Rome?

CheshireCat · Mar 26, 2007

I seem to recall on another thread that a bunch of us listed Rome as one of our favorites.

I just saw the "series finale" last night (no spoilers, for those who haven't seen it yet), and my major question is how come HBO/BBC and whoever else is involved isn't continuing?

Two lousy seasons? I mean, jeez, they didn't even get to the part where Octavian was elevated to Emperor Augustus. Lots of great, juicy Roman war and sex and (literal) cut-throat politics left to mine for stories.

So what happened? Ratings not so good?

Anybody on the Brit side of the pond know the story?

And while we're at it, did Coupling end with the kid's birth? 'Cause I wanted more of that, too.

Answers? Comments?

:popcorn:

jvc · Mar 26, 2007

I think that we have only had the first season shown here in the UK. Still waiting for the second one (unless I missed it).

PeeDee · Mar 26, 2007

You can't have TV shows run for too many consecutive seasons. Especially if people like it and it's getting good reviews. That's just bad form. It was already bad taste that they let it run longer than twelve episodes or so.

Honestly, don't you people know anything about television?

dpaterso · Mar 26, 2007

Re ROME, confirm, no sign of second series in the UK yet. And yes of course they could continue, there's loads of story still waiting to be told. The BBC's epic I, CLAUDIUS did the biz all those years ago, why shouldn't ROME retell this in its own classy style?

Re COUPLING, sorry, don't know. One of my most favorite sitcoms over the past few years, but I didn't watch the latest series...

...I couldn't stand that idiot who replaced Jeff, which I know is stupid since Jeff was an idiot, but he was a believable and funny idiot, whereas his replacement felt false, his humor was forced and unfunny. They shouldn't have introduced a substitute, it's impossible to believe there could be two such witless morons on the same planet.

-Derek

SC Harrison · Mar 26, 2007

Titus Pullo is the freaking man.

When they announced the series finale last night I could have screamed.

I need more, dammit!

aadams73 · Mar 26, 2007

I loved, loved, loved ROME. But I felt the last couple of episodes were unsatisfactory because they kinda skimmed some of the events.

I'm in mourning now that it's over, but I can see how they couldn't go any further.

mdin · Mar 26, 2007

HBO had announced a long while ago that there would only be two seasons. They cited the cost of making the show.

I thought the last four or five episodes were awesome.

Only a couple more weeks before we have the end of the Sopranos.

CheshireCat · Mar 26, 2007

jvc said:
I think that we have only had the first season shown here in the UK. Still waiting for the second one (unless I missed it).

Then at least you have stuff to look forward to. Antony and Cleopatra, and Young Octavian growing up (the actors they chose for both, by the way, were amazing in the parts!) and dropping the temp in any room by a good twenty degrees just by walking in ... wow. And more of Atia ... what can you say about her? (Except, maybe, "Please don't hurt me!" LOL)

PeeDee said:
You can't have TV shows run for too many consecutive seasons. Especially if people like it and it's getting good reviews. That's just bad form. It was already bad taste that they let it run longer than twelve episodes or so.

Honestly, don't you people know anything about television?

You're right. How stupid of me to have forgotten. And they keep reminding us about that, don't they? Every season, there's at least half a dozen potentially wonderful shows burned off. If I started that list, it'd go on forever.

I've reached the point where not only am I surprised if something I like stays on the air a reasonable amount of time (more than one season), but even more surprised, and pathetically grateful that, when it is, inevitably, cancelled, they give the writers/producers enough notice to at least try to tie up loose endings.

I've believed for years that it should be against the law with a penality including jail time for any TV show to end its season with a cliffhanger ending unless the show has an ironclad guarantee of returning the next season and yanking us back from the damned cliff-edge.

dpaterso said:
Re ROME, confirm, no sign of second series in the UK yet. And yes of course they could continue, there's loads of story still waiting to be told. The BBC's epic I, CLAUDIUS did the biz all those years ago, why shouldn't ROME retell this in its own classy style?

