meme: the show "At the gates"
1. Comment to this post with "I surrender!" and I'll assign you the basis of some tv show idea. (Science fiction show, medical drama, criminal procedure, etc...)
2. Create a cast of characters, including the actors who'd play them
3. Add in any actor photos, character bios and show synopsis that you want.
4. Post to your own journal.
Havocthecat requested "the Highlander spinoff you always wanted to see." Your wish is within my power to grant.
I call it At The Gates.
At The Gates
It is the year 60 AD by the measure of a small Judean sect, and on the eastern edge of the Roman Empire is where the Immortal Ceirdwyn lives. War is not merely on the horizon, but is at the gates, and the question for her is not if to fight, but with which side.
Ceirdwyn - Kim Johnston Ulrich
Silas - Richard Riding
Acantha Scipio - Gerçek Büyük Saglar
Rachel - Sarah Silverman*
Sarai bat Abraham - Carmel Myers
Rohesia - Sertab Erener
Gnaeus Sertorius Sabinus - Derek Jacobi
In the first minute of the pilot episode, we see three quotations in bold:
"Hannibal is at the gates."
--warning uttered by Romans for many generations even after Hannibal's death.
"When mothers warned their children that the monster would get them, that monster was me. I was the nightmare that kept them awake at nights."
--Methos.
"War is Hell."
--William Tecumseh Sherman.
Immortals
Ceirdwyn
With her First Death at the hand of Roman soldiers, Ceirdwyn (Kim Johnston Ulrich) quickly gained a hatred for the Roman Empire and those who carry out its orders.
Her one-woman killing spree of Roman soldiers was stopped by Marcus Constantine, but it was Silas (Richard Riding) who took her under his wing to teach her the rules of being Immortal. And, now that the teaching may be coming to an end, they've come to Judea to see if there's a fight to be had.
While her time as Silas's student is coming to an end, Ceirdwyn feels thrown into the deep end here in a land severely different from her homeland in every way. So she takes every day and step as a personal challenge, seeking to overcome the differences in any way she can.
Ceirdwyn does not as yet fully trust Rohesia (Sertab Erener), but knows the military wife knows how to keep a confidence.
Silas
A member of the Four Horsemen. But without their presence, Silas has lapsed into an unofficial retirement - he's more than happy to lend a hand and an axe to quell anything he's asked to help with, be it a bar fight or an uppity village (though the idea of himself having to advance from lowly foot soldier to general to higher, just doesn't site right with him). Once or twice in the series, he will contemplate a global Roman Empire, with the Horsemen as the Caesars running it all.
Though he is careful in what of that he mentions around Ceirdwyn, his pupil. Unlike some Immortal teachers, Silas hasn't told Ceirdwyn to abandon her passion and anger, but to use it, to harness it like an ox.
Silas knows Acantha (Gerçek Büyük Saglar) from the days of fighting Hannibal ("ah, fun"), but his tone warns Ceirdwyn that they are not happy memories for him.
Every now and again, Silas will hear rumors of Methos or Kronos alive somewhere, and he goes to investigate it personally - this means he will disappear from the screen for an episode or two at a time.
Acantha Scipio
No more a descendant of Scipio Africanus than Ceirdwyn is, Acantha hails from Gordion, her First Death occuring on the same day that Alexander of Macedon arrived to face the Knot.
Acantha is patient where Ceirdwyn is concerned, counciling the younger Celt to not be so eager for revenge - though she's not so patient with Silas. Her advice to Ceirdwyn is founded in experience - she herself has fought against Rome (with Hannibal and Mithradates) and against Alexander (with the City of Tyre, and as part of numerous revolts), and none ended well.
While Acantha's attitude towards things is largely passive insofar as she lets trouble find her, she never ceases to find amusement in things - "whether or not 'there is nothing new under the sun' is irrelevant - there's something to be said for watching people make the same mistakes we made when we were twice their age"...though at the time, she was talking about marketplaces and emotions. Thus some of her better friends are those with a strong sense of humor, such as Sarai (Carmel Myers).
Rachel
Among other Immortals, she styles herself "Rachel, eternally of Israel," in recognition of how she has never left the two kingdoms of Judea and Israel in the thousand years of her existance. At the start of the series, Rachel is posing as a Samaritan woman, though her loyalties are more in line with the Siccari: to expell all Romans from the Land which God promised to her people...even if she has to dress like the foreigners to accomplish it. (Needless to say, she pretty much scandalized Sarai (Carmel Myers) when she told a Greek trader who was hitting on her, "go find a mikva'ot, dunk yourself, and don't come up.")
