Rome (TV series)
| Rome | |
|---|---|
| File:Rome title.png Rome title design | |
| Created by | John Milius William J. MacDonald and Bruno Heller |
| Starring | Kevin McKidd Ray Stevenson Polly Walker Kenneth Cranham Max Pirkis Indira Varma Kerry Condon Lindsay Duncan James Purefoy and Ciarán Hinds |
| Country of origin |  United States United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 22 to date |
| Production | |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | HBO / BBC / RAI |
| Release | August 28, 2005 |
Rome is a historical drama, produced in Italy for television by HBO (USA), the BBC (UK) and RAI (Italy). The show's first season originally aired on HBO between August 28 and November 20, 2005, subsequently broadcast on BBC Two between November 2, 2005, and January 4, 2006, and on Rai Due between March 17 and April 28, 2006.
For the status of Rome on other networks see Broadcasting.
Series overview
The series is a historical drama depicting the period of history surrounding the violent transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire; a change driven by the class struggle between Patrician and Plebeian (in Latin the patricii and the plebeii), the decay of political institutions, and the actions of ambitious men.
While showing the lives of the rich, powerful, and "historically significant", the show's perspective is centered around the lives, fortunes, families, and acquaintances of two Roman soldiers: Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, two soldiers mentioned in Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico.
The first season depicts Caesar's civil war and Julius Caesar's rise to absolute dictatorship over Rome, and his subsequent fall, between the end of his Gallic Wars (52 BC or 701 ab urbe condita) and his assassination on March 15, 44 BC (the infamous Ides of March). Against the backdrop of these cataclysmic events, we are also shown the young Octavian, growing up as the young man who is destined to become the first Emperor of Rome: Augustus.
While unsubstantiated by an official press release, Bruno Heller remarked in an interview that he would prefer the second season to concern the power struggle between Octavian and Mark Antony following Caesar's assassination. [1]
Series history
Production
See also Production credits.
In 2002, HBO and the BBC agreed to co-produce a new series based on the events of the "Roman Revolution": Rome. Towards that end, the two networks committed a US$100 million budget to the production of twelve 1-hour episodes, with HBO contributing US$85 million, and the BBC contributing US$15 million. [1]
Between March 2004 and May 2005, Rome was filmed, in co-production with RAI, in the Italian countryside, on six sound stages at Rome's legendary Cinecittà studios, and in a collection of massive sets in Cinecittà studios' back lots: five acres of outdoor sets which comprised an elaborate "period reconstruction" of sections of ancient Rome. It was a massive undertaking, with an international crew of 350, and more than 50 local Italian interns.
First season
The series was launched in the United States on August 24, 2005, at Wadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles, California. HBO broadcast the series pilot ("The Stolen Eagle") four days later on August 28.
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The first episode attracted more than 8.9 million viewers over eleven broadcasts, and achieved a 9.1 household rating for Sunday primetime (See: Nielsen Ratings). BBC Two premiered Rome in the United Kingdom on November 2, 2005, attracting 6.6 million viewers (27%), only to have the viewing figures decline in future episodes with the finale only attracting 3 million viewers (13%) [2]. The season has also gone into international syndication, being broadcast in many countries around the globe, in several languages (see Broadcasting).
The series' first season garnered critical acclaim, with Golden Globe nominations for Best Series and Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama for Polly Walker's portrayal of Atia of the Julii. Rome is also noted for a more historically accurate portrayal of Roman society, as opposed to traditional Hollywood depictions like those found in such movies as Ridley Scott's Gladiator, which the crew of Rome refers to as "Hollyrome", as noted in the HBO documentary The Making of Rome.
Second season
Template:Future television After the broadcast of only three episodes, HBO announced plans to produce a second season of Rome in 2006 for release in March 2007.[5] Subsequently in a news conference HBO Chairman Chris Albrecht confirmed that Rome season two would air on HBO in January 2007, but would not return for a third season.[6]. Most speculation for the early denial of a third season appears to center on the series' staggering costs, although neither Albrecht, cast members, or any HBO representative will comment on this speculation. The second season premiered January 14, 2007 in the US.
