Rome (TV series)
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Rome is a critically acclaimed historical drama, produced in Italy for television by HBO (USA, 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''.
HBO has announced plans to produce a second season for release in early 2007. [link]
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, the only two "regular 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: Caesar 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. [link]
Series history
Production
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 an additional US$15 million. [link]
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: 5 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 Theater in Hollywood. HBO broadcast the series pilot ("The Stolen Eagle") four days later on August 28.
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 declined in future episodes with the finale only attracting 3 million viewers (13%) []. 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 also 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. Fans of the series have praised it for well written episodes, strong cast, and interesting characters. 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.
Second season
On September 13, 2005, after the broadcast of only three episodes, HBO announced plans to produce a second season of Rome in 2006 for release in March 2007[link]. Bruno Heller, one of the series creators, has also alluded to the possibility of a third season based solely on the span of history that he would like to portray in the series. [link] However, comments by HBO chairman, Chris Albrecht, raised possible doubts about the return of the series [link], due to the series' high production costs, and concerns that an 18-month delay between seasons may cause Rome's current audience to lose interest.
On December 9, 2005 Carolyn Strauss, president of HBO Entertainment, announced that HBO had renewed the series for a second season of 12 episodes. Filming of the new episodes will continue at Rome's Cinecittà Studios, in co-operation with RAI through October 2006 and is currently in progress. [link] The debut of the new season is set for 2007.
Production credits
- †Michael Apted's contract for the second season was confirmed shortly after HBO's release of An Owl in a Thornbush
Characters and cast
See also: minor characters of Rome, character appearances in Rome
Additional, episode specific, or very minor characters may be listed on the specific episode page.
| Character | Historical Figure | Actor/Actress | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucius Vorenus | Lucius Vorenus As portrayed here, entirely fictionalised, but appears in historical Commentarii de Bello Gallico. | Kevin McKidd | Season 1+ |
| Titus Pullo | Titus Pullo As portrayed here, entirely fictionalised, but appears in historical Commentarii de Bello Gallico. | Ray Stevenson | Season 1+ |
| Gaius Julius Caesar | Gaius Julius Caesar | Ciarán Hinds | Season 1 |
| Pompey the Great | Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus | Kenneth Cranham | Season 1 |
| Mark Antony | Marcus Antonius | James Purefoy | Season 1+ |
| Atia of the Julii | Atia Balba Caesonia | Polly Walker | Season 1+ |
| Servilia of the Junii | Servilia Caepionis | Lindsay Duncan | Season 1+ |
| Octavia of the Julii | Octavia Thurina Minor | Kerry Condon | Season 1+ |
| Niobe of the Voreni | None (fictional - in Greek myth, Niobe is the name of Tantalus' daughter, mother of the Niobids, and mocker of Leto, Apollo's and Artemis' mother.) | Indira Varma | Season 1 |
| Marcus Junius Brutus | Marcus Junius Brutus | Tobias Menzies | Season 1+ |
| Marcus Tullius Cicero | Marcus Tullius Cicero | David Bamber | Season 1+ |
| Octavian | Gaius Octavius Thurinus | Max Pirkis | Season 1+ |
| Quintus Valerius Pompey | Uncertain: Sextus and/or Gnaeus Pompeius | Rick Warden | Season 1+ |
| Cato the Younger | Marcus Porcius Cato Uticencis | Karl Johnson | Season 1 |
| Timon | None (fictional - an attested Greek and Jewish male name eg Timon of Athens) | Lee Boardman | Season 1+ |
| Erastes Fulmen | None (fictional - erastes is the Ancient Greek term for the dominant, penetrating, adult male in a homosexual act, fulmen is Latin for thunderbolt - both appropriate to the character) | Lorcan Cranitch | Season 1+ |
| Cassius | Gaius Cassius Longinus | Guy Henry | Season 1+ |
| Posca | None (fictional, although Posca is an attested Latin name, including a 2nd c BC praetor, and as a noun means vinegar-wine-dregs, as administered at Jesus' crucifixion) | Nicholas Woodeson | Season 1+ |
| Scipio | Metellus Scipio | Paul Jesson | Season 1 |
Episodes
Specials
| Title | Episode | Director | Writer | Airdate(s) |
| Making Rome | Promotional Special | Unknown | Unknown | August 11, 2005 (HBO) |
Season 1 (
†† 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 ( While no details have yet been released, HBO has announced plans for a second season. Principal photography shooting is scheduled to begin in 2006, and the second season is slated to air in 2007. (See Series overview and Series history).
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 [link], 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.
- I only found out by chance a couple of weeks ago when one of the actors told me.
Trivia
- Rome is the first English-language series to be shot entirely in a non-English-speaking country.
- Battle scenes in Rome depict authentic 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 30–45 seconds.
- Prior to filming, Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson trained for over a month, learning authentic Roman fighting techniques from swordmaster Giorgio Antonioni.
- 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) was replicated by metalwork companies in India.
- The series required over 4,000 items of wardrobe — designed by Oscar-nominated costume designer April Ferry.
- "The Stolen Eagle" and "How Titus Pullo Brought Down the Republic" used 2,500 items of wardrobe due to the large crowd scenes.
- Approximately 1,250 pairs of period shoes and sandals were made in Bulgaria.
- 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.
- Authentic 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".
Historical deviations
- The adventures of Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, while not violating any known historical records, are completely fictional. The only historical account of Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo is in Caesar's writing.
- Much of the language is modernized in expression, or converted to modern equivelants. Roman concepts, units of measurement, and even profanity were quite different.
- Octavian was not in Rome when his adoptive father Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Senate. Octavius was studying in Apollonia, Illyria.
Broadcasting
As of 07/07/2006DVD
According to DVD Empire, Season 1 of Rome will be released August 15, 2006.season 1 of Rome will be released in the UK july 24 , 2006.
References
- [The Stage] article quoting Bruno Heller
- [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)
External links
- [Rome - Official HBO site]
- [Rome - Official BBC Drama website]
- [Roma - Official RAI website]
- [Rome Episode Guide] at the TV IV Wiki.
- [] at TV.com and [Discussion Forum] at TV.com.
- [Historical writings about Vorenus and Pullo]
- [Roma - Cuatro]
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