Rome

WOW, what a great show!! Given the production costs, it only lasted 2 seasons, and that's a big pity.

Everything, from the acting to the screenplay, the costumes to the sets, the music to the direction is top notch.

According to history books, the Rome of the old days was both fascinating and terrifying, intriguing and dangerous. Shrewd calculations went into both politics and relationships and the show portrays this exceptionally well.

The series rotates around two centurions, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo. The former rises through the ranks of the formidable Roman military apparatus, while the latter just tags along, alternately arguing with or helping his friend.

They interact with a huge cast of characters that includes Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony, Cleopatra, Brutus, Octavian, Pompey Magnus, and many more, whose fortunes rise or fall as quickly as the wind can change direction.

Most shocking and interesting is seeing how both evolved and backwards the Romans' thinking could be, how much things have changed and yet, how some things never change, and how much better off we'd be if some aspects of their society were still with us (for instance, their open-mindedness).

All in all, this show falls squarely in the don't-miss it category.

Grade: 10