Jonah Goldberg laments that Rome is filming no new seasons. I think that’s a good thing.

Don’t misunderstand me: Rome was one of the highest quality shows on television. And those who disliked it because of the adult content, like Jonah’s correspondent, well, all I can say is if they had read Cicero or Suetonius, they wouldn’t complain about Rome. I’m glad they won’t film more seasons because the second season wasn’t as good as the first, and because, well, where would they take the story?

Understand the second season was, for television, excellent. It just wasn’t as excellent as the first. During the first season, I thought it brilliant that the writers took two characters briefly mentioned once in Caesar’s histories (Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo), created stories for them, and wove their stories among historical material. It made Rome distinct from, say, I, Claudius or another historical drama by adding the perspective of the common Roman. And in the first season, the balance between historical and fictional was perfect: The first season was a historical drama with fictionalized elements.

The writers lost that balance in the second season, which was more a fictional drama with historical elements. Lucius Vorenus’s and Titus Pullo’s storylines diverged from the historical story and became subplots, and at least it felt like their stories were given more weight than the history. While the first season was about Julius Caesar and the historical characters that surrounded him, the second season was about Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, with Octavian and Mark Antony as historical characters in the background.

The first season covered a much shorter time period than did the second, and this created a problem that the writers did not resolve. Although there were a few time gaps in the first season, they were short enough that the writers could present the episodes as if they were continuous. But the second season covered a much longer time period and some of the gaps in the storyline were years, yet the writers saw no need to try to convey this. The result, even for those of us who know the history, was that from time to time, the story seemed jarring until you thought, “Oh, but ten years has passed.” The problem is (read through the discussion boards on the HBO site–there was one thread complaining about changing the actor for Octavian, but of course they had to, since he was much older) that you needed to know the history to realize that time had passed because the writers made no attempt to convey it. At times, the historical elements of the story seemed rushed–such as the last two episodes–because the timing was never communicated well by the writers.

Yes, they diverged from history–though far less than movies and TV usually do. Some were justifiable, and if anything, made the story more interesting, such a beefing up Atia and Servilia to make them major characters. Others were annoying, such as the incest between Octavian and Octavia in the first season, or turning Octavian into the Marquis de Sade in the second. Others, such as the creation of Timon’s character, worked well in the first season, but seemed gratuitous and unconnected in the second.

Overall, however, only the most pedantic history nut could object to the series.

The problem with doing more seasons is what they would do and where they would take the story. Augustus reigned for 41 years, but what events during his reign would a third season cover? And given that he reigned over a largely peaceful and prosperous empire, it would be difficult to pick a storyline that would be dramatically satisfying.

A third season could, of course, skip ahead to Tiberius (uneventful and dramatically dull), Claudius (except that’s been done), Caligula, or Nero, or even further. But that would entail all new characters, which viewers would not like. And I don’t think HBO or the BBC could resist the temptation to degrade the series into one bloody, sex-ridden scandal after another. If they wanted to jump ahead, they would be well advised to make a distinct break with Rome, by calling it something else.

It’s a good thing they won’t, because the second season was noticably weaker than the first, and any additional seasons would likewise be weaker than the second. That’s my suspicion, anyway.

Mark your calendars. January 14 at 9:00 pm HBO begins airing the second season of Rome. The first season was one of the best shows ever to air on television; I have high hopes for the second season.

Anyone who expects any level of historical (or for that matter, literary) accuracy from television or the movies is a fool. Yet, for television (or the movies), Rome displayed an unbelievable degree of accuracy in its sets, costumes, portrayal of daily life, and events and figures.

The basic idea behind Rome was brilliant. Instead of creating a docudrama with historical characters alone, Rome takes two soldiers’ names mentioned by Caesar, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, and turns them into the central characters. It is through their eyes that we see the historical events and characters unfold.

This allowed the series to give us a view of daily life for the Roman commoner, while at the same time, show us all of the historical characters with which our commoners’ lives are intertwined. It also allows the writers to create a narrative around the two main characters that incorporates the history of the era.

Granted, the writers took some liberties with history. There is no historical evidence, for example, that Octavian and his sister Octavia committed incest (though it was alleged by his enemies). But the series is far more accurate than not, and the writers followed history in very creative ways. In one scene, Mark Antony grabs Cicero’s wrists and says that if Cicero ever plots against Caesar again, he will cut off his hands and nail them to the senate doors. We have no historical record of Mark Antony saying that, but that is exactly what he did to Cicero.

The first season dealt with the rise of Caesar and ended with his assassination. I suspect — but do not know — that the second season will deal with the power struggle between Octavian (Caesar Augustus) and Mark Antony.

The level of realism portrayed in the series means this is not appropriate for small children. There’s violence aplenty (quite historically accurate), as well as sex (also quite historically accurate). But if you’re interested in history, particularly the history of Rome, you won’t get better than this from television or the movies.

Beautifully made. Beautifully executed.