Rome on HBO

As if I needed another show to get hooked on, a friend of mine decided to introduce the show Rome to me, and all I have to say is: DAMN.

Okay, so a little history, the show Rome was on HBO for a few years, and while the show was insanely popular, it was also insanely expensive, so the powers that be decided to pull it from the air after the end of the second season. While that is unfortunate and it would be interesting to see where they would have taken the show, this is a classic example of quitting while one is ahead. Now, to be honest, I'm only about 3/4 of the way through the first season, and I have to say that I am beyond impressed. One of the things that I like about HBO is that while I do enjoy shows like Entourage or The Sopranos where it is set in a modern day setting with characters that are like everyday people, I really love it when HBO goes all out with shows like Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Band of Brothers, and now this. As much as I love Gladiator, I never got the feeling that we saw what Rome itself was really like during this time period, considering that Gladiator was primarily about the politicians and the schemers. With Rome, you really get an idea as to what a shithole of a place Rome actually was during this time, we see how the higher class lived as well as the bottom of the barrel and how they survived in this world. Of course with a show like this, it is only reasonable to expect some pretty epic war scenes and while there are a few, they are like walk-by war scenes. You see about 30 seconds worth of fighting and then you see the aftermath. But you will learn to forgive that because the show isn't about big battles and fighting for honor and all that stuff. The first few episodes of the season basically tell the story of how Rome went from being a republic to being an empire, and it didn't happen overnight like Revenge of the Sith, it was a pretty long process that involved a lot of backstabbing, death and hurt feelings. And being that this is HBO, the acting is top notch with Ciarian Hinds (I mentioned him back in my John Carter review as being that guy that shows up everywhere but you never know his name) as Gaius Julius Caesar and many other top notch actors, some of whom I think are just plain underrated (such as the Australian dude from The Other Guys). And of course, the other thing that is almost a guarantee with HBO is an absolute abundance of nudity (mainly from women). I think it's almost redundant for me to even bring that up, but some people are still surprised that HBO takes pride in being one of the few networks that can get away with naked people. And they really flaunt that in this show. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of naked women as much as any guy, but there are times where I have to ask "Really guys? Is it THAT necessary? This is the 6th time we have seen this person's ass!" But I digress. All in all, I think this is a great show that is well worth the watch. You can rent them, but I will tell you now that the replay value of this show is pretty high... And NO, it's not because of the abundance of naked women... Though let's be honest, that does play a part... A small part... Hey don't call me gross! Every other guy is saying the exact same thing!