# HBO: Rome. Who's watching it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 28, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018 "2005-08-28T21:58:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/21 "2005-08-29T04:11:27Z")
HVBBA HVBBA! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/22 "2005-08-29T04:18:00Z")
About fifteen minutes into the show, a guy stood outside and made an announcement about a missing slave and the Senate meeting. He turned his head in full profile at one point and was motioning with his hands. Was this supposed to convey some meaning? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/23 "2005-08-29T04:24:48Z")
I guess I missed that. Could he have been trying to show that he had no marks on his head or hands? I’ll watch the repeat and see if I can figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/24 "2005-08-29T04:27:21Z")
It was right before a sex scene, so I can understand that you might have missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/25 "2005-08-29T04:33:28Z")
Hah. The sex scene I remember quite clearly. It must have moved that other stuff out of my brain. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/26 "2005-08-29T05:19:21Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Yep. Romans typically “branded” slaves on their foreheads or the palms of their hands. > > Given the significance that Octavian (AKA Augustus Caesar) will eventually have in Roman history, I guess they’re trying to forsehadow some political savvy and intelligence at an early age. Even if he were really that smart, I still find it hard to believe that he would give such an inside analysis of the upper levels of Roman power to a couple of mere Roman foot soldiers…especially someone as class conscious as young Octavian is being portrayed. I haven’t seen the show yet as I don’t have HBO but it sounds like I will have to get itas soon as it comes out on DVD! Regarding Octavian, I can’t say for certain how reasonable his characterisation is here obviously, but considering this guy strode into Rome with an army and demanded the consulship at the age of 19(!, the normal youngest age allowed was 40 for patricians) he was no doubt pretty precocious. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/27 "2005-08-29T05:31:31Z")
> [@DaphneBlack](#): > > I haven’t seen the show yet as I don’t have HBO but it sounds like I will have to get itas soon as it comes out on DVD! > > Regarding Octavian, I can’t say for certain how reasonable his characterisation is here obviously, but considering this guy strode into Rome with an army and demanded the consulship at the age of 19(!, the normal youngest age allowed was 40 for patricians) he was no doubt pretty precocious. Octavian has already been a midshipman in the British Navy, so he’s had a lot of training… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/28 "2005-08-29T07:10:40Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > Can’t you do this over the internet? SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/29 "2005-08-29T07:13:55Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Octavian’s snobbery is in keeping with what biographers saidhe was like as a child, although they say he became much less of an ass when he got older. His speech about Julius and Pompey seemed a little implausibly canny for an 11 year old, though. Was he supposed to be 11 in the show, or was that his actual age at the date portrayed in the show? He looked more like 14 -16 years old to me. Even at that age though, your point is still well taken. I was a bit disappointed at first as the plot seemed to be disjointed, but it sure came together nicely in the last 10 minutes or so. I suspect the two guys who went after the eagle (can’t remember their names) will be quite a team in future episodes. Oh yeah, the sex scene wasn’t bad, but I prefer a bit more privacy when I’m doing it. But that’s just me… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/30 "2005-08-29T08:30:00Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Swearing? In Ancient Rome? Somehow I don’t think that would sound right. Fvck yov!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/31 "2005-08-29T10:35:16Z")
I’m watching the show to see if we get any hot slavegirl action. So far, none that I could see. It’ll be interesting to see if the series glosses over that, given it’s graphic portrayal of Roman times in general. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/32 "2005-08-29T11:38:55Z")
I asked my neighbor to record it, but I have a stinkin’ feeling he forgot. (insert boo boo lip here.) I will wait for DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/33 "2005-08-29T14:00:24Z")
HBO will, of course, rerun the show. Tuesday at 9pm, Wednesday and Thursday at 8pm and Friday at 7pm (all on the main channel, but there are more showings on the other HBO channels). ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/34 "2005-08-29T14:10:47Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > About fifteen minutes into the show, a guy stood outside and made an announcement about a missing slave and the Senate meeting. He turned his head in full profile at one point and was motioning with his hands. Was this supposed to convey some meaning? When I saw that, I assumed that he was using the stylized gestures that were often a part of Roman rhetoric. If so, I’m impressed with the historical detail. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/35 "2005-08-29T14:15:50Z")
Ah, I thought it was all supposed to mean something. Can you tell me more about these stylized gestures? (I didn’t have much of an education in the classics.) ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/36 "2005-08-29T14:21:44Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Was he supposed to be 11 in the show, or was that his actual age at the date portrayed in the show? He looked more like 14 -16 years old to me. Even at that age though, your point is still well taken. I was going by the age he actually would have been in 52 BCE, when the episode was set. The real Octavian was born in 63 BCE, so he should have been 11. I agree that he does appear to be slightly older than that. I don’t think the show explicitly said how old he was but it was fairly accurate about its other historical details. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/37 "2005-08-29T14:23:09Z")
I wonder if they’ll have all the giant phalluses in all the Roman homes. And also inscribed in the bases of all the busts and statues. You were supposed to rub the giant phalluses for good luck when you entered a home. An architectural detail that was somehow “lost” in the Victorian era classical craze. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/38 "2005-08-29T15:25:29Z")
I did not see the show, but perhaps I can comment on Octavian’s precociousness. I believe Octavian was viewed as a political nonentity for many years, even following the assassination of Julius Caesar. Cicero, despite his lapses in political judgment, backed Octavian against Antony because he believed that the future princeps could easily be manipulated by his senatorial faction to maintain Cicero’s “harmony of the classes”. Octavian was just a boy and was without the distinguished military experience that characterized the other triumvirs, past or future. While it is dramatically approproate to foreshadow Octavian as a natural ruler, it was almost certainly not viewed like this by his contemporaries. He did not show his true colors until the second triumvirate, in which he was able to make his temporary peace with Antony and toss Cicero to the wolves. Anyone who didn’t catch on that Octavian was a first class player after that was in deep crapicus. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/39 "2005-08-29T15:34:16Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > penis puppets :eek: 😃 Oh, that’s it. As soon as this thing comes out on DVD it will be MINE. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018/40 "2005-08-29T15:42:20Z")
The one touch I failed to notice was animals. A city the size of Rome should have been teeming with feral dogs, cats, whathaveyou. Did anybody notice any? Or did the plebes eat them all? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-rome-whos-watching-it/319018.md?page=3)