Nov 1, 2005
Rome
THE BBC has found itself a mutually beneficial production partner in HBO, the US cable channel behind Sex and the City, Six Feet Under and The Sopranos. There would seem to be a nexus of ethos and quality between the two programme- makers, and Band of Brothers, The Gathering Storm and the recent Ricky Gervais sitcom Extras are some of the fruits of this cooperation. Only a few years ago such a close tie with an American broadcaster would have been difficult to sustain, since the commercial imperatives of US TV (ie not offending the advertisers) would have grated with traditional BBC notions of what is acceptable and interesting in an adult drama. HBO only has to please its subscribers, however, and what better arena to exercise its licence than the depravity that was Ancient Rome.
Rome, an epic new drama which boasts Michael Apted among its directors and John Milius (Apocalypse Now) among its writers, makes full use of the BBC and HBO's permissiveness to lay on the sex and gore, of which there was no short supply in the age of the Caesars. From director Cecil B DeMille to I, Claudius and Caligula, film- and TV-makers have known that the subject matter offers ample opportunity for cavorting nudity and bloodthirsty cruelty. Indeed Hollywood's affinity for Ancient Rome has often been noted.
Rome deals with a period of history that most of us are comfortably steeped in " the rise and fall of Julius Caesar. And it's obviously been well researched, but wears that research lightly. Thankfully Rome isn't a drama-documentary, with experts breaking up the fun to explain that maidens bathed in freshly slaughtered bull's blood for good luck, or that roast dormice were passed around at parties as canapes. This drama incorporates both scenes without comment.
The story moves along two sometimes intertwining lines " one involving the power struggle between Julius Caesar (played by Ciaran Hinds) and Pompey (Kenneth Cranham) " the other following the fortunes of two of Caesar's centurions. An engrossing scene at the start of this week's episode illustrates the highly organised way in which Roman legions fought their battles " and in its pungent immediacy this calls to mind that other BBC-HBO co-production, Band of Brothers.
Rome, an epic new drama which boasts Michael Apted among its directors and John Milius (Apocalypse Now) among its writers, makes full use of the BBC and HBO's permissiveness to lay on the sex and gore, of which there was no short supply in the age of the Caesars. From director Cecil B DeMille to I, Claudius and Caligula, film- and TV-makers have known that the subject matter offers ample opportunity for cavorting nudity and bloodthirsty cruelty. Indeed Hollywood's affinity for Ancient Rome has often been noted.
Rome deals with a period of history that most of us are comfortably steeped in " the rise and fall of Julius Caesar. And it's obviously been well researched, but wears that research lightly. Thankfully Rome isn't a drama-documentary, with experts breaking up the fun to explain that maidens bathed in freshly slaughtered bull's blood for good luck, or that roast dormice were passed around at parties as canapes. This drama incorporates both scenes without comment.
The story moves along two sometimes intertwining lines " one involving the power struggle between Julius Caesar (played by Ciaran Hinds) and Pompey (Kenneth Cranham) " the other following the fortunes of two of Caesar's centurions. An engrossing scene at the start of this week's episode illustrates the highly organised way in which Roman legions fought their battles " and in its pungent immediacy this calls to mind that other BBC-HBO co-production, Band of Brothers.