The Stolen Eagle

HOME

TheInfoList

Click Here for Items Related To - The Stolen Eagle

OR:

The Stolen Eagle on: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Amazon]

"The Stolen Eagle" is the

series premiere A series premiere is the first aired installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. In the United States, many series premieres are aired in the fall time or, for mid-season replacements, either in the spring or ...

of the British-American historical drama television series ''

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

''. Written by series creator

Bruno Heller Bruno Heller (born 13 January 1960) is an English screenwriter, producer and director. He is known for creating the HBO television series ''Rome'' and CBS television series ''The Mentalist''. He has produced the TV series '' Gotham'', based on ...

and directed by

Michael Apted Michael David Apted, (10 February 1941 – 7 January 2021) was a British television and film director and producer. Apted began working in television and directed the '' Up'' documentary series (1964–2019). He later directed '' Coal Miner's ...

, the episode first aired in the United States on

Home Box Office Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...

(HBO) on August 28, 2005, and on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

in the United Kingdom and Ireland on November 2. ''Rome'' was given a budget of $100 million, making it the largest amount both networks had ever spent on a series. Heller centered the series' narrative on the perspectives of two common soldiers, similar to

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet''. They are childhood friends of Hamlet, summoned by King Claudius to distract the prince from his apparent madness and if possible to ascertain the cause of ...

from Shakespeare's ''Hamlet''. Apted shot the episode at

Cinecittà Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios we ...

, the Roman studio where the

epic films Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...

'' Ben-Hur'' and '' Cleopatra'' were filmed. On the set, realism and authenticity were emphasized more than grandiosity, with depictions of a cosmopolitan city of all social classes. As the wars in Gaul come to an end,

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

(

Ciarán Hinds Ciarán Hinds (; born 9 February 1953) is an Irish actor. Born in Belfast, Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' (1989), '' Persuasion'' (1 ...

) is faced with both triumph and tribulation. On the heels of his victory comes news of his daughter's death. Awarded with the adulation of the people, he also garners the enmity of politicians in Rome, including

Pompey the Great Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

(

Kenneth Cranham Kenneth Cranham (born 12 December 1944) is a Scottish film, television, radio and stage actor. Early life Cranham was born in Dunfermline, Fife, the son of Lochgelly-born Margaret McKay Cranham (née Ferguson) and Ronald Cranham, a London-bor ...

). In Rome, Pompey must balance honor and politics as he is urged to betray his former friend. Meanwhile, Caesar's niece

Atia of the Julii This is a list of characters from the HBO series ''Rome''. The historical figures upon which certain characters are based are noted where appropriate. Main Recurring Guest * (historically, '' Antonia the Elder'' or '' Antonia Minor''), ...

(

Polly Walker Polly Alexandra Walker (born 19 May 1966) is an English actress. She has starred in the films '' Enchanted April'' (1991), '' Patriot Games'' (1992), ''Sliver'' (1993), '' Restoration'' (1995), '' The Gambler'' (1997), and '' Savage Messiah'' ( ...

) tries to steer her family on the dangerous path between the growing divisions of power. In the Gallic countryside, two unlikely allies (

Kevin McKidd Kevin McKidd (born 9 August 1973) is a Scottish actor and television director. Before playing the role of Dr. Owen Hunt in '' Grey's Anatomy'', for which he is widely known, McKidd appeared as Tommy Mackenzie in Danny Boyle's '' Trainspotting' ...

and

Ray Stevenson George Raymond Stevenson (born 25 May 1964) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He is known for playing Dagonet in the film ''King Arthur'' (2004) and Titus Pullo in the BBC/ HBO television series ''Rome'' (2005–2007). He has portrayed two M ...

) journey to reclaim the stolen

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

of the Roman legion. HBO described its marketing strategy as "its largest, most aggressive for a new series," and media outlets estimated its cost at $10 million. On its first broadcast, an estimated 3.8 million US viewers watched the episode. On its first airing in the UK and Ireland, it secured an estimated audience of 6.6 million people. Critical reception was largely mixed, with several reviewers writing that the episode suffered from slow storytelling. "The Stolen Eagle" garnered four major awards, including the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects This is a list of the winning and nominated programs of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a series, miniseries, film, or special. Since the award ceremony of 1998, the category has been divided into Special V ...

and the

Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series The Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series is one of the annual Directors Guild of America Awards given by the Directors Guild of America. It was first presented at the 24th Directors Guild of ...