To her, the Horsemen are a myth, something foreigners say when they don't know who just attacked them. She wouldn't believe Silas if he said he was a Horseman, even if his axe was at her throat. But she's not against agreeing with Silas' sentiments when she asks Ceirdwyn - repeatedly - to join the Chosen People against Rome.
Mortals
Sarai bat Abraham of the Tribe of Judah
Whereas Rachel argues that God will side with the Jews against Rome, Sarai reminds those listening that God used the Assyrians to punish the Jewish people - "so why would He not use Rome if he chose?" Sarai asks. Sarai is something of a fatalist: if something happens, it was Willed to happen.
Despite or because of that fatalism, Sarai is a steadfast friend, loyal to the hilt and staying with those she calls friend, even when everyone else leaves. She also has a great love of puns and wordplay, and not just in Hebrew and Aramaic either. (this is only part of why Acantha enjoys her company so much)
Rohesia
Rohesia can trace her family line back to Scythian nomads on the open steppe. Her parents moved from the Commagene Kingdom west to Cappadocia, a province of Rome, where her father purchased citizenship. Rohesia herself was married to Gnaeus Sertorius Sabinus (Derek Jacobi) when he commanded a small legion, and remained with him through promotions and several moves of residence, ending up a very short distance from Persia.
Ingrained from birth with the Roman view that only the ancient faiths are in any way true (new things are fads and superstitions), Rohesia does not think, however, that the Jews, with their sole God, are strange - she is, after all, from Commagene where the heads of gods stick up from the ground on sacred mountains. And so she tries to keep cooler heads prevailing, lest the situation become something even the Siccari would hate.
Accustomed to keeping Ceirdwyn company while Gnaeus and Silas talk shop, Rohesia has taken it upon herself to break the Celt woman's distrust of all things Roman. "Who better," Rohesia once asked herself, "than a fellow woman whose blood runs as barbaroi as her own?"
Gnaeus Sertorius Sabinus
He is the head of the Roman military presence in Judea, subordinate only to the Governor and other appointed high-ups.
He is proud that he can trace his family back to the Sabines in the days before Marius, though he recognizes (not publically!) that it is through his grandmother's line that the connection exists.
For all his life, Gnaeus has been intent on restoring his family's good name - marred by the rebel who attempted to break Hispania apart from the Republic at least a century ago, though he was a distant relation at best. This is why the sympathy of his wife Rohesia toward the Judeans is worrying him greatly - he harbors no ire towards the people here (at least not the unsuperstitious ones), but he fears that her coddling of moderates will backfire...and then the blades will be unsheathed on all sides.
As Silas has never sought Roman citizenship, Gnaeus doesn't feel he can trust the man completely, but he also knows that, if heads need to roll with a minimum of questions, Silas is the best person money can buy...though he is slightly concerned at Silas' statement to him that "I get the money and a favor. Not one for every job. One big favor you'll owe me." The prospect of just what this favor will be - and when it'll be cashed in - are the fear bigger than that of his wife's plans backfiring, bigger than being recalled to Rome as a prisoner.
((note: the above photo was taken during the filming of Episode Two "Sects & Recriminations", between a scene where Gnaeus was investigating an illicit business being run by a tight-knit group of Christians & a flashback to freezing his toes off on distant mountains for the glory of Rome))
Random Facts:
* The season 1 finale was almost without its final scene - with Ceirdwyn contemplating the dagger in her hand, and Silas battling Acantha - due to time constraints.
* The music played by Silas, as well as the theme music, are not overlays: Mr. Riding plays them himself.
* To the ancient Romans, the Jews were respectable because they were an ancient people.
* Jewish Immortals are no more uncommon than Immortals in any other region.
* Siccari is Latin for "dagger" and would refer to "the daggermen" who tended to use assassination for political purposes.
* In episode 6, we learn that there used to be two others who titled themselves "Immortals of Israel" - Benjamin of the Tribe of Gad, who also never left; and Sarai bat Ham of the Tribe of David, who frequently left to explore other lands. Both are long since dead, leaving Rachel the sole claimant to that title.
* = the photo may have been mis-attributed.
