GoonSquad
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30 Oct 2011, 6:35 pm
Being such a freak for Roman history, I can’t believe I avoided this show for so long!
I guess it was (in part) because my only experience of BBC productions from the 70’s came from Monty Python and DR. Who….
While I love those shows, they don’t scream high production value. I guess I thought Claudius would be like some bad, poorly acted, video taped play….
BUT, I WAS WRONG!
I*Claudius doesn’t have a lot of action or a huge budget, but it does have good sets/costumes, and GREAT acting and writing!
Sian Phillips is fantastic as Livia! It’s historical fiction to be sure, but it is so much fun watching her operate as the villain of the first half of the series! 
The plot is basically:
Here’s a nice young man that Augustus is grooming to succeed him… Now here’s Livia, plotting to, and then killing him! And here’s Augustus being oblivious… 
The thing is, it works!
Also, young Patrick Stewart is great as Sejanus. Not quite as good a villain as Livia, but great just the same. The look on his face when Tiberius throws him to the Senate and he realizes the jig is up is priceless! 
Anyway, I’m only about halfway through the series, but man is it a hoot!! !
Tiberius should die by the next episode and then… Well, I can’t wait to see what John Hurt does as Caligula! I'm sure some spectacular hi-jinx is about to ensue!
30 Oct 2011, 7:53 pm
GoonSquad
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30 Oct 2011, 8:08 pm
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDwC7YH-1jM[/youtube]
Heh.... The guy putting the screws to Jean-Luc is John Rhys-Davies! 
30 Oct 2011, 8:11 pm
30 Oct 2011, 8:51 pm
31 Oct 2011, 4:31 am
GoonSquad
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31 Oct 2011, 12:21 pm
^^^ That's a great scene! The line of guys just goes on and on...
I just finished Zeus, By Jove!. I think they managed to capture the bizarre madness of Caligula without getting too offensive...
Honestly, I'm not opposed to a bit of offensiveness. I just ordered the Imperial Edition of Caligula (1979). That's supposed to be one of the most offensive movies ever made. I guess I'll find out.
Anyway, my favorite quote from the episode:
No question of it.
When I entered his room, he was lying peacefully in his bed.*
~Caligula
*After they think Tiberius is dead, he revives, and Macro smothers him with a pillow.
kxmode
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31 Oct 2011, 4:40 pm
Heh.... The guy putting the screws to Jean-Luc is John Rhys-Davies!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utUoZ38pvCc[/youtube]
I posted this at 2:41 railroad. My favorite flave.
GoonSquad
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01 Nov 2011, 3:01 am
^^^ The poor British... They can't help it if they talk funny!
kxmode
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01 Nov 2011, 12:32 pm
Are you kidding? I love the British accent. That accent can make anything sound awesome!
http://io9.com/5288654/anything-sounds- ... ish-accent
GoonSquad
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01 Nov 2011, 5:45 pm
^^^ Yeah... Actually, I like accents too. I don't know where Western/Mid-West bland (aka the American accent) came from but it sucks.
When I'm "on" I sound a lot like Slim Pickens from Dr. Stranglove.
When I'm tired, stressed, or otherwise too aspie, I sound like Billy Bob Thornton from Sling Blade... 
The British do talk funny, but not funnier than me!
01 Nov 2011, 7:36 pm
When I'm "on" I sound a lot like Slim Pickens from Dr. Stranglove.
When I'm tired, stressed, or otherwise too aspie, I sound like Billy Bob Thornton from Sling Blade...
The British do talk funny, but not funnier than me!
My theory is that it's Dutch (Western/Mid-West bland). The first time I heard a Dutch person speaking I was struck with how similar the cadence was to the generic US accent. The Dutch were a significant presence in the early colonial period.
GoonSquad
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01 Nov 2011, 9:34 pm
^^^ Yeah, I could buy that. I think the accent certainly has a non English/Scottish/Irish origin.
On topic:
May I present Imperator Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tebTGIddPDk[/youtube]
02 Nov 2011, 1:11 am
Welp, now I've seen everything. John Hurt, in drag, dancing.
Excuse me, does anyone have any brain bleach? 
02 Nov 2011, 4:06 am
Welp, now I've seen everything. John Hurt, in drag, dancing.
Excuse me, does anyone have any brain bleach?
What about Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Terence Stamp?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109045/
Or perhaps Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, and John Leguizamo?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114682/
02 Nov 2011, 5:53 pm
Welp, now I've seen everything. John Hurt, in drag, dancing.
Excuse me, does anyone have any brain bleach?
What about Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Terence Stamp?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109045/
Or perhaps Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, and John Leguizamo?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114682/
I've seen Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. A long time ago, but I have seen it.
It's not the drag act per se that freaks me out, it's the golden bikini and the worship and the mad dancing. Plus, Caligula in general freaks me out. We're talking a brain-fried incestuous hair-trigger homicidal megalomaniac with a god complex that make other such nutjobs have god simples by comparison.