Plot

During the

Siege of Alesia The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia (September 52 BC) was a military engagement in the Gallic Wars around the Gallic ''oppidum'' (fortified settlement) of Alesia in modern France, a major centre of the Mandubii tribe. It was fought by ...

in 52 BC, Centurion

Lucius Vorenus Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo were two Roman centurions mentioned in the personal writings of Julius Caesar. Although it is sometimes stated they were members of the 11th Legion (Legio XI Claudia), in fact Caesar never states the number of the ...

of the

13th Legion , in English the 13th Twin Legion was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was one of Julius Caesar's key units in Gaul and in the civil war, and was the legion with which he crossed the Rubicon in January, perhaps the 10th, 49 BC. The legion ...

commands his men as Gallic warriors fall on his line. In contrast to the Gauls' chaotic charge, the Roman files fight with precision, until one drunk legionary,

Titus Pullo Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo were two Roman centurions mentioned in the personal writings of Julius Caesar. Although it is sometimes stated they were members of the 11th Legion (Legio XI Claudia), in fact Caesar never states the number of th ...

, breaks ranks and charges into the crowd of Gauls. Vorenus angrily orders him back into formation, but Pullo hits him. Later, the assembled soldiers watch as Pullo is flogged and condemned to death for his disorderly conduct. The day after,

Vercingetorix Vercingetorix (; Greek: Οὐερκιγγετόριξ; – 46 BC) was a Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. Despite ha ...

, "King of the Gauls", is brought before

and made to surrender, ending the eight-year-long

Gallic Wars The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homel ...

. Caesar's niece, Atia of the Julii, orders her son

Octavian Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

to deliver a horse she has purchased straight to Caesar in Gaul to ensure that he remembers them above all other well-wishers. Caesar himself receives news that his daughter, married to his friend Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus with whom he shares power in Rome, has died in childbirth along with her

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The ter ...

daughter. A blood tie broken between them, Caesar orders a new wife be found for Pompey. In the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

Cato the Younger Marcus Porcius Cato "Uticensis" ("of Utica"; ; 95 BC – April 46 BC), also known as Cato the Younger ( la, Cato Minor), was an influential conservative Roman senator during the late Republic. His conservative principles were focused on the ...

moves that Caesar is stripped of his command and recalled to Rome to answer charges of misusing his office and illegal warmongering. Pompey, as sole

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

present, vetoes the motion, insisting on trusting Caesar. At the theater that night, Scipio introduces his daughter

Cornelia Metella Cornelia Metella ( 73 BC – after 48 BC) was the daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasica (who was a consul in 52 BC and originally from the gens Cornelia). She appears in numerous literary sources, including an official dedicat ...

to Pompey as a prospective wife, while Cato warns him that he must ally against Caesar before it is too late. Pompey again asserts that Caesar means no harm, although privately, he is troubled by Caesar's rising prestige and power and gives orders to one of his slaves who is leaving on a trip to Gaul. At night in the encampment of the 13th Legion, the Aquila (Eagle Standard) is stolen by brigands. To avoid a potentially disastrous drop in morale,

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

orders Vorenus to retrieve it. As Vorenus feels the mission is doomed to failure, he has the condemned Pullo released from the stockade to assist him. In camp, Caesar welcomes Marcus Junius Brutus, his unofficial stepson whose mother is Caesar's lover,

Servilia of the Junii This is a list of characters from the HBO series ''Rome''. The historical figures upon which certain characters are based are noted where appropriate. Main Recurring Guest * (historically, '' Antonia the Elder'' or '' Antonia Minor''), ...

. Later, at a party hosted by Servilia, Brutus confides to Pompey that the loss of the eagle has made Caesar unusually vulnerable as his men are on the brink of mutiny. On the road to Caesar's camp in Gaul, Octavian is taken captive by brigands. For Caesar's request, Atia instructs her daughter Octavia to marry Pompey by first divorcing her husband Glabius, despite Octavia's protests that they are deeply in love. Atia then presents Octavia to Pompey at a party and offers her for premarital relations, which Pompey takes advantage of. Vorenus and Pullo set off in search of the eagle, encountering and rescuing Octavian from his captors. Octavian thanks them and promises that they will be rewarded. Vorenus and Pullo discover Pompey's slave with the eagle hiding in the bandit cart and kill him, realizing the bandits were hired by Pompey. A politically astute Octavian explains that their mission is only a gesture, since the theft of the eagle is actually a blessing in disguise to Caesar. Civil war between Caesar and Pompey is inevitable, but Caesar needs Pompey to make the first move so as not to appear the aggressor; Pompey is likely to do that if he believes Caesar's soldiers are on the verge of desertion. The trio returns in triumph to camp, where a surprised yet grateful Caesar takes the eagle back and more than adequate proof of Pompey's hostility. He sends Pompey the head of his slave and informs him of his next move, to winter the 13th Legion at

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...

on the Italian border, in preparation for pressing his rights to the Consulship. Pompey breaks all ties with Caesar and takes Cornelia as his wife. Octavia, humiliated at being used by Pompey and heartbroken over her pointless divorce, says she wants him dead.

