I, Claudius to be repeated on BBC4!

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Starts 16th August. Presumably this means it will be on i player for a reasonable time too. If you've never seen it, I strongly recommend it. Made in the late 70s. Everything about it hit the spot. Stars Derek Jacobi, Sian Phillips, Brian Blessed, John Hurt and lots of other top actors. Based on the novels by Robert Graves. Set in Ancient Rome, starting at the point when Julius Caesar's great-nephew and adopted son, Octavian, has beaten Mark Antony and become the first Emperor, taking the name Augustus. Historical drama, and you can see how it influenced Game of Thrones and various other subsequent dramas focussing on political power struggles and family feuds.

It will be interesting to see what a modern audience makes of it! It caused quite a stir at the time.

We (group of school friends, all doing Eng Lit) absolutely loved it and it was a little cult. It was always known to us jokily as I Clavdivs because of the mosaic in the titles 😬

Loved this series - packed with great actors and some less well known at the time

Apart from the usual big hitters it included ….
Patrick Stewart as a soldier
Ian Ogilvy
Patricia Quinn as Livilla

I have the series on DVD and it's definitely showing its age. 1976! I was 12, just old enough to watch it, and became obsessed with Roman history and Robert Graves for the next couple of years. I didn't appreciate how illustrious the cast was at the time.

Just found a documantary on the making of the series on Dailymotion. Happy days...

Planning to watch this with (adult!) dd - I was too young to watch at the time but my parents were both fully invested iirc.

Sexxxxy Ian Ogilvy.

Hotter than he was in Return of The Saint (risible and showing on Great TV but not as HAWT as he was as poncey aromantic poet boy in Upstairs Downstairs (itv3 Sunday late nights)

Watched it with my DD, who used it for Ancient History revision and could tell us which scenes come from Tacitus, and which from Suetonius. Amazing stuff.

Thank you for this , I was just thinking about it as I have been listening to Mike Walker’s dramas ‘Caesar’ on you tube. (Well worth it if you like Roman historical drama).

Oooh, and Mary Beard's "Meet the Romans" is on earlier the same day at 20:00 (1st of 3 parts).

BBC4 is going full Roman on us!

Tomorrow! <rubs hands>

Thanks for this reminder. I love to see vintage BBC shows back on, because there are so many that we now cannot watch as they are on BBC America and now no longer licensed to be viewed in the UK (even though our license fee paid for them to be made!)

I will definitely be watching!

Ooh! I've never seen the TV series but the books were amongst my all time favourites when I was a teenager! Very much looking forward to watching this now, thanks for the heads up OP!

SHOUTY BRIAN BLESSED ON NEWSNIGHT NOW

I found all the episodes on YouTube (with Portuguese subtitles) and streamed it to the TV with 16yo DD. I hope the BBC archive’s copy is better quality!

It is great television. DD was bouncing up and down on the sofa at some of the more dramatic scenes! She’s doing Classics High School so was clear on the historical background but I don’t think kids under about 12 would get much out of it.

Well, if you trust Suetonius as an historian. Personally, I wouldn't.

I can't wait! We have the DVD but there's something about watching a progamme at the same time as other people that makes it more enjoyable.

DP and I met 10 years ago. Very shortly after we met I was watching I Claudius on the TV (last time it was rerun?) and told him about it. So he started watching (separately, at his house) and we’d chat about it later. One of the reasons I knew he was a keeper.

I love this. It’s how my DH and I bonded too but it was Psychoville instead. We used to watch separately together and then just began watching together and then…. 3 children later!

The BBC license fee has to be worth that at least 🤣

There’s three episodes on tonight. I thought it was going to be a weekly thing so people could digest each episode and chat about it.

Does anyone know how graphic it is?

The most disturbing scene was cut after the first broadcast, but some of the online versions have it (don't know whether it's been restored for this run?) Other than that, I can't remember too many graphic details.

Ohh now I need the details. Murder?

If it's the scene I'm thinking of, it's extremely graphic violence against a heavily pregnant woman. I can't remember who survives, but there's a high body count for the series as a whole.

Ok thanks @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

That's the one I was thinking of, too! Apart from that, there are plenty of murders, some sexual content... probably about a 15-certificate.

It looked olden and boring when I saw it once, years ago.

Then a friend recommended it, so I gave it a chance.

Now it's in my top all time watches. Along with the Colin Firth P&P, Rome, Breaking Bad, The Wire, ER.