If you’re not watching Rome on HBO, you’re mssing out in a big way. After Helen of Troy and Troy, this historical drama is a blessing.
HBO has taken two soldiers, barely mentioned in passing by Cæsar, and created characters from them — giving us not just the perspective of nobility, but the common Roman. These characters provide the historical fiction as their stories intertwine with history: Cæsar and Mark Antony, Cato and Scipio, Cassius and Brutus, and all the major players of the era.
Unlike the gratuitous (and inexplicable) changes made in the Iliad in those two hideous bastardizations mentioned above (why would you add to the Iliad, or confuse it with the Æneid?), the fiction in Rome is motivated, and grounded in history. Rome is more I, Claudius than Troy.
Certainly, other than the two previously mentioned soldiers, there is fiction in this drama. There are, after all, missing pieces in the story. But what has been filled in is utterly believable. Rome treats the historical record with the utmost respect.
And most of the story is historical, not just bits and pieces. Even when scenes are created, they are true to history. In one scene, Mark Antony tells Cicero that if he catches him plotting against Cæsar again, he will cut off his hands and nail them to the Senate door; we have no record of him telling Cicero this, but this is exactly what he did to Cicero.
You rarely see this much respect for the Classical historians.
The production values are of the highest quality. Everything, from the sets to the smallest props, adhere to strict historical detail. There are no plastic cups here (Helen of Troy) or historically inaccurate armor (Troy).
This historical accuracy renders it, alas, not child friendly. There are no euphemisms in this drama.
But if you’re not watching it, snap up the DVDs when they come out. You don’t see television of this quality often.