Re COUPLING, sorry, don't know. One of my most favorite sitcoms over the past few years, but I didn't watch the latest series...

...I couldn't stand that idiot who replaced Jeff, which I know is stupid since Jeff was an idiot, but he was a believable and funny idiot, whereas his replacement felt false, his humor was forced and unfunny. They shouldn't have introduced a substitute, it's impossible to believe there could be two such witless morons on the same planet.

-Derek

Ah ... you guys are lucky to still have the second season to look forward to.

As for Coupling (*** spoiler alert! ***), I never did warm to Oliver, though he did, eventually, become mildly entertaining. The scene outside Jane's apartment, when he was desperate to get in for sex, was hilarious -- especially when she laughingly pointed out that his eternal agony had lasted about five minutes.

SC Harrison said:
Titus Pullo is the freaking man.

When they announced the series finale last night I could have screamed.

I need more, dammit!

I loved Pullo. And he just got better and better. (*** Spoiler Alert for those who haven't seen the second season/series! ***) I loved the way he was able to tell Octavian that he really wasn't the warm and fuzzy type and didn't make it easy for the People to love him the way they did Antony. Loved that they didn't make him too tame and toothless toward the end (when he strangled his lover, I'm not saying I cheered, but I sure as hell understood), and that he ended up with his son -- and that they ended that perfectly.

I mean, if you have to have a "cliffhanger" ending in the sense of, "But what the hell happened next?" at least that was a good one. LOL

aadams73 said:
I loved, loved, loved ROME. But I felt the last couple of episodes were unsatisfactory because they kinda skimmed some of the events.

I'm in mourning now that it's over, but I can see how they couldn't go any further.

Well, since they'd created the fictional Pullo and Vorenus, I agree they had taken those two as far as possible in story terms. But there really was an awful lot of Roman history left to provide plenty of drama, and many more interesting characters to delve into.

Being an I, Claudius fan, I always wondered what Livia was like as a younger woman; the actress they chose to play her, young, in Rome was certainly fascinating.

I'm in mourning too.

Dammit.

SC Harrison · Mar 27, 2007

CheshireCat said:
I loved Pullo. And he just got better and better.

Cleopatra-"Is he a good man?"

Vorenus-"Define 'good'."

scarletpeaches · Mar 27, 2007

What you seem to have forgotten is that Coupling was remade for the US - and toned down. I don't get that. If it's good enough to be bought by an American network, why change it? Can American audiences not cope with drinking and swearing?

Buy the DVD. Original's always the best.

Spiny Norman · Mar 27, 2007

While I don't have HBO, I've seen all of season 1 several times and was a mammoth fan in the first season when it was still new. I loved the show, I would stomp around yelling "HE WAS A CONSUL OF ROME!" and "THIRTEEN!"

I understand it was expensive as hell to make, and the ratings dropped considerably after the first episode last season. I loved it - at first I thought of it as a "dirty" version of I, Claudius until I remembered how messed up I, Claudius was.

I agree about Augustus. He's my favorite character.

law900 · Mar 27, 2007

Well, if it makes any of you feel better, I wrote a novel of the historical fiction genre set in the late Roman Republic. The main character is a retired Roman General who must travel across the know lands of the Republic in pursuit of a psychopathic serial killer. Only in the end does he discover the shocking truth!

And, I did enjoy the series - I hope they continue it someway - somehow...;O)

Warm regards,
Law900

kristin724 · Mar 27, 2007

I don't have HBO, and now I wish I had Showtime so I could see The Tudors.

Which basic network did Empire air on? It was shot together with Rome, and I like to think of it as the PG version-and the very affordable dvd in comparison to season 1 of Rome.

Of course, for serious scary naughty Romaness-there's always Caligua! Although I'm on a Titus and Attila binge now. Go fig.

