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Critic Reviews
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Turns like this take the series further into Aaron Spelling territory than it ever was, an idea that may offend those who can't let go of the notion that HBO is supposed to be better than regular TV.
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This splendidly acted melodrama delivers a bloody good time barreling toward oblivion, delivering enough political intrigue, violence and sex to slake even the most debauched viewing appetites.
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Though every detail of this lush Roman epic feels palpably authentic, history lessons don’t loom overly large; what’s most enjoyable about it is how deftly it mixes soap opera with senatorial debates.
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"Rome" is smart, dirty fun.
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"Rome" treats viewers as long-term fans of deep terrain. To follow "Rome," it is required you keep up. If you do, you may be rewarded with a fine tale, proper acting and a better-told history lesson.
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What the series gains this season by giving us more history and more compelling storylines, it loses by repeating some of its, er, epic mistakes. Again, no battle scenes - some of the most important in all of history - are shown.
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There's a danger that visitors to Rome may contract a mild case of Naughty Classy Cable Fatigue.
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It remains a wholly impressive piece of work, stylish and graphic and bold in equal measure while at the same time greatly lacking a cohesive focus.
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By the way, I don't mean the word "trash" as an insult. I enjoy well-made, quick-witted trash, and if you do, too, then you will find "Rome" as irresistible as ever.
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The production is nothing if not rich, awash in muted hues, populated with rivetingly complex characters and yet disappointingly low on spectacle.
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As in season 1, the acting is rich and lusty, with no costume-drama fustiness. [15 Jan 2007, p.33]
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With each episode, the show seems to move further from real life and the real Rome and off into some sex-crazed, soap-opera fantasy version of a place that has never, thankfully, existed before or since.
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The notion that the Empire ran on pillow talk and poison--the Great Woman theory of history-was also at the heart of the BBC’s 1976 "I, Claudius," but "Rome," with its spitting catfights, is closer in spirit to "Dynasty."
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It's like Deadwood in togas, a violent and bawdy tapestry of a vanished civilization.
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“Rome” is engaging even if it isn’t a swords-and-sandals version of “The Sopranos,” as HBO had hoped.
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HBO's most obtuse, impenetrable series.
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The second season of "Rome" feels more than a little claustrophobic, and operates on a much smaller scale than might be anticipated for such an epic production.
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If only the creators sought fit to put as much detail into their character development as their history, the show might have earned itself a third season.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 190 out of 201
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Mixed: 3 out of 201
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Negative: 8 out of 201
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SusanL.Mar 1, 2008bigger than life characters in a bigger than anything empire. Costumes, splendour, grittiness -- they got it right.
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MichaelC.May 30, 2007
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PhilHFeb 25, 2007