This is without question one of the best historical dramas I've ever seen. It depicts the majesty, cruelty and squalor (moral and physical) of Rome in a totally convincing manner. While it does make heavy use of creative license, it sticks to the generally accepted history of the period from the rise of Julius Caesar to the triumph of his heir Octavius.
The drama focuses primarily on the leading protagonists contending for power, the Caesars, Pompey, Brutus, Mark Antony, Cleopatra, Cicero, et. al. However there are rich and complex characters of whom much less is known historically, including Octavian's mother Atia, Julius' mistress Servilia. A continuing theme throughout this lengthy series is the friendship between two soldiers, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, played by Kevin McKidd (of Grays Anatomy) and Ray Stevenson.
Julius Caesar is played by Ciaran Hinds. He gets Caesar in a way I've never seen before, demonstrating all of the facets of his complex character.
I have only one quibble with the series which is the amount of explicit sex. On some occasions this does contribute to the story, but mostly not, in my opinion. There is also a great deal of graphic violence which may be hard for some viewers to stomach, but seems appropriate, given what we know about Roman cruelty.
This is a magnificent production. Do yourself a favor and get the Blu-Ray edition and watch it on a good HD screen.
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