Pertinax Posted September 28, 2006 Report Share Posted September 28, 2006 Dont forget its GJC tonight , I read today that this was supposed to have been the lead episode but , as usual , the "sexed up" Nero episode got thrown in first for maximun sensationalism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pertinax Posted September 28, 2006 Report Share Posted September 28, 2006 Oh No! Who did the casting! Karl Johnson as "not quite " Cato, er Marcellus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DecimusCaesar Posted September 28, 2006 Report Share Posted September 28, 2006 It was on in the background for me but I didn't get a chance to see it as I was talking to my friend. Didn't seem all that accurate the bits that I did see. Did the narrator really call Julius Caesar Rome's first Emperor? Â I also thought it was odd to see Karl Johnson as Marcellus (dressed in 4-5th century clothing in one scene). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pertinax Posted September 28, 2006 Report Share Posted September 28, 2006 I stuck my neck out last week by being first off the mark to comment.So here goes. Nero was a masterpiece in comparison to this shambles. Caesar was not well portrayed with any one firm purpose (for good or ill) , Karl Johnson as Marcellus was such a mis-applied piece of casting (did they hope to give "dignitas " from HBO? ) Playing an immediately adjacent character to his previous incarnation. Did I detect Alexander at Gaugamela as GJC before Pharsalus? The soldiers kit looked quite good. Shrapnel as Pompey did as well as he could (Gaius from Gladiator). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaius Paulinus Maximus Posted September 28, 2006 Report Share Posted September 28, 2006 (edited) How very very disappointing! Â The only likeness in Pertwee's portrayal of Caesar was the little bald patch at the back of his head, the casting was poor to say the least, Karl johnson as Marcellus( whatever possessed them???), the mad scotchman from Eastenders as Marc Anthony, i couldn't work out wether he was a psychopath on the brink or just some clueless idiot, all he seemed to do was just stare menacingly. The portrayal of Pompey was quite good though, i think they did a pretty fair account of his character during the civil war. Â the storyline was pretty sparse to say the least, you cant expect to cover the story of caesar fom his conquest of Gaul through the civil war and up to his assassination in one hour and expect to do it justice, its just not possible! Â The words 'low' and 'budget' spring to mind. Edited September 28, 2006 by Gaius Paulinus Maximus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spittle Posted September 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2006 Oh Dear! I gave last weeks Nero the benefit of the doubt and tried to justify some of its more blatant mistakes (Phil25, Augusta and others demonlished my excuses with their far more precise criticism's). This week I am worried that Nero was shown first because it was by far the best! Â Pertwee's one dimensional Caesar was painful to watch. He reminded me of Dr.Evil from the Austin Powers films (they were both intent on world domination for the sheer joy of wickedness. Or so it would seem from this programme)"First Gaul, then Rome. Now the WORLD!!! (demonic laughter)" Â Eastenders Trevor is the only actor I have ever witnessed playing this caring, sharing version of Mark Antony. How he's been maligned over the centuries! Such a nice man should never have been portrayed as the bloodthirsty, uncouth and vulgar bully that EVERYONE else have claimed him to be. Â According to the show-"Caesar put down the mutiny in the ninth legion by reinstating the punishment of decimation for the first time in decades...." Wasn't that Crassus during the Spartacus unpleasantness? Wasn't Caesar actually more unique in the levels of clemency he demonstrated rather than his cruelty? DID CAESAR EVER USE DECIMATION ON ANYONE?Friend or foe? Â 50 minutes was never going to suffice to explain events of such complexity so a certain amount of over-simplifying was to be expected but the total lack of shades of grey made tonights viewing paqinful to watch. Â NEXT WEEK: Benny from Crossroads plays Tiberius Gracchus. "They killed my brother two days before he retired from the A.R.P.D. (Ancient Roman Police Department) and I'm gonna take my revenge...." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaius Paulinus Maximus Posted September 28, 2006 Report Share Posted September 28, 2006 According to the show-"Caesar put down the mutiny in the ninth legion by reinstating the punishment of decimation for the first time in decades...." Wasn't that Crassus during the Spartacus unpleasantness? Wasn't Caesar actually more unique in the levels of clemency he demonstrated rather than his cruelty?DID CAESAR EVER USE DECIMATION ON ANYONE?Friend or foe? Â Oh yes i forgot about that little gem, it says at the begining of the show that " it's based on the accounts of Roman writers" and " it has been written with the advice of modern historians" ........who???? Â I know Crassus used it in the war against Sparticus and also Augustus was supposed to have used but Caesar.... i dont think so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spittle Posted September 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2006 The modern historian is Mary Beard who, according to forum members with far more knowledge than myself (I'm only a few books into the subject) is a serious academic with an excellent reputation. Â Last week someone speculated that she'd probably been over-ruled by a producer or someone involved more with the 'creative process'. These people obviously don't let the facts get in the way of a good story or, more accurately, let the facts get in the way of turning an excellent story into a mediocre cliche! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotWotius Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 I missed it! Â Has anybody found it on Youtube? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursus Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 Thanks for the frank review, Pertinax, et al. I shall hence speedily dismiss my interest in this affair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaius Paulinus Maximus Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 I missed it! Has anybody found it on Youtube?  I sort of wish i'd missed it too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Augusta Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 It's not often that I am lost for words, which is precisely why I could not post last night after this latest debacle, which is fast achieving what I never thought would be possible: it makes ROME look like 'I, Claudius'.  Well, where to begin? Most posters who have gone before me have summed it up. I think the casting was truly abysmal. Sean Pertwee? I wouldn't follow him to Tesco's, let alone across the Rubicon! And if I may inject a point on theatrical aesthetics - these actors are trying to convince us that they belong in the clasical world while delivering their lines (albeit poorly-written) with all the class of a twenty-first century gangster. Their delivery is far too modern (a criticism I also level at Polly Walker in ROME - compare her to Lindsay Duncan, for instance). But this is just something that offends me personally, and may not be a valid point for others, so I'll move on.  Alesia was all over in seconds, wasn't it? No signs of the siege it was. And then we had the wonderful scene of a totally deserted Rome, looking like a ghost town in an old western! Even the rabble had left. Julius would have found it very hard to address the Assembly in such an atmosphere, methinks. And when he was made Dictator the narrator seemed to believe that this made him Rome's first emperor! And, just for good measure, we also had this rather spurious presentation of Julius as some kind of champion of the common man, standing up to all those nasty, crusty old conservatives in the Senate. As if things were ever so black and white in Rome! Ah well, at least the horses had no stirrups  A plea to the BBC: if you seek to educate and entertain people with this series, you are signally failing in the first objective and only marginally achieving the second. A schoolboy would learn far more about Julius if you threw a mildewed old copy of the Commentaries at him - and I think he'd be more entertained into the bargain.  Rant over. I will now lie down in a dark room somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DecimusCaesar Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 It seems I didn't miss anything good then. So it turns out the narrator really was implying that Caesar was Rome's First Emperor. Â I also missed the ending...so what's up next week on the show? Â Will anyone be watching next week? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pertinax Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 Out of morbid curiosity I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princeps Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 I caught the Nero repeat on Wednesday. I enjoyed it, though there were some bits that seemed wrong (I only had one eye on it as I was painting at the time). I am fairly sure he kicked Poppea to death after a night of drinking (for which she criticised him), and I also thought he got his slave to stab him in the heart, instead of inserting a blade into his own neck. It was quite good, enjoyable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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