Rome (TV series)

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Modèle:Mergefrom Modèle:Infobox Television Rome is a historical drama television series co-created by Bruno Heller, John Milius, and William J. MacDonald and primarily written by Heller. Rome was produced in Italy by the BBC (UK), HBO (USA), and RAI (Italy). The show's first season originally aired on HBO between August 28 and November 20 2005, subsequently broadcast on BBC One between November 2 2005 and January 4 2006, and on Rai Due between March 17 and April 28 2006.

The show's second and final season opened on January 14 2007 and ended on March 25 2007 in the USA. In the UK the second season started on June 20 2007, on BBC Two and ended on July 24 2007.<ref>Rome second season - bbc.co.uk</ref> Throughout the second season there were many conflicting reports from various sources that a renewed third season would take place, however no announcements have been made.^{[citation needed]}

Series overview

The series is a historical drama depicting the period of history surrounding the violent transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire; a change driven by civil warfare between populists and conservatives, the decay of political institutions, and the actions of ambitious men and women. The HBO website provides the following introduction:

Half a century before the dawn of Christianity, Rome has become the wealthiest city in the world, a cosmopolitan metropolis of one million people — epicenter of a sprawling empire. Founded on principles of shared power and fierce personal competition, the Republic was created to prevent any one man from seizing absolute control. It is a society where soldiers can rise up from provincial commoners to become national heroes, even leaders of the Republic. But as the ruling class became extravagantly wealthy, the foundations have crumbled, eaten away by corruption and excess, and the old values of Spartan discipline and social unity have given way to a great chasm between the classes.<ref>HBO.com ~ About Rome</ref>

While chronicling the lives and deeds of the rich, powerful and "historically significant," the series also focuses on the lives, fortunes, families and acquaintances of two common men: Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, two Roman soldiers mentioned historically in Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico. The fictionalized Vorenus and Pullo manage to witness and often influence many of the historical events presented in the series.

Season 1 depicts Julius Caesar's civil war of 49 BC against the traditionalist conservative faction in the Roman Senate, his subsequent rise to absolute dictatorship over Rome and his eventual fall, spanning the time period from the end of his Gallic Wars (52 BC or 701 ab urbe condita) until his assassination on March 15 44 BC (the infamous Ides of March). Against the backdrop of these cataclysmic events, we also see the early years of the young Octavian, who is destined to become the first Emperor of Rome, Augustus.

Season 2 chronicles the power struggle between Octavian and Mark Antony following Caesar's assassination, spanning the period from Caesar's death in 44 BC to Octavian's final defeat of Antony at Actium in 31 BC.

Series history

Production

In 2002, HBO and the BBC agreed to co-produce a new series based on the events of the "Roman Revolution". Towards that end, the two networks committed a US$100 million budget to the production of twelve 1-hour episodes, with HBO contributing US$85 million, and the BBC contributing US$15 million.<ref>BBC News ~ "Small screen hits and misses"</ref>

Between March 2004 and May 2005, Rome was filmed, in co-production with RAI, in the Italian countryside, on six sound stages at Rome's legendary Cinecittà studios, and in a collection of massive sets in Cinecittà studios' back lots: five acres of outdoor sets which comprised an elaborate "period reconstruction" of sections of ancient Rome. It was a huge undertaking, with an international crew of 350, and more than 50 local Italian interns. The production is regarded as one of the most expensive in the history of TV series. Funding was generously employed to recreate an impressively detailed set featuring a number of Roman Villas, the forum and a vast slum area of the ancient city of Rome. Unfortunately, a significant part of this set was later destroyed by a fire that burned down a portion of the Cinecittà Studios on August 10 2007.<ref>The Hollywood Reporter ~ "Fire hits Rome studios"</ref>

First season

The series was launched in the United States on August 24 2005, at Wadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles, California. HBO broadcast the series pilot (The Stolen Eagle) four days later on August 28.

According to the Nielsen ratings system, the pilot attracted more than 8.9 million viewers over eleven broadcasts, and achieved a 9.1 household rating for Sunday primetime. BBC Two premiered Rome in the United Kingdom on November 2 2005, attracting 6.6 million viewers (27%), only to have the viewing figures decline in future episodes with the finale only attracting 3 million viewers (13%). The season has also gone into international syndication, being broadcast in many countries around the globe, in several languages (see Broadcasting).

The series' first season garnered critical acclaim, with Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Dramatic Series and Best Performance by an Actress in a Dramatic Television Series for Polly Walker's portrayal of Atia of the Julii. Rome is also cited by some for its more historically accurate portrayal of Roman society, but historians point out that the events and personalities portrayed in this series bear little more than a passing resemblance to the facts.

Second season

After the broadcast of only three first season episodes, HBO announced plans to produce a second season of Rome in 2006 for release in March 2007.<ref>HBO Rome News ~ "HBO renews the epic drama series Rome" September 12 2005</ref> Subsequently in a news conference HBO Chairman Chris Albrecht confirmed that Rome season two would air on HBO in January 2007, but would not return for a third season.<ref>Zap2it.com News ~ "Two and Out for Rome"</ref> Most speculation for the early denial of a third season appears to center on the series' staggering costs, although neither Albrecht, cast members, nor any HBO representative will comment on this.