Production

Conception and writing

"The Stolen Eagle" was written by executive producer and co-creator

and directed by

, who also directed the following two episodes. Heller said the era of the Roman Empire was "pivotal in Western history. If things hadn't turned out the way they did at that particular point, the world that we live in now would be very different." He decided to tell the story of the series from the perspectives of two common soldiers, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo. According to Heller, "They are the only two ordinary soldiers mentioned by Caesar in

his book His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, in ...

, so the idea was to do a sort of Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern take. I essentially took the seed of that idea to try to tell a big historical epic, but from the street level, the everyman's point of view." The episode title is a reference to the standard of the Roman legion, a symbol that represents the legion's unity. While the storyline detailing its theft was based on fiction, Heller believed that it showed how Caesar could turn "misfortune into opportunity. He was always one step ahead of his enemies." Certain characters were changed from their traditional images; for instance, while Brutus has been portrayed as the noblest Roman, Heller and historical consultant Jonathan Stamp thought it would be interesting to have him forced into his later role through his ancestry. Alluding to the fact that Brutus' great great great grandfather "drove the last king out of Rome", Stamp said that "his family history was pushing him in one direction, his emotions in another."

Casting

The producers cast relatively unknown British and Irish actors for the series. Scottish actress

Lindsay Duncan Lindsay Vere Duncan (born 7 November 1950) is a Scottish actress. On stage, she has won two Olivier Awards (for ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' and ''Private Lives'') and a Tony Award (for ''Private Lives''). She has starred in several plays by Ha ...

, who was cast as Servilia, believed that she and other UK actors "can do old, can do classic, and you believe it." She also said that because of long distances, American actors or those of other nationalities were avoided: "Transporting actors from os Angelesto Rome on a regular basis does not look good for the budget. We're quite cheap." Stamp described Servilia as "the great love of uliusCaesar's life, his mistress and by all counts the only woman he truly loved." Irish actor Ciarán Hinds was cast as Caesar. Hinds first thought it was "silly" to be offered the part, but then, "you think it's quite an honour to be chosen to play it. And then you think, 'Oh shit I've got to do it', and then, well, 'I suppose someone has to do it!'" Heller had believed that Hinds would make "a great Caesar" for a long time, and considered the series "extremely lucky" for being able to cast him. Scottish actor Kevin McKidd, who had never appeared in a television series that necessitated over twelve months of filming, was cast as Lucius Vorenus, one of the lead characters. McKidd said, "What was different about this show is you get 14 months to really get into every nook and cranny of the character, in a way you don't get a chance to explore when you do a movie or a theater play. Initially, it was a terrifying prospect. But once you got over that, you realize what a great opportunity it was." Heller described his character as "very much a Roman of the Old School, a stoic man devoted to duty and religion and the legion." Ray Stevenson played Titus Pullo, a soldier who befriends Vorenus. McKidd said that "they're kind of thrown together by fate, by chance, but somewhere along the line they start to stick ...

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

keep finding themselves accidentally at the epicenter of tumultuous events and immense change, so they're kind of clinging to each other." Caesar's niece, Atia, was portrayed by actress Polly Walker. According to Heller, while most auditioning actresses assumed that the character was the series' villainess, Walker made "

tia TIA or Tia may refer to: Aviation * Tampa International Airport, US, IATA code TPA * Texas International Airlines, US, ICAO code * Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza, Albania, IATA code * Trans International Airlines, former U.S. airl ...

bigger than life but completely real ... She could read the phone book with that kind of brio and joy." Rather than a villain, Heller wrote her to be "a real life force. Everything she's doing is for the good of her family, her children. No matter how evil it gets, it's always for a good reason." Walker was pleased with her "very complex character. I found it exciting to play such massive emotions and deal with such interesting, to say the least, situations. I saw it as a huge challenge, and I have huge admiration for this character. A lot of people might consider her to be sort of evil or bad, but I think she's wonderful. She's just a survivor, doing what she's got to do."

