If you love someone, stab them to prove you care...
I have finally started watching The Caesars (ITV 1967/8), after a delay because I wanted a break from non-restored scratchy old 1960s b&w telly (great as it may be). I've now seen episode 1 ("Augustus"). It is a very interesting thing to watch having seen I Claudius because it covers the same period, but tries to be more historical (well, as far as you can be with ancient history and with a fictional serial). So far, the big contrast is in the portrayal of Tiberius. No offence to George Baker, because it's about the way the character is written, but André Morell's Tiberius is ten times more interesting. Everyone else was very good, too, although I suspect given the shorter series (6 episodes) and the focus on the six emperors (Augustus, Germanicus, Tiberius, Sejanus, Caligula & Claudius), that I will be sad/annoyed at who doesn't get enough screen time. (Sonia Dresdel's Livia was very good despite comparatively little screen time - ruthless still, but her passion and love for Augustus was clearly real (and she doesn't poison him to prove it) but I don't know if we'll see her again. I hope so!) So far, also, Freddie Jones is an excellent Claudius, too. Derek Jacobi is quite cast into the shade already.
Death count = 2 (1 natural causes, 1 stabbing). (I'm not sure how high the death count in I Claudius was by episode 1, but I'm pretty sure there were several poisonings and maroonings going on very early. I'm not rewatching to compare, because I don't want Brian Blessed induced nightmares again, thank you.) Derek Newark was trotted out again as old telly's one macho guy. (So macho he had to die! He often does, poor Derek.)
(evelyn_b will be no doubt saddened to learn that there is no credit snake here.)
Anyway, I looked it up on Wiki, wondering if they had any further info - I mean, it can't have been influenced by the IC TV series of course, but what about the book? Was it deliberately being written against that or not even regarding it? Wiki didn't tell me, but it did link me to this entrancingly long list of film & TV set in Ancient Rome. (And, ironically, it's missed off The Caesars, although it is on their list of Historical dramas). Has anyone set out to watch their way through the lot? It's the internet, surely someone must have done?
Which then led to me looking at their linked list historical drama films (& TV). How long would it take to watch through history by fictional series/films?
Is it just me or is the idea of taking a period and watching everything you can strangely enticing? Oh, noes, who let me out near a list? At the very least I want to copy it and tick off everything I have watched and things I know that they missed off (and am not looking at their list of all historical fiction in books, film and TV...)
Crossposted from Dreamwidth -- Comments there:
Death count = 2 (1 natural causes, 1 stabbing). (I'm not sure how high the death count in I Claudius was by episode 1, but I'm pretty sure there were several poisonings and maroonings going on very early. I'm not rewatching to compare, because I don't want Brian Blessed induced nightmares again, thank you.) Derek Newark was trotted out again as old telly's one macho guy. (So macho he had to die! He often does, poor Derek.)
(evelyn_b will be no doubt saddened to learn that there is no credit snake here.)
Anyway, I looked it up on Wiki, wondering if they had any further info - I mean, it can't have been influenced by the IC TV series of course, but what about the book? Was it deliberately being written against that or not even regarding it? Wiki didn't tell me, but it did link me to this entrancingly long list of film & TV set in Ancient Rome. (And, ironically, it's missed off The Caesars, although it is on their list of Historical dramas). Has anyone set out to watch their way through the lot? It's the internet, surely someone must have done?
Which then led to me looking at their linked list historical drama films (& TV). How long would it take to watch through history by fictional series/films?
Is it just me or is the idea of taking a period and watching everything you can strangely enticing? Oh, noes, who let me out near a list? At the very least I want to copy it and tick off everything I have watched and things I know that they missed off (and am not looking at their list of all historical fiction in books, film and TV...)
Crossposted from Dreamwidth -- Comments there: