knew him from, but that gradually wore off.

I agree that Mance Rayder was perfect as Caesar. He was both likable and intimidating, so that you would sympathize with him being murdered (if that's a spoiler for you, learn your history), but you could understand why others would do it.

I really can't seem to get away from Tobias Menzies (not that I want to). It seems like he's in everything that I've been binge watching lately... Rome, Game of Thrones and Outlander. Perhaps he's the secret ingredient for a hit show. I'm halfway surprised that he hasn't made an appearance in Black Sails yet.

I do have to say, though, that the opening credit sequence of every episode really didn't do anything to me. It seemed far too artsy and weak for the tone of the series. An intro more like Game of Thrones would've suited it better, IMO.

Loved the show, absolutely loved it. I remember there being some talk about a possible movie a few years back but I guess that's not going to happen.

Apparently, a movie was still on the plate as recently as 2014, and if six years from the earliest rumors wasn't enough to kill the project for good, two more since probably isn't, either. It makes you wonder, though, if how poorly the Ben-Hur remake is doing could scare them.

 

[Philly85*]

Wasn't feeling it at 2/3's of the first episode? Talk about the need for instant gratification. Not to rag on you (okay, I just did lol), but that's a bit crazy.