It’s 13 hours and it only scratches the surface. Beginning midway through Augustus’ Pax Romana and ending with the ascention of Nero, this BBC adaptation of Robert Graves’ two “Claudius” novels is a creature wholly its own. It fits snugly in the canon between Shakespere and Days of Our Lives. (Indeed, was there ever a more apt description as when Lisa Simpson discovered her long lost grandmother and announced “it’s like something out of Dickens. . .or Melrose Place!”?) Whether this show is highbrow history or lowbrow smut is very hard to tell — but I do know that once you get into it you just can’t stop watching — or thinking about it. Luckily the DVD cases all have Julio-Claudian family trees on the back. Very helpful when trying to remember how Agripanilla is related to Agripinna, ya dig? (Of course, everyone is related to each other in more than one way, but that just makes it more fun to try and follow.) The show is, though, a giant tragedy. Claudius, sole defender of the republic, not only is witness to its irrevocable collapse, but inadvertantly works to bury it even further. By the end he puts his sole faith in signs and omens and resigns himself to a drunken death. The show still works as scathing condemnation of cronyism and oligarchy — a government by appointment and rewards given only to loyal friends. Sound familiar? But don’t worry — there’s plenty of sex to keep it interesting, too. (Plus, Captain Picard has hair!) SPQR!