The second season premiered January 14 2007, with the first episode attracting 7.5 million viewers.^{[citation needed]} The final episode aired on March 25 2007 in the U.S. The first episode of the second season aired on BBC 2 on June 20 2007.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Rome characters

Rome features both fictional characters as well as those loosely based on historical figures. According to the official HBO Rome series website, the main characters are:

Notes

1. The character of Octavian was aged and recast starting with season 2, episode #16 (2-4)
2. Caesarion appeared as a baby in arms in season 1, episode #08 (1-Image:Cool.gif, and was aged and recast in season 2, episode #20 (2-Image:Cool.gif

Background performers

Audio commentary on the Season 1 DVD<ref>DVD: Rome: The Complete First Season (2005) (Released 2006).</ref> indicates that many of the background performers used in the series were also their true professional counterparts. One example is that the actor shown in the series working as a butcher on the streets of Rome was in fact a real-life butcher.

Episodes

Specials

Season 1: 2005

† Note: Episodes #1 through 3 were re-edited into 2 episodes for their BBC broadcast. See The BBC editing controversy. †† Note: Episodes #11 and 12 were shown as one feature-length (1:30) episode from 21:00 to 22:30 p.m. on January 4, 2006 during their original BBC broadcast.

Season 2: 2007

Editing

The BBC editing controversy

Some scenes in episodes of Season 1 of the series have been edited for airing on the BBC in order to remove some of the stronger language which is deemed unacceptable for prime-time viewing on terrestrial British television (specifically the use of the word "cunt"). This has been criticized by many^{[citation needed]}, who point to the fact that other HBO programs such as The Sopranos and Oz have been broadcast uncut on British network television; however, Rome is broadcast at an earlier time than the other two programs and the BBC was aiming at a more general audience than Channel 4 was with The Sopranos and Oz.^{[citation needed]}

In a separate move, the BBC also decided to re-edit the first three episodes (all directed by Michael Apted) into two episodes. The BBC claimed that this was because the British audience were more familiar with the history of Rome than their American counterparts and so much of the back story was unnecessary; however, Apted claims that the purpose was to boost the ratings by increasing the prominence of the scenes of sex and violence. In an interview with The Times,<ref>TimesOnline UK ~ "They sexed up my Roman orgy, says director"</ref> Apted was quoted saying:

I'm really pissed off with the BBC for bringing down my first three episodes to two and, in doing so, taking out much of the vital politics. What also makes me very grumpy is that I was told that the cuts had been introduced by the BBC because they thought British viewers already knew the historical background. But all that's happened as far as the viewer is concerned is that it has made 'Rome' hard to follow.

Apted also said that he only found out about the cuts by accident claiming:

I only found out by chance a couple of weeks ago when one of the actors told me.

However, the original uncut versions of Season 1 episodes have since been shown in the UK on UKTV Drama, the channel having aired two episodes every Saturday, with only the title credits cut from the second episode shown every week. This run coincided with the UK screenings of Season 2 on BBC Two.

The RAI editing controversy

The Italian broadcasting of the series was also marred by controversy.^{[citation needed]} Strong language was removed in the Italian dubbing process; as for the more explicit sex scenes and disturbing violence, they were replaced by "safe" alternative versions shot during production especially for the Italian broadcast.<ref>Repubblica.it article (Italian)</ref>

Historical deviations

See Chronology of Rome (TV series) for a timeline of relevant historical events

While Rome is noted for its more historically accurate portrayal of Roman society than other dramatizations, there are numerous inaccuracies in the series' representation of various historical events and personages. Creator Bruno Heller has said that "We try to balance between what people expect from previous portrayals and a naturalistic approach ... This series is much more about how the psychology of the characters affects history than simply following the history as we know it."<ref>HBO.com ~ Rome News January 8 2007</ref> The series' Historical Consultant Jonathan Stamp also notes that the show aims for "authenticity" rather than "accuracy."<ref>DVD: Rome: The Complete First Season, When In Rome featurette.</ref><ref>ThinkExist.com ~ Jonathan Stamp quotes</ref> The film-makers stressed that they wanted to portray a more accurate picture of Rome, a gritty and realistic city as opposed to what they call the "HollyRome" that appears in films like Gladiator.

Though Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo are historical figures mentioned briefly in Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, their adventures and involvement in key events in the series are fictionalized. Rome also typically ignores the existence of certain extended family members of people featured as main characters, such as relatives of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Atia Balba Caesonia. The most significant dramatic license taken in the series, however, is the manipulation of the historical timeline for storytelling purposes.