Cast and characters
Season one of Rome features characters of both loosely based historical figures as well as those characters that are fictional. Audio commentary on the series DVD indicates that many of the extras used in the series, were also their true professional counterparts. One example is that the actor shown in the series working as a butcher on the streets of Rome was in fact a real-life butcher.
According to the official HBO Rome series website, the primary fifteen characters (in their specified order) are:
- Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd)
- Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson)
- Gaius Julius Caesar (Ciarán Hinds)
- Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Kenneth Cranham)
- Atia of the Julii (Polly Walker)
- Marcus Antonius (James Purefoy)
- Marcus Junius Brutus (Tobias Menzies)
- Servilia of the Junii (Lindsay Duncan)
- Niobe (Indira Varma)
- Gaius Octavian (Max Pirkis) (Simon Woods) starts in Death Mask episode
- Octavia of the Julii (Kerry Condon)
- Quintus Pompeius (Rick Warden)
- Marcus Porcius Cato (Karl Johnson)
- Marcus Tullius Cicero (David Bamber)
- Timon (Lee Boardman)
- Eirene (Chiara Mastalli)
It is uncertain at this time which cast and characters will return for season two.
Episodes
Specials
| Title | Episode | Director | Writer | Airdate(s) |
| Making Rome | Promotional Special | Unknown | Unknown | August 11, 2005 (HBO) |
Season 1 (2005)
† Note: Episodes #1–3 were re-edited into 2 episodes for their BBC broadcast. See The BBC editing controversy.
†† Note: Episodes #11 and 12 were shown as one feature-length (1:30) episode from 21:00 to 22:30 p.m. on January 4, 2006 during its original BBC broadcast.
Season 2 (2007)
| Title | Episode | Screenshot | Director | Writer | Airdate(s) |
| Passover | #13, 2-1 | Tim Van Patten | Bruno Heller | January 14, 2007 (HBO) | |
| Son of Hades | #14, 2-2 | Allen Coulter | Bruno Heller | January 21, 2007 (HBO) | |
| These Being the Words of Marcus Tullius Cicero | #15, 2-3 | Alan Poul | Scott Buck | January 28, 2007 (HBO) | |
| Testudo et Lepus (The Tortoise and the Hare) | #16, 2-4 | TBA | Todd Ellis Kessler | February 4, 2007 (HBO) | |
| Heroes of the Republic | #17, 2-5 | TBA | Mere Smith | February 11, 2007 (HBO) | |
| Philippi | #18, 2-6 | Roger Young | Eoghan Mahony | February 18, 2007 (HBO) | |
| Death Mask | #19, 2-7 | TBA | Scott Buck | February 25, 2007 (HBO) | |
| Necessary Fiction | #20, 2-8 | TBA | Todd Ellis Kessler | March 4, 2007 (HBO) | |
| Deus Impeditio Esuritori Nullus | #21, 2-9 | TBA | Mere Smith | March 11, 2007 (HBO) | |
| De Pastre Vostro | #22, 2-10 | TBA | Bruno Heller | March 18, 2007 (HBO) |
Editing
The BBC editing controversy
Some scenes in episodes of the series have been edited for airing on the BBC in order to remove some of the stronger language which is deemed unacceptable for prime-time viewing on terrestrial British television (specifically the use of the word "cunt"). This has been criticised by many, who point to the fact that other HBO programs such as The Sopranos and Oz have been broadcast uncut on British network television. However, Rome is broadcast at an earlier time than the other two programmes and the BBC was aiming at a more general audience than Channel 4 was with The Sopranos and Oz.
