The I Claudius appreciation thread

[CowardlyPaladin]

I was inspired to make this thread when I was talking to a friend of mine about the Game of Thrones show, and when I complained about some of the changes the show made, she was like "are you a book purest?" And I responded "No, I actually don't actually mind adaptations, I think the I Claudius show is far better than the books, my problem is that most (NOT ALL) of the changes in GOT seem to be based upon dumbing it down rather than retelling it." And she was like "Well a TV audience isn't as intelligent as book readers" and when i brought up I claudius again, I realized maybe I need to gush more productively.


So I Claudius, for those who haven't read it, the books "I Claudius" and "Claudius the God" are basically the false personal memors of the Roman Emperor Claudius which were "Discovered" by Robert Graves. For those who don't know, CLaudius was the 4th Emperor of Rome (5th if you count Julius Caesar). He was born most likely with Cerbreal Pamsly, which meant that his head twitched uncontrollably, he stammered, and he limped. The Romans being a culture obsessed with physical fitness/manly purity, not to mention being able to speak clearly, he was mocked and belittered all his life. A die hard Republican in his youth, through a series of highly improbable events, he became Emperor, in a manner which nobody, not even himself, thought possible. He turned out to be quite intelligent and while not the greatest emperor of Rome (a very hotly debated subject, mine is Traejen but hey) but one of the best Emperor. Also Caligula was the guy before him (yes, that Caligula) and Nero (yes that Nero) was the one after him, which leads to lots of Drama. Also King Herod (yes, that king herod) was alive during his reign, with JC dying during his life time (please don't get into a religious debate, just bringing up the fact). The show is a 1976 mini series staring young Derek Jacobi as Claudius, young Brian Blessed as Octavian, Young John Hurt as Caligula, young Patrick Stewart (WITH HAIR) as SerJanus, Sian Phillips as Livia, George Baker as Tiberius, Young James Faulkner as King Herod and young Tony Robinson (IE Baldrick from Blackadder which owes alot to this show) as a random snarky Stonemason. Seriously, this is like actor porn in terms of the performances. The story is complicated, intelligent, and hilariously funny, not to mention extremely though provoking. It also changes genres throughout, starting out as a straight historical drama, turning melodrama, turning tragedy, becomes an extremely dark comedy, becomes a light comedy, and then political intrigue, finally ending on a mix of farce and personal journey, all without feeling out of focus. Obsessively detailed focused despite having no budget (they blew it all on the makeup), and constant rewatches result in so many "OH i know that guy" A word of warning, this show does not take you lightly, and you need to pay very close attention or be a student of ROman history (as most people in England were at the time) to not get lost at some point, though the story is so well told it hardly matters.

Warning: Has some mild nudity.

The Books are good too, just not as good. The story is mostly historically accurate ACCORDING TO THE ROMAN SOURCES. Obviously those sources had there own bias, but the writers outright said this takes place in a universe where they are roughly telling the truth. Though the show does humanize Caligula more than any work i've ever seen.

For those who have seen it, I have always wanted to talk to somebody about it

Spoiler

Show

I have noticed that the tone shifts in the story echos Claudius' own life, it becomes more absurd as he becomes older, life becomes more absurd.
If you ever watch the scene where Caligula does his ballerina dance with somebody who hasn't seen the show, do it, that

any other fans out there?

[Dienekes]

Hell yeah I'm a fan of I, Clavdivs. It's one of my favorite shows, up there with Rome, The Sopranos, and Twilight Zone. Never read the books though. From John Hurt's frighteningly hilarious interpretation of Caligula to BRIAN BLESSED's half cunning/half dopey Augustus this show was near perfectly acted.

[angrymudcrab]

Never read the books either. My favorite scene(more accurately one of my favorite scenes) is Tiberius reading his astrologer's horoscope after deciding to have him killed if the next boat didn't bring good news. "It's extraordinary how accurate these things are isn't it? Who would have thought I could have made a decision about you this morning, and seen it clearly reflected in your chart this afternoon?"

[Axolotl]

"IS THERE ANY MAN IN ROME WHO HAS NOT SLEPT WITH MY DAUGHTER!"-Brian Blessed, proving that great hamming and great acting can coincide.

It's an absolutely brilliant TV series and as you say filled with top notch actors and it's amazing how well they can carry the whole thing. It's all done to feel like theatre, giving so much emphasis on the actors over the sets or music or such. Which given how great the actors (and writing) is really works.

I'd say it's better than any other Roman TV series, including Rome if only because the I, Claudius characters don't need to have sex every 10 minutes.

[Ravens_cry]

Plus, it has Sir Patrick Stewart with hair. The only time I have seen him with more hair was when he had a beard and curly hair as Hamlet's uncle.

[BWR]

Haven't seen it for about 20 years, but I loved it when I saw it, about age 13. Have the entire thing on DVD, but the girl and I have a few other series we're trying to finish first.

[CowardlyPaladin]

So question, what do people think is Ser Janus' motivation. Do you think he actually planned to betray his family or if he wouldn't go that far? Did he love Cladius sister or what he just using her?

[thompur]

I contend that it is the greatest scripted TV series ever produced. I watch it once every year or so. Great writing, brilliant acting! Nearly perfect in every way! Love it!!

[Porthos]

"They say a snake bit her once... and died." One of the best description of a character, ever.

[CowardlyPaladin]

"They say a snake bit her once... and died." One of the best description of a character, ever.

I love this exchange

"has it occured to you mother, that it is you they hate?"

"There is nothing that has occurred to you that hasn't occurred to me first, that is the affliction I live with"

I love how we hate Livia's gut for msot of hte series, but then we come to pity her, and by the end I honestly miss her. Livia might be evil, but she wouldn't tolerate inept maddness like Caligula, Messilina, Nero, or Agrripina, a bunch of inept morons more concerned with announcing there power than actually wielding it.