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.

Just watched the first 2 eps last night with dd1 and my god Sian Phillips is perfectly cast. We could not take our eyes off her. An utterly gripping performance.

Thanks - I seem to have downloaded it.

It teaches a lot about historiography rather than history. Suetonius? Unreliable narrator...

If anything, Suetonius is understated ...

It's hard not to watch this and realise it's not a historical production. It's setting todays society into ancient Rome ....

"Is there anybody here who has not slept with my daughter ?"

I've got it on DVD. Great to hear it's going to reach a new audience. Surprised it hasn't been remade a la The Borgias etc.

Highly recommend the books, too.

Surprised it hasn't been remade a la The Borgias etc.

Well how would you spice it up ?

I love the idea of taking it to Hollywood, and the studio going :

"We need more murders"
"We need more incest"
"We need more perversion"
"We need more religion"

and a perplexed group of writers thinking "We've done our best to take as much our as we could ...."

I have a soft spot for Claudius - the emperor who conquered Britannia (and named his son Britannicus). One of the biggest temples in the Empire was dedicated to him in Colchester. Then the Romans misgendered Bodica and that was that. No more temple. (In fact no more Colchester).

I watched it as a young adult when it was re-run in the 90s and loved it. The absolute power and corruption is fascinating. The books are wonderful, too.
CLAVDIVS.

Well how would you spice it up ?

Not film all of it inside the studio!

Find a role for that hot bloke who played Cesare Borgia

I remember my mum used to love this! She especially enjoyed calling it "I Clavdivs"

I think I would rather have top notch actors inside a budget studio, than a bunch of influencers selfying around on location gushing about how connected they feel. Although I can't see there being any remake without some sort of "discussion" on how unfair it is that no ancient Romans were cast.

It seems we are losing sight of what acting, theatre, film and all the arts are, really.

On a tangent but maybe they will show Elizabeth R in tribute to the late great Glenda Jackson ?

Hasn't it been on iplayer recently? Along with 6 Wives of Henry V111?

It was on BBC 4 recently I think.

I watched the first episode (or two, if they were run together) but just couldn't stay up that late. I don't know what BBC4 were thinking, but I think the channel is being run down as part of the degrading of the BBC. They could have had it on every other night, I'd have tuned in.

Amusing to see the actor who regularly plays a posh, disapproving Indian in It Aint Half Hot Mum - also being re-shown, on That's TV!. sublime to ridiculous I know - turning up as the physician nonplussed by his patients' untimely deaths, while Livia plays an active hand.

SuperiorM · 10/08/2023 23:05

I watched it as a gap year teen on a late night repeat. John Hurt is amazing, but that bit is quite brutal. Sian Philips, Derek Jacobi and George Baker also utterly brilliant.

I can't wait to get home from sea tomorrow and fire up BBC Player! I remember seeing a few of them when I was young and ill off school and not thinking much of it. Too young to appreciate it, I suppose.

I read the books, enjoyed the second one - Claudius the God - most. Robert Graves’s writing is quite hard work but literary.

Do you think? I've found his work quite easy reading, perhaps not as easy going as Mary Renault, I suppose. I was probably 20 when I found "Last of the Wine" for 20p, in a charity shop. That sent me to the library, to find books on ancient Greece. Rosemary Sutcliff really impressed me, with "Flowers of Adonis."

My favourite classical historical novelist is Collen McCulloch, with her "Masters of Rome" series. They definitely need a bit of time! I've got five out of six - missing "Caesar." She wrote all those and The Thorn birds, all whilst being a cardiac surgeon!

I had to laugh at this as that’s exactly what I thought about the warehouse! I watched the first episode and couldn’t believe how clunky and mannered it is. It’s like a stage play . I’ll stick with it to see if it improves.

Does anyone know when the rest of the episodes are going to be shown? I can't find any listings beyond ep 3.

3 more episodes tomorrow night starting at 10.45

Ooh great, thanks RockyRoadster 👍

I don't get scheduling. The BBC dumps all episodes of brand new series preventing the word of mouth effect (see Happy Valley for when they do broadcast weekly) but with a series over forty years old they release it in weird chunks at a time of day which is assuming you are timeshifting your viewing anyway.

Completely agree. Very odd indeed. One of the jewels in the BBC's crown and it's not permanently available on i player!

Excellent, will be watching!

And for those who don't believe in algorithms, this popped up in my YouTubes feed ...

Thank you, OP. I have been able to find the first three episodes on BBC iPlayer.

I watched the first one last night, it was very good. I can't remember seeing Brian Blessed clean shaven before!