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If ancient Rome had hair gel

HBO's Rome offers a visceral look at the Eternal City's rugged transformation from republic to empire just as it happened, but with better grooming and better outfits.

By CHASE SQUIRES
Published August 28, 2005

More toga party than Shakespearean saga, HBO's epic tale Rome opens tonight in a raucous orgy of blood, gore, sex, barbarians and betrayal.

Skulls will be smashed, throats cut, women taken, bulls sacrificed and political alliances forged and torn asunder as the 12-episode season unfolds and ancient Rome teeters between republic and empire in a tale set in 52 BC.

It's a touch of history, a lot of raw entertainment, and maybe a little bit more.

"It was a moment in history that's pivotal in western history," producer/writer Bruno Heller said, introducing the show to television critics in July. "If things hadn't turned out the way they did at that particular point, the world that we live in now would be very different ... It's the transformation of a republic into an empire. I think America is dealing with that issue just now."

"There's something particularly resonant about that particular point in Roman history," said show historical consultant Jonathan Stamp. "Maybe particularly here in the United States."

Rome begins with the scene-setting background information scrolling down the screen, reminiscent of Star Wars:

"Four hundred years after the last king was driven from the city, the republic of Rome rules many nations, but cannot rule itself," the scroll warns.

But if, as its creators insist, Rome is a parable, it goes down easy, awash with beautiful women, action-hero men, and at the heart of it, a story of two soldiers and a friendship that keeps them grounded as the world changes around them.

Everything in the HBO/BBC coproduction is bigger than life. The colors are vibrant, the accents are English and the sets - built in the real city of Rome - are elaborate and stocked with hundreds of extras, recreating a bustling city thick with the smoke of incense and the tension of a metropolis on the brink of revolution.

From the network that successfully resurrected the western with Deadwood and redefined the gangster genre with The Sopranos, Rome is another new take.

Emerging from a cast so extensive that HBO sent TV critics a chart to keep everyone straight - broken down into "relation by blood," "relation by marriage," and "relation by association" - centurion Lucius Vorenus (played by English actor Kevin McKidd) and legionary Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) are bound by the times.

"It was two people that were thrown together in a friendship in spite of themselves," Stevenson said, explaining the relationship. "Everything that's around them is being turned into quicksand. The whole fabric of their lives and the structure of their society is completely mixing them around."

"They're kind of clinging to a rock of each other," McKidd said.

The supporting cast is perhaps better groomed and attired than real Romans might have been. But Rome retains a rugged feel. The battles and brawls are graphic, as are the sex scenes. It is not fare for children, much like Deadwood is strictly for grownups.

But Rome is not as multifaceted as it could have been, and probably didn't need 12 episodes (and the hint of another season) to play out. Rome could have been told in a day, and viewers may tire of it after a few episodes.

But those first few are a lot of fun.

"Bruno (Heller) deliberately picked out stuff which is shocking, arresting, surprising," Stamp said. "Reminds you what a strange and alien world the Roman world was in some ways, but also authentic, true, really happened ... When you're watching it, you don't have to say, "Well, I wonder if they just made that bit up,' because the answer will nearly always be "no."'

Nearly always.

For the bits that are made up: toga, toga, toga.

REVIEW: Rome premieres at 9 p.m. tonight on HBO. Grade: B+

- Chase Squires can be reached at 727 893-8739 or squires@sptimes.com His blog is www.sptimes.com/blogs/tv

[Last modified August 25, 2005, 14:58:03]