Togas on TV

[altariel]

Togas on TV, BBC Four, 9.30pm tonight: "An exploration of television's obsession with ancient Rome".

Meanwhile, the season 1 DVDs of Rome are in the most insanely attractive box I have ever seen, and it is still absolutely brilliant. I must prepare a list to prove why. There are simply not enough bull sacrifices on telly these days or at least there haven't been any in this season of Big Brother (yet). And, damn, why is there never an icon of Titus Pullo yelling, "Sons of Dis!" to hand when you need it?

Comments

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I have at last spotted one historical mistake in Rome!

Oh, well done, excellent hunting! (A friend said it was inaccurate to use "Octavian" before he was adopted?)


I am still in thrall to the whole thing.

Me too. It's so funny, beautifully made, brilliantly written. The glee with which the writers put Pullo and Vorenus into every pivotal moment of the period is magic.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

Did they call him "Octavian" in the first season, i.e. before the opening of Caesar's testament (which included announcement of the adoption? In which case, yes, inaccurate, although they may conceivably have decided to do it not to confuse viewers more (I personally disagree; the viewers who pay attention would have known, and it would have been easy to slip in a line along the lines of "Have you seen Gaius Octavius?" "Oh, didn't you know? He's Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus now." "You don't say?" etc. etc.=

Okay, they're not hiring me any time soon as an extra writer...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I'm fairly certain they call him "Octavian" throughout the season (he's Octavian on the website). I'll listen out later when I watch another episode. You're quite right they could have done the change - maybe the brilliant town cryer could have done it, or Octavian himself: "Hail, Gaius Octavius, and what news of Caesar's will?" "That's Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus to you, matey." Or something like that.

Nor are they hiring me, sigh...