Filming

The series was given a budget of $100 million (£58 million), the largest both HBO and the BBC had ever devoted to a series. The season was filmed between March 2004 and July 2005, at locations in or around Rome, and on a set considered "to be the biggest and most expensive ever built for television." It was built at Cinecittà, where the epic films ''Ben-Hur'' (1959) and ''Cleopatra'' (1963) had been filmed. Production designer Joseph Bennett built a set that emphasized authenticity and realism rather than grandiosity. He said,

People think of Rome as white and cold and beautiful, powerful but distant. But based on the research, I don't think it was like that at all. If you go to Pompeii, you're struck by how garish it is, even now. The temples and sculptures were all brightly painted. Rome was like Pompeii, but much bigger. And Rome was so noisy it was impossible to sleep. It was like hell. Think of it as a combination of New York and Calcutta, with insane wealth and insane poverty. It was pretty extreme.

The series begins with opening credits that depict traditional Roman myths, such as Romulus and Remus, the city's foundation mythos. For inspiration, visual effects and design company A52 explored museums, read the script and researched Roman history. They created the opening sequence entirely in-house. VFX artist Kirk Balden said of the production, "On many projects, you start off with storyboards, and everyone has a good idea of what it's going to look like when it's completed. This project was very experimental right to the very end. The tone of it is pretty much unlike anything we've done and most of what any of us here have seen. There's a lot there that creatively sets the stage for the series." Heller was responsible for writing the episode's voice-over, despite his dislike of the task. He said that despite it being his "400th version," he was "still not happy with it." He believed that an early scene in which spoils are distributed from a cart in front of Pompey represented the first real sense of how the series would depict city life. He said, "I think this is the first time that we get a sense of the version of Rome that the show is pushing," which was a very different version than viewers may have been used to. To him, Rome was "colorful and painted" and cosmopolitan. A later scene featuring Cicero the Younger in the Senate proved difficult to film because of a large number of Italian extras who did not speak English. In the DVD audio commentary, he said that "this is one of those scenes where you need really great assistant directors, because all of these Italian extras who have no idea whatsoever what icero'ssaying, so to keep them interested and focused and concentrated on what's going on is a real trick." Extras playing soldiers attended a boot camp under the guidance of a former

Royal Marine The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

. Artisans reportedly handmade four thousand costumes using authentic period materials such as cotton, linen, wool, and silk, all of which were hand-dyed on set. Pullo was originally written to be a poor horse rider, a reflection that "Romans were notoriously bad horsemen," according to Heller. However, Stevenson turned out to be "probably the best horseman on the show," so they rewrote this characteristic because bad horsemanship is difficult to fake. James Madigan, the visual effects supervisor, approached the series as a feature film, observing that "every aspect of the production took meticulous care with every detail, the costumes, the set dressing, the acting, and the attention to historical fact. As you worked on it, you really got the feeling that Rome was going to look like something we had never seen on TV before, so our vfx approach very much wanted to respect that." Madigan attempted to seamlessly mesh the visual effects with the physical sets and depend less on CGI. A friend told Madigan that after seeing the pilot, "he didn’t see any vfx shots, even though there are dozens of shots throughout episode 1. That means we did our job well."

Marketing

HBO said its marketing plan for the series was, "its largest, most aggressive push for a new series". The channel broadcast the first three episodes seven days a week at various times during the day. Non-subscribers could preview the first two episodes during the first week of September 2005. HBO implemented an outdoor marketing campaign in major cities and produced movie-style trailers which preceded a number of films in cinemas. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'', '' Vanity Fair'', ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'', and '' GQ'' published full-size articles about the series. The

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

broadcast five nights of documentaries featuring the Roman Empire, which were hosted by Stevenson, McKidd, and Varma, a collaboration which was the first of its kind between the two networks. David Baldwin, the executive vice president of program planning, said, "This is a huge series for us. We wanted to give it every opportunity to be seen by as many people as possible." Media outlets estimated that the entire marketing campaign cost HBO $10 million, the most the network had spent on marketing a series to that point. Commentators viewed the success of ''Rome'' as crucial for the network, especially after the past mixed reception of '' Carnivàle'' and '' K-Street''. In July 2005, James Hibberd of '' Television Week'' wrote that ''Rome'' was viewed "as the network's best shot for adding another literate, must-see drama to its schedule". Writing for the same publication, Tom Shales said that HBO "has made such a fuss over ''Rome,'' and the network itself has put such painful pressure on the show (and its producers) to make a hefty impact, that it'll be scorned like a leper if it fails to make a truly gigantic splash."

