Fifty years later I can see many of the points you bring up, but when I first saw it at the age of 22 I was blown away. I had never seen anything like it, and it was my first exposure to the Roman world. From that start, I went on to learn about the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and many of the heroes and villains of that story. For those reasons, and because I liked the character of Claudius so much I still think of the series fondly. The villains in the show were indeed horrific, but at the time I would never have connected up the decay of that culture to our own. Much easier to see today, and I have learned through my study just how much the world lost when the Roman Republic was overthrown. Oh and I really did like how the smart and clever Claudius thrived because he was under-rated and overlooked. I have always loved such characters and always thought of Claudius as kind of a Roman Columbo.
I’m glad the series sparked your interest in history, however, upon review there’s no discernible historical let alone philosophical theme; the effect or essence is simply that this underestimated simple man, Claudius, was tenacious and savvy enough to outwit his monstrous family and monarchy. Columbo is a good comparison.
I predicated or tied the review on/to the successors to this series—Dallas, Game of Thrones, Sopranos—because I think they, too, flood the culture with misanthropic and malevolent, non-philosophical drama bereft or lacking in thematic clarity or value. It started in earnest with this mixed, otherwise absorbing drama.
Fifty years later I can see many of the points you bring up, but when I first saw it at the age of 22 I was blown away. I had never seen anything like it, and it was my first exposure to the Roman world. From that start, I went on to learn about the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and many of the heroes and villains of that story. For those reasons, and because I liked the character of Claudius so much I still think of the series fondly. The villains in the show were indeed horrific, but at the time I would never have connected up the decay of that culture to our own. Much easier to see today, and I have learned through my study just how much the world lost when the Roman Republic was overthrown. Oh and I really did like how the smart and clever Claudius thrived because he was under-rated and overlooked. I have always loved such characters and always thought of Claudius as kind of a Roman Columbo.
That’s the appeal for me, too, Russell.
I’m glad the series sparked your interest in history, however, upon review there’s no discernible historical let alone philosophical theme; the effect or essence is simply that this underestimated simple man, Claudius, was tenacious and savvy enough to outwit his monstrous family and monarchy. Columbo is a good comparison.
I predicated or tied the review on/to the successors to this series—Dallas, Game of Thrones, Sopranos—because I think they, too, flood the culture with misanthropic and malevolent, non-philosophical drama bereft or lacking in thematic clarity or value. It started in earnest with this mixed, otherwise absorbing drama.
Hear Hear!