PattiTheWicked · Mar 27, 2007

I was disappointed that Rome only ran two seasons, because there's so much rich history there to be mined from, but it was two fantastically GOOD seasons. Eyecandy notwithstanding, I really looked forward to Sunday evenings. The acting was topnotch and the writing incredible.

CheshireCat -- as to Pullo and Vorenus being fictional, I read somewhere that the two of them are actually the only two "grunt soldiers" mentioned in the writings of Julius Caesar, which is why they chose those names for the two main characters in the series.

But everyone in it was fascinating. I couldnt' get enough of Atia and her affair with Antony, Servilia and her madness for vengeance, Octavian being "not so loved" -- and yes, that scene between him and Pullo was brilliant....

I'm going to go into Sunday night withdrawals.

MattW · Mar 27, 2007

Only watched the first three episodes this season. Canceled my HBO due to financial reasons, but I'll rent the DVDs of Rome and Entourage and not have to wait the 12 weeks to see a season. Get it over with in a weekend.

CheshireCat · Mar 27, 2007

scarletpeaches said:
What you seem to have forgotten is that Coupling was remade for the US - and toned down. I don't get that. If it's good enough to be bought by an American network, why change it? Can American audiences not cope with drinking and swearing?

Buy the DVD. Original's always the best.

I was talking about the BBC version, Scarlet; I have all the DVDs -- love the extras, and sooo wish they had Steven Moffet (sp?) and Jack Davenport do the voice-over/interview thingie (I'm going blank for words tonight, sorry!) on the final series/season DVD set.

I saw part of the script of the "Americanized" version before it aired, and after I'd gotten hooked on the BBC-America-aired shows, and never even looked at the US version. I knew from the get-go that they'd screwed it up.

Either you "get" Brit humor, or you don't. I like to think I get it. I know I enjoy it.

[ETA: Oh, and the PTB over here seem to think we're all children, and can't take too much drinking or sex talk -- though any amount of gory violence, of course -- on TV. They're idiots, of course, but what can you do except vote against them? (Which I do!)]

And Moffet's discussions on the DVDs about the difference between comedy and farce are worth the time and attention of any writer, even if you don't want to write funny.

Anyway, I loved the Brit series, just wish it had lasted longer. I really wanted to know if Sally screwed things up completely or if she and Patrick ended up together.

CheshireCat · Mar 27, 2007

PattiTheWicked said:
CheshireCat -- as to Pullo and Vorenus being fictional, I read somewhere that the two of them are actually the only two "grunt soldiers" mentioned in the writings of Julius Caesar, which is why they chose those names for the two main characters in the series.

Really? How cool! I loved both characters, though naturally had a soft spot for Pullo. Also thought he showed far more character growth than did Vorenus -- who was basically the same guy at the end he was at the beginning.

maxmordon · Mar 16, 2009

I just bought the two seasons on DVD and right now I am in the half of the second and mom and I are just addicted to the show. If there's a show that deserves mention this decade, that's Rome.

dpaterso · Mar 16, 2009

And if there's a thread that's worthy of resurrection, this is the one!

Did we mention James Purefoy's performance as Mark Antony? We should have. Brilliant. Dominates every scene.

-Derek

maxmordon · Mar 16, 2009

dpaterso said:
And if there's a thread that's worthy of resurrection, this is the one!

Did we mention James Purefoy's performance as Mark Antony? We should have. Brilliant. Dominates every scene.

-Derek

Indeed! So far, in my opinion, his greatest performance was with Cicero at the senate alone where he goes from friendly fool to psychotic soldier while keeping his magnificent bastard aura and leaving with friendly fool again.

shawkins · Mar 16, 2009

LOVED the first season. I thought the second season suffered a bit from lack of John Milius and recasting Octavian, but it was still pretty darn good. My favorite part of 2 was Atia's last line (quoting from memory):

"Better women than you have sworn to monkey-stomp me for all the crap I pulled. Go and look for them now."

highlight for mild spoiler.

Rome?

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