mark-russell43

The series does show the austere conditions of the 1970s and the shabby conditions in which grass roots politics was conducted. However, the script soft pedals on the actual attitude of the far left wing that was trying to take over the Labour Party in the period. They were Trotskyite's and had a far harder set of policies on their agenda. Nonetheless it's well done, although the Trot's probably loved it as it made there subversion look far more reasonable.

I recently watched all the available episodes on YouTube. Of course it's a mid-60's production with a limited budget (they made them very fast) and actors frequently fluff lines, but they carry on to save film.

The stories are good, the characters are well developed and the way they conclude episodes is refreshingly simple. John Barrie was unknown to me as an actor, apparently he gave up acting while still in his prime and, sadly, died quite young. He deserves to have been better known.

If you can stand watching g black and white 60s tv, this is well worth investing time in.

I don't understand the negative comments on CGI, were they meant to build a set for these huge scenes? Also I fail to understand why people claim a work of fiction is 'fake'. In fact Rome at this time was full of plots and intrigue and few Emperors died a natural death. Races were fixed and the mob had a lot of influence on politics. That said it's a good series, with really well developed minor characters to play off the major ones. The last episode was a bit weaker, but had to finish the storyline, doing so with rather more side-plots than it needed. A second series wouldn't necessarily be a great idea, Domitian ruled for a long time before being murdered and it would be contrived to keep this type of plot going. Well worth the time to watch through before making a judgement.