In a separate move the BBC also decided to re-edit the first three episodes (all directed by Michael Apted) into two episodes. The BBC claimed that this was because the British audience were more familiar with the history of Rome than their American counterparts and so much of the backstory was unnecessary. However, Apted claims that the purpose was to boost the ratings by increasing the prominence of the scenes of sex and violence. In an interview with The Times [3], Apted was quoted saying:
- I'm really pissed off with the BBC for bringing down my first three episodes to two and, in doing so, taking out much of the vital politics. What also makes me very grumpy is that I was told that the cuts had been introduced by the BBC because they thought British viewers already knew the historical background. But all that's happened as far as the viewer is concerned is that it has made 'Rome' hard to follow.
Apted also said that he only found out about the cuts by accident claiming:
- I only found out by chance a couple of weeks ago when one of the actors told me.
The RAI editing controversy
The Italian broadcasting of the series was also marred by controversy. Strong language was removed in the Italian dubbing process; as for the more explicit scenes of violence or sex, they were replaced by "safe" alternative versions shot during production especially for the Italian broadcast.[1]
Trivia
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- Rome's five acres of outdoor "period" sets comprise the largest standing set in the world to date.
- The series used 250 chain mail tunics (each weighing 36 pounds) — as well as 40 leather cuirasses for legionary officers.
- Rome's armor, helmets, and other metal costume elements were handcrafted by metal designer Luca Giampaoli. He hand-made all metal costume elements for the principal actors, although "mass-produced" items (such as legionary armor) were replicated by metalwork companies in India.
- The series required over 4,000 items of wardrobe — designed by Oscar-nominated costume designer April Ferry.
- Leatherwork for the principal actors was done on set by Augusto and Giampaolo Grassi, using the traditional techniques used by their father to create the leatherwork for such classic films as Cleopatra.
- The series is developed by a mostly British cast and crew.
- The actors' regional British accents were used with effect to enhance the portrayal of the social distinctions of ancient Roman society; however after initial previews, some of the stronger accents were re-dubbed and toned down for American audiences.
- The recreation of the Forum set is about 60% of the size of the original.
- The olive trees in the Sacred Grove of the Forum set are over 200 years old.
- References were taken directly from the ruins of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Ostia Antica to determine the proper colors of the temples, statues, streets, as well as graffiti and street signage.
- Period fabrics — wool, linen, cotton and silk — were imported from Prato, as well as India, Tunisia and Morocco. Fabrics were purchased in a raw state and dyed at the production site.
- As many as 40 horses at one time were used in a scene.
- 750 actors and extras were used for Caesar's "Triumph" scene.
- 55 local extras were cast as Roman Legionaries and sent to a two-week boot camp, living in tents, to train as Roman soldiers. "Boot Camp" included military discipline (up at 5 a.m., bed by 9 p.m.), marching, swordsmanship, camp building and dismantling, group training and maneuvers (day and night-time training), and bathing restricted to the local lake without soap at night. 43 of the 55 completed Boot Camp.
- The words "domina" and "dominus" are practically the only Latin words the cast uses regularly. Nevertheless, as they are always used as vocative, the masculine form should be "domine". Moreover, the spoken Latin of the higher classes is inadequately close to ecclesiastical late Latin. The word "bene" and the greeting "salve" are also heard. Finally, many prayers to the Roman gods are uttered in the original Latin.
- A few Italian expressions are occasionally used in dialogues (perhaps as a sort of "fake Latin"), "paisà" , ("buddy" in the dialect of Naples), and Mark Antony is once heard saying "che brutta figura!" ("what a bad impression" [I must have made]).
Historical deviations
- While much effort was put into accurately portraying Rome and Roman society, the same cannot be said for Egypt, which features prominently in the second half of the first season. The fact that the country had been dominated by Greek culture and a Greek ruling dynasty for over 250 years until Caesar's arrival are completely ignored in favor of portraying Cleopatra, Ptolemy, their army and their capital of Alexandria as Ancient Egyptian. Ironically, in doing so the series very much follows Hollywood convention, which is precisely what the production team say they wanted to avoid when designing the sets and costumes for Rome. For details, see the entry for the Caesarion episode.
- The adventures of Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo are completely fictional. The only historical account of Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo is in Caesar's writing, which depicts them differently than what is protrayed in the show.
