ROME

[Tonchi]

ROME is definitely my favorite show on TV right now, since The 4400 finished for the season. The writing and acting are superb, completely different from any standard "costume drama" from the networks. It has a depth and realism that has only been seen before in Gladiator. All those years I studied archaeology of Rome and Greece, plus the Latin and World History are coming to life on the screen, and not in the empty sets of a movie studio spectacular where you immediately see that the backgrounds are digitalized. ROME is so authentic that it will be painful to watch for some people, between the morals and casual violence of the time, but I recommend it as an eye-opener for those who hated reading about Julius Caesar and the Senate and think Marc Antony and Cleopatra were just another Liz Taylor movie rather than a pivotal event of world history.

I'm just sad that there probably will not be a second season due to the insane expense of all this authenticity, plus the actors all wanting double their previous salary because the first year was a hit.


BTW, I thought I was going to like Deadwood, but I don't. I got more "authentic Western" entertainment out of the Lonesome Dove miniseries than this show. It's not all that much fun to watch something for an hour and nothing really happens other than 2,000 F-words. In fact, the nuisance of having to say f-ing in front of every other word seems to be so tiring that the actors are lacking in much expression. Only watched one of the shows all the way through this season, and I won't bother to tune in anymore.