When in Rome

Okay, I'm back - my space on this board has gotten a bit dusty. Apologies.

Did see in the blur that was July all 13 episodes of I, CLAUDIUS, starring the magnificent Derek Jacobi as Claudius, the stuttering, club-footed emperor of Rome. Based on the novels by Robert Graves, it's a story of the Roman Empire after the fall of the Republic. It seems like a dusty subject, but trust me, it's all about lust, murder, power, and sex. Lots of sex.

Man, those Romans were nuts - Livia, Claudius' grandmother, poisoned almost everyone around her, including her husband, and got away with it. Let's not forget Claudius' super disgusting nephew Caligula (played by John Hurt), who helped murder his own father, married one of his sisters, and believed he was Zeus in human form (and then did as Zeus did with Athena when his sister/wife gets pregnant with his child. ick. if you can't remember, bust out your mythology book to read the story of Athena's birth).

This series has great acting, but the set design and the seriously bad age makeup is laughable. Granted, it was the 70s, but when you can see someone's wig move when they scratch their head, it's hard to suspend disbelief.

Highly entertaining. Not so aesthetically pleasing, but the acting certainly makes up for it -

Onto another series for me!