How Titus Pullo Brought Down the Republic (4 Sep. 2005)

Caesar winters his army in Gaul near the Italian border while his enemies in Rome fear that he will do something no Roman General has done: cross the Rubicon with his army. To ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Apted

Writers:

John Milius (creator), William J. MacDonald (creator),

Stars:

Ray Stevenson, Kevin McKidd, Polly Walker

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Ray Stevenson	...	Titus Pullo
Kevin McKidd	...	Lucius Vorenus
Polly Walker	...	Atia of the Julii
Kenneth Cranham	...	Pompey Magnus
Lindsay Duncan	...	Servilia of the Junii
Tobias Menzies	...	Marcus Junius Brutus
Kerry Condon	...	Octavia of the Julii
Karl Johnson	...	Porcius Cato
Indira Varma	...	Niobe
David Bamber	...	Marcus Tullius Cicero
Max Pirkis	...	Gaius Octavian
Nicholas Woodeson	...	Posca
Paul Jesson	...	Scipio
Coral Amiga	...	Vorena the Elder
Anna Francolini	...	Clarissa

Storyline

Caesar winters his army in Gaul near the Italian border while his enemies in Rome fear that he will do something no Roman General has done: cross the Rubicon with his army. To counter-balance his opponents, Caesar puts his friend Mark Antony up for office as the people's Consul. Vorenus and Pullo accompany Mark Antony and Octavian to Rome. For Pullo, it's an opportunity to get drunk and ravish every woman in sight. He also loses all of his money in a crooked dice game leading to a major brawl. For Vorenus, he will have a reunion with his wife Niobe who he has not seen for 8 years. He's told that the baby he finds in his home is his grandson but Niobe is hiding a secret. In the Senate, there is a move to have Caesar declared a traitor but when Mark Antony tries to return to the Senate to veto their decision, Pullo is attacked by someone he fought the night before. Antony thinks the attack is against him and Pullo kills the man and Caesar declares Pullo a hero.

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Plot Keywords:

veto | cheering crowd | roman salute | horse riding | gambling | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | Romance | War

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 September 2005 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pullo is talking about "smoking all the smoke" in Rome, but he is not talking about tobacco. Tobacco was native to North America. The Ancient Romans smoked opium, which was imported from Egypt.

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Goofs

Lucius Vorenus wears shoes with soles. This invention has not been found (archaeologically) BC. Though the shoe itself looks authentic to the archaeological material.

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Quotes

Titus Pullo: [giving Vorenus advice on pleasing women] Oh yes, and right above her cunny, there's a button. Pay attention to that button and she'll go wild.
Lucius Vorenus: [horrified] How do you know this of her?
Titus Pullo: They ALL have it. Ask anyone.

User Reviews

Cicero

I found this episode important because of the presence of Cicero in the Senate and out of it and the day to day machinations of the Roman aristocracy as well as the political acumen of the young Octavianus who is precocious and rather irritating I must say but I suspect he could not have been otherwise since he had the calibre of a universal despot or rather princeps. The young actor who plays him is brilliant as a choice for the character he seeks to portray. Good introduction to the life-style of the Roman chattering classes. It is interesting surely but after some time their incessant hunger for power makes someone bored.