HBO's most ambitious series to date, Rome covers the Roman empire's transition from republic to imperatorship, circa 44 B.C. - 31 B.C.

Following the conquests and political manoeuvrings of Julius Caesar (Ciarán Hinds), Mark Antony (James Purefoy), and Caesar's heir Octavian (Kerry Condon, Simon Woods), Rome does a brilliant job of condensing multi-layered and complicated history into 22 one-hour episodes.

With excellent acting, a fast pace, brilliant use of special effects, incredible wardrobe, and near-perfect casting, for the first time Rome is depicted on screen the way it should be - crude, violent, corrupt, superstitious, extravagant, majestic, and beautiful. While taking a few liberties with historical facts for