Others by me in this meme: At The Gates & Caroline & Time Enough & 1st Time, 2nd Time.
2. Create a cast of characters, including the actors who'd play them
3. Add in any actor photos, character bios and show synopsis that you want.
4. Post to your own journal.
Havocthecat requested "the Highlander spinoff you always wanted to see." Your wish is within my power to grant.
I call it At The Gates.
At The Gates
It is the year 60 AD by the measure of a small Judean sect, and on the eastern edge of the Roman Empire is where the Immortal Ceirdwyn lives. War is not merely on the horizon, but is at the gates, and the question for her is not if to fight, but with which side.
Ceirdwyn - Kim Johnston Ulrich
Silas - Richard Riding
Acantha Scipio - Gerçek Büyük Saglar
Rachel - Sarah Silverman*
Sarai bat Abraham - Carmel Myers
Rohesia - Sertab Erener
Gnaeus Sertorius Sabinus - Derek Jacobi
In the first minute of the pilot episode, we see three quotations in bold:
"Hannibal is at the gates."
--warning uttered by Romans for many generations even after Hannibal's death.
"When mothers warned their children that the monster would get them, that monster was me. I was the nightmare that kept them awake at nights."
--Methos.
"War is Hell."
--William Tecumseh Sherman.
Immortals
Ceirdwyn
With her First Death at the hand of Roman soldiers, Ceirdwyn (Kim Johnston Ulrich) quickly gained a hatred for the Roman Empire and those who carry out its orders.
Her one-woman killing spree of Roman soldiers was stopped by Marcus Constantine, but it was Silas (Richard Riding) who took her under his wing to teach her the rules of being Immortal. And, now that the teaching may be coming to an end, they've come to Judea to see if there's a fight to be had.
While her time as Silas's student is coming to an end, Ceirdwyn feels thrown into the deep end here in a land severely different from her homeland in every way. So she takes every day and step as a personal challenge, seeking to overcome the differences in any way she can.
Ceirdwyn does not as yet fully trust Rohesia (Sertab Erener), but knows the military wife knows how to keep a confidence.
Silas
A member of the Four Horsemen. But without their presence, Silas has lapsed into an unofficial retirement - he's more than happy to lend a hand and an axe to quell anything he's asked to help with, be it a bar fight or an uppity village (though the idea of himself having to advance from lowly foot soldier to general to higher, just doesn't site right with him). Once or twice in the series, he will contemplate a global Roman Empire, with the Horsemen as the Caesars running it all.
Though he is careful in what of that he mentions around Ceirdwyn, his pupil. Unlike some Immortal teachers, Silas hasn't told Ceirdwyn to abandon her passion and anger, but to use it, to harness it like an ox.
Silas knows Acantha (Gerçek Büyük Saglar) from the days of fighting Hannibal ("ah, fun"), but his tone warns Ceirdwyn that they are not happy memories for him.
Every now and again, Silas will hear rumors of Methos or Kronos alive somewhere, and he goes to investigate it personally - this means he will disappear from the screen for an episode or two at a time.
Acantha Scipio
No more a descendant of Scipio Africanus than Ceirdwyn is, Acantha hails from Gordion, her First Death occuring on the same day that Alexander of Macedon arrived to face the Knot.
Acantha is patient where Ceirdwyn is concerned, counciling the younger Celt to not be so eager for revenge - though she's not so patient with Silas. Her advice to Ceirdwyn is founded in experience - she herself has fought against Rome (with Hannibal and Mithradates) and against Alexander (with the City of Tyre, and as part of numerous revolts), and none ended well.
While Acantha's attitude towards things is largely passive insofar as she lets trouble find her, she never ceases to find amusement in things - "whether or not 'there is nothing new under the sun' is irrelevant - there's something to be said for watching people make the same mistakes we made when we were twice their age"...though at the time, she was talking about marketplaces and emotions. Thus some of her better friends are those with a strong sense of humor, such as Sarai (Carmel Myers).
Rachel
Among other Immortals, she styles herself "Rachel, eternally of Israel," in recognition of how she has never left the two kingdoms of Judea and Israel in the thousand years of her existance. At the start of the series, Rachel is posing as a Samaritan woman, though her loyalties are more in line with the Siccari: to expell all Romans from the Land which God promised to her people...even if she has to dress like the foreigners to accomplish it. (Needless to say, she pretty much scandalized Sarai (Carmel Myers) when she told a Greek trader who was hitting on her, "go find a mikva'ot, dunk yourself, and don't come up.")
