Rome - a HBO exclusive

HBO Asia started showing Rome recently. When it debut in the US back in late August, there was so much acclaim for it and I couldn’t wait for it to show in Asia. HBO Asia is showing the first 3 episodes at 10pm on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Subsequent episodes will show on Tuesdays at 10pm. I’ve watched the first 2 episodes and have come to a conclusion… it’s awesome… Rome rocks!

The only complaint I have and it's a major one, is the cuts and censors that have been applied to it. As part of the local media hype surrounding the showing in Asia, a local daily had already pre-warned that the version being shown locally has been sanitized for Asian sensibilities… what a load of crap. I mean, what do you expect? It’s Rome back in like 52BC… morality then was not as we know it now… In trying to depict a level of period reality and yet acceptable for present American TV, there has to be a certain level of violence and gritty raunchiness. C'mon... you've heard about Caligula and his orgies, right... he's Roman, no? And it's set in a period where rape and pillage was the order of war. HBO's production of Rome apparently tried it's best to tell that part of historical assertion on modern prime time TV, but alas, us poor sensible Asians won't get to see it until the DVD box sets get released. We get the sanitised version... Bah!

Levels that are apparently unacceptable in this part of the world. What a load of rubbish man! E.g. in episode 1, when Vorenus and Pullo come across Octavian’s abductors, the ambush is cut. All we got to see was them discovering the band of bandits and next thing you know, the ambush is over, men have died and Octavian is free. C’mon… the fellas overseeing censorship need to get with the times man!

Despite that, Rome is immensely entertaining. Crippled, but still awesome. All the characters have their story and is captivating. Gaius Julius Caesar looks imperious, the legionaires menacing, the Roman senate simply oozes politics and the supporting women devious and manipulative and incredibly beautiful. Niobe's a personal favourite... Now, if they’d only do a Greek mythology series next.

The year is 52 B.C. Four hundred years after the founding of the Republic, Rome is the wealthiest city in the world, a cosmopolitan metropolis of one million people, epicenter of a sprawling empire. The Republic was founded on principles of shared power and fierce personal competition, never allowing one man to seize absolute control. But now, those foundations are crumbling, eaten away by corruption and excess. The ruling class has become extravagantly
wealthy, with a precipitous decline in the old values of Spartan discipline and social unity. There is now a great chasm between the classes. Legal and political systems have weakened, and power has increasingly shifted to the military.

After eight years of war, Gaius Julius Caesar has completed his masterful conquest of Gaul, and is returning to Rome. He brings with him legions of battle-hardened, loyal men, unimaginable riches in slaves, gold and plunder, and a populist agenda for radical social change. The aristocracy is terrified, and threatens to prosecute him for war crimes if he enters Rome. The delicate balance of power lies in the Senate with Caesar's old friend, partner and mentor, Pompey Magnus.

Such is the situation when two soldiers of Caesar's 13th Legion, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, are ordered into the wilds of Gaul to retrieve their legion's stolen standard, the unifying symbol of Caesar's legion, setting off a chain of circumstances that will entwine them in pivotal events of
ancient Rome. An intimate drama of love and betrayal, masters and slaves, and husbands and wives, ROME chronicles epic times that saw the fall of a Republic and the creation of an empire.

Cast of characters:

Kevin McKidd as Lucius Vorenus,
Ray Stevenson as Titus Pullo
Ciaran Hinds as Gaius Julius Caesar
Kenneth Cranham as Pompey Magnus
Polly Walker as Atia of the Julii
James Purefoy as Mark Antony
Tobias Menzies as Marcus Junius Brutus
Lindsay Duncan as Servilia of the Junii
Indira Varma as Niobe
Max Pirkis as Gaius Octavian
Kerry Condon as Octavia of the Julii.

Episodes:
01 - The stolen eagle
02 - How Titus Pullo Brought Down the Republic
03 - An Owl In a Thornbush
04 - Stealing From Saturn
05 - The Ram Has Touched The Wall
06 - Egeria
07 - Pharsalus
08 - Caesarion
09 - Utica
10 - Triumph
11 - The Spoils
12 - Kalends of February