- Octavian was not in Rome when his adoptive father Caesar was assassinated in the Senate. Octavius was studying in Apollonia, Illyria.
- There is a significant lack of some important members of the Optimates or Boni, including Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, Titus Labienus, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Crus, and Publius Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, the latter having failed to empty Rome's treasury before the Optimates' departure, resulting in a severe lack of funds to support their war effort.
- Some very important events were not even mentioned in the show: Caesar's campaign against King Pharnaces of Cimmeria (the campaign which spawned the famous saying Veni, Vidi, Vici), and the whole year spent before the Battle of Pharsalus in which Caesar drove Pompeius's supporters out of Spain, then the Battle of Dyrrhachium, in which Pompeius defeated Caesar.
- Atia's husband, Lucius Marcius Philippus is not mentioned in the show.
- Cato is portrayed as an old man, while in history he was only in his 40s.
- Caesar was already back in Rome by the time Caesarion was born.
- The story starts in 52 BC and Caesar receives news of his daughter Julia's death. Historically, Julia died in 54 BC.
- No mention is made of several key characters in Caesar's life, most notably his mother Aurelia who died months after his daughter Julia, nor of Crassus, the third member of the First Triumvirate, who was killed in battle just before the series begins.
- While portrayed as being with Pompeius in Greece before Pharsalus, Cato and Metellus Scipio were actually in separate places at the time: Cato had left for Sicily and Metellus Scipio was leading two veteran legions from Syria to meet with Pompeius's army
- The struggle between Caesar's and Pompeius' factions is portrayed as mere jealousy on Pompeius' part for Caesar "stealing the love of the people" from him, Pompeius having once been a champion of the Plebs. Historically, the conflict was far more intricate and complex.
- Some facts about Cicero are inaccurate. Cicero did not leave Italy with Pompey's army to Greece, but waited longer to make up his mind. After a dinner with Julius Caesar, he slipped out of the country to join Pompey in Greece.
- Battle scenes in Rome depict Roman infantry fighting techniques including the tightly-packed "Roman Wall" of shields, gladius thrusting techniques above and below the "shield wall", and the rotation of troops on the front lines every 1 to 2 minutes. These techniques are largerly conjectural, as we have no detailed descriptions of these techniques surviving to us.
- Prior to filming, Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson trained for more than a month, learning Roman fighting techniques from swordmaster Giorgio Antonini. Again, these techniques must largely be conjectural. The earliest surviving European combat manual is the I.33 from around the year 1300.
For further inaccuracies, see the individual episode entries.
Broadcasting
† Broadcast edited or censored episodes.
DVD Releases
The entire first season of Rome was released as a six-disc Region 1 DVD box set in the USA on August 15, 2006. It was distributed by HBO Home Video. Featuring all the episodes that had aired, it also included several extra DVD features including episode commentaries, behind-the-scenes footage and making-of features. The same set (bar the episodic previews and recaps) was released on July 24 2006, in Region 2, also entitled Rome: The Complete First Season.
References
- The Stage a Article quoting Bruno Heller
- HBO News a Item dated 12 September 2005
- zap2it.com News a Details a press conference held 12 July 2006.
Other References
- Salon review of season 2
- Beliefnet on religion in "Rome"
- New York Times review of season2
- Chicago Sun Times review of season 2
- New York Times article
- TV guide.com
- The Star eCentral interview with Ray Stevenson
- Dark Horizons reporting on the 2nd season production of Rome
- Timeonline reporting on Michael Apted's opinion on the BBC re-editing.
- "New $100m TV epic set to rewrite history" - the Independent (UK), 25 July, 2005
- "HBO enlists Firefox for series promotion" - CNet News.com, August 15, 2005
- Slant Magazine Review
- Lindsay Duncan (Servilia) interview - BBC Five Live, November 11, 2005
- "Rome's bloody climax wins 3m" - Report on the final episode viewing figures for "Rome", Guardian Unlimited, 5 January, 2006 (Subscription needed)