To her, the Horsemen are a myth, something foreigners say when they don't know who just attacked them. She wouldn't believe Silas if he said he was a Horseman, even if his axe was at her throat. But she's not against agreeing with Silas' sentiments when she asks Ceirdwyn - repeatedly - to join the Chosen People against Rome.
Mortals
Sarai bat Abraham of the Tribe of Judah
Whereas Rachel argues that God will side with the Jews against Rome, Sarai reminds those listening that God used the Assyrians to punish the Jewish people - "so why would He not use Rome if he chose?" Sarai asks. Sarai is something of a fatalist: if something happens, it was Willed to happen.
Despite or because of that fatalism, Sarai is a steadfast friend, loyal to the hilt and staying with those she calls friend, even when everyone else leaves. She also has a great love of puns and wordplay, and not just in Hebrew and Aramaic either. (this is only part of why Acantha enjoys her company so much)
Rohesia
Rohesia can trace her family line back to Scythian nomads on the open steppe. Her parents moved from the Commagene Kingdom west to Cappadocia, a province of Rome, where her father purchased citizenship. Rohesia herself was married to Gnaeus Sertorius Sabinus (Derek Jacobi) when he commanded a small legion, and remained with him through promotions and several moves of residence, ending up a very short distance from Persia.
Ingrained from birth with the Roman view that only the ancient faiths are in any way true (new things are fads and superstitions), Rohesia does not think, however, that the Jews, with their sole God, are strange - she is, after all, from Commagene where the heads of gods stick up from the ground on sacred mountains. And so she tries to keep cooler heads prevailing, lest the situation become something even the Siccari would hate.
Accustomed to keeping Ceirdwyn company while Gnaeus and Silas talk shop, Rohesia has taken it upon herself to break the Celt woman's distrust of all things Roman. "Who better," Rohesia once asked herself, "than a fellow woman whose blood runs as barbaroi as her own?"
Gnaeus Sertorius Sabinus
He is the head of the Roman military presence in Judea, subordinate only to the Governor and other appointed high-ups.
He is proud that he can trace his family back to the Sabines in the days before Marius, though he recognizes (not publically!) that it is through his grandmother's line that the connection exists.
For all his life, Gnaeus has been intent on restoring his family's good name - marred by the rebel who attempted to break Hispania apart from the Republic at least a century ago, though he was a distant relation at best. This is why the sympathy of his wife Rohesia toward the Judeans is worrying him greatly - he harbors no ire towards the people here (at least not the unsuperstitious ones), but he fears that her coddling of moderates will backfire...and then the blades will be unsheathed on all sides.
As Silas has never sought Roman citizenship, Gnaeus doesn't feel he can trust the man completely, but he also knows that, if heads need to roll with a minimum of questions, Silas is the best person money can buy...though he is slightly concerned at Silas' statement to him that "I get the money and a favor. Not one for every job. One big favor you'll owe me." The prospect of just what this favor will be - and when it'll be cashed in - are the fear bigger than that of his wife's plans backfiring, bigger than being recalled to Rome as a prisoner.
((note: the above photo was taken during the filming of Episode Two "Sects & Recriminations", between a scene where Gnaeus was investigating an illicit business being run by a tight-knit group of Christians & a flashback to freezing his toes off on distant mountains for the glory of Rome))
Random Facts:
* The season 1 finale was almost without its final scene - with Ceirdwyn contemplating the dagger in her hand, and Silas battling Acantha - due to time constraints.
* The music played by Silas, as well as the theme music, are not overlays: Mr. Riding plays them himself.
* To the ancient Romans, the Jews were respectable because they were an ancient people.
* Jewish Immortals are no more uncommon than Immortals in any other region.
* Siccari is Latin for "dagger" and would refer to "the daggermen" who tended to use assassination for political purposes.
* In episode 6, we learn that there used to be two others who titled themselves "Immortals of Israel" - Benjamin of the Tribe of Gad, who also never left; and Sarai bat Ham of the Tribe of David, who frequently left to explore other lands. Both are long since dead, leaving Rachel the sole claimant to that title.
* = the photo may have been mis-attributed.
Others by me in this meme: At The Gates & Caroline & Time Enough & 1st Time, 2nd Time.