Some important events are not mentioned in Rome, including the whole year spent before the Battle of Pharsalus in which Caesar drove Pompeius's supporters out of Spain, and the Battle of Dyrrhachium in which Pompeius defeated Caesar. Many significant members of the Optimates, the traditionalist faction of Brutus and Cato, are also missing from the series. They include Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, Titus Labienus, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Crus, and Publius Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, the latter having failed to empty Rome's treasury before the Optimates' departure, resulting in a severe lack of funds to support their war effort. Similarly, Roman fighting techniques taught to cast members Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson by swordmaster Giorgio Antonini are also likely conjectural, as the earliest surviving European combat manual is Royal Armouries Ms. I.33 from around the year 1300.

Further discrepancies are noted in detail in the appropriate articles for related episodes and characters from Rome.

DVD releases

Main article: Rome series DVD

The entire first season of Rome was released as a six-disc Region 1 DVD box set in the USA on August 15 2006. It was distributed by HBO Home Video. Featuring all 12 episodes, it also includes several extra DVD features like episode commentaries, behind-the-scenes footage and making-of features. The same set (bar the episodic previews and recaps) was released on July 24 2006 in Region 2, also entitled Rome: The Complete First Season.

Season 2 was released in North America on August 7 2007.<ref>Rome: Second Season DVD - MovieWeb.com</ref>

Awards and nominations

Awards

• Art Directors Guild Award:
  • 2005: Excellence in Production Design for a Television Series - Single Camera (for the episode "The Stolen Eagle")

• Costume Designers Guild Awards:
  • 2005: Outstanding Costume Design for Television Series - Period/Fantasy
  • 2006: Outstanding Costume Design for Television Series - Period/Fantasy

• DGA Awards:
  • 2005: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Primetime Dramatic Series (for the episode "The Stolen Eagle")

• Emmy Awards:
  • 2006: Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series (for the episodes "Caesarion", "Triumph" and "Kalends of February")
  • 2006: Outstanding Costumes for a Series (for the episode "Triumph")
  • 2006: Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series (for the episode "Stealing from Saturn")
  • 2006: Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series (for the episode "The Stolen Eagle")
  • 2007: Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series
  • 2007: Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series
  • 2007: Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series (for the episode "De Patre Vostro (About Your Father)")

• Visual Effects Society Awards:
  • 2005: Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series (for the episode "The Stolen Eagle")

Nominations

• BAFTA Television Awards:
  • 2006: Best Production Design
  • 2006: Best Titles
  • 2006: Best Visual Effects

• Cinema Audio Society Awards:
  • 2005: Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series (for the episode "The Spoils")

• Emmy Awards:
  • 2006: Outstanding Main Title Design
  • 2006: Outstanding Makeup for a Series, Non-Prosthetic (for the episode "Caesarion")
  • 2006: Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (for the episode "Triumph")
  • 2006: Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
  • 2007: Outstanding Costumes for a Series (for the episode "De Patre Vostro (About Your Father)")
  • 2007: Outstanding Makeup for a Series, Non-Prosthetic (for the episode "De Patre Vostro (About Your Father)")
  • 2007: Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (for the episode "Philippi")
  • 2007: Outstanding Visual Effects for a Series (for the episode "Philippi")

• Golden Globe Awards:
  • 2005: Best Television Series - Drama
  • 2005: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama (Polly Walker)

• Royal Television Society:
  • 2005: Best Visual Effects - Digital Effects

• Satellite Awards:
  • 2005: Best Television Series - Drama
  • 2005: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Polly Walker)

• Writers Guild of America Awards:
  • 2005: Outstanding Writing for a New Series

See also

• List of United States television series cancelled or ended after 2006 season

Notes

References

• "Hail Caesar" ~ Guardian review of Season 1
• Salon.com review of Season 2
• Beliefnet on religion in Rome
• New York Times review of Season 2
• Chicago Sun Times review of Season 2
• New York Times article
• The Star eCentral interview with Ray Stevenson
• Dark Horizons reporting on the 2nd season production of Rome
• Times Online reporting on Michael Apted's opinion on the BBC re-editing.
• "New $100m TV epic set to rewrite history" - The Independent (UK), 25 July, 2005
• "HBO enlists Firefox for series promotion" - CNet News.com, August 15, 2005
• Slant Magazine Review
• Lindsay Duncan (Servilia) interview - BBC Five Live, November 11, 2005
• "Rome's bloody climax wins 3m" - Report on the final episode viewing figures for Rome, Guardian Unlimited, 5 January, 2006

External links

Modèle:Wikiquote

• Rome at the Internet Movie Database
• Modèle:Tv.com show
• Rome - Official HBO website
• Rome - Official BBC Drama website
• Roma - Official RAI website
• Interview with James Purefoy (February 2007)
• Rome: Season 2 Reviews at Metacritic
• Rome - Official Canal+ website
• Rome Episode Guide at the TV IV Wiki.
• Discussion Forum at TV.com.
• Historical writings about Vorenus and Pullo
• Roma - Cuatro
• - ROME: The Complete Second Season DVD Review and Interviews
• HBO Community Bulletin Boards, Rome
• BBC press release for season 2 broadcast

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