Reception

Ratings

"The Stolen Eagle" was the first broadcast on August 28, 2005, in the United States on HBO and in Canada on

The Movie Network Crave (formerly The Movie Network or TMN) is a Canadian premium television network and streaming service owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. Launched in 1983 as the national service First Choice, early difficulties and a subsequent ...

and

Movie Central Movie Central (occasionally abbreviated as "MC", mostly in program guides) was a Canadian English language Category A premium cable and satellite television channel that was owned by Corus Entertainment. Movie Central was designated to operat ...

. An estimated 3.8 million viewers watched the episode, less than the series premieres of ''Carnivale'' and ''Deadwood'' but consistent with the series finale of '' Six Feet Under''. In the UK and Ireland, the premiere was broadcast on BBC 2 on November 2, 2005. According to ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', more than 6.6 million viewers watched the episode.

Critical reception

"The Stolen Eagle" received generally mixed reviews from television critics, many of whom criticized its slow pace. Mark A. Perigard of ''

The Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Puli ...

'' wrote, "Less perverse than ''

I, Claudius ''I, Claudius'' is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Ro ...

'', more entertaining than

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...

's (ABC) toga twister ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'', "Rome" gets off to an uneven start." Terry Morrow of the ''

Dayton Daily News The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately ...

'' criticized the premiere, writing that "the opener, like most pilots, is so bogged down with introducing faces and setting up the story that it turns into a long and tedious journey." Morrow also said the episode suffered from lacking one "standout, signature character", though he believed that the "flaws in ''Rome'' should clear up in time, given HBO's knack for winning dramas. It's an epic story, and one worth savoring if you can muddle through the demands of slow storytelling in the beginning." ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pare ...

''s Robert McNeil thought that the premiere was "shocking, but also rather slow, as characters are established. Maybe it'll get better. In the meantime, to paraphrase

Roger McGough Roger Joseph McGough (; born 9 November 1937) is an English poet, performance poet, broadcaster, children's author and playwright. He presents the BBC Radio 4 programme '' Poetry Please'', as well as performing his own poetry. McGough was one ...

, I came, I saw, I concurred with those who say: Rome wasn't built in an hour." Similarly opinionated was ''

The Cincinnati Post ''The Cincinnati Post'' was an afternoon daily newspaper published in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. In Northern Kentucky, it was bundled inside a local edition called ''The Kentucky Post''. The ''Post'' was a founding publication and onetime ...

''s Rick Bird, who said that like other HBO series, ''Rome'' "takes a while to get going. After the first episode you will mostly be confused with a dizzying array of characters, intrigue and subplots. Hang in there. By the second episode things take shape and one should be hooked by episode three with this steamy romp through antiquity and its lusty intrigue." Bird found some positive elements; the episode, he said, was "enhanced by marvelous filmmaking including elaborate sets and costumes. Small-screen film art has rarely painted such a realistic picture of ancient Rome." Paul English of '' The Daily Record'' wrote that "''Rome'' is visually dazzling, full of vim and tantalizingly seductive," adding that "McKidd's growling turn as Ceasar's footsoldier Lucius Vorenus will undoubtedly propel him into the US major league." Writing for the '' Los Angeles Daily News'', David Kronke failed to find the series very remarkable, writing that "notwithstanding some lurid sex and gruesome violence,

t is T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is der ...

as conventional as anything the network has ever done. Sword-and-sandals epics have become familiar Hollywood staples ... and those expecting something that takes up where the legendarily decadent BBC/PBS series ''I, Claudius'' left off may be in for something of a disappointment."

Television Without Pity Television Without Pity (often abbreviated TWoP) was a website that provided detailed recaps of select television dramas, situation comedy, situation comedies and reality TV shows along with discussion forums. These recaps were written with sarca ...

graded the episode with a B. Some viewers criticized the graphic nudity seen in the pilot, especially in the US. Heller commented, "Romans didn't have our body shame and fear of sexuality. I think that is part of the modern fascination with that world. There was a lack of shame about those things, that we had to portray with a lack of shame in order to make it work."

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stolen Eagle 2005 American television episodes 2005 British television episodes Rome (TV series) episodes American television series premieres British television series premieres Cultural depictions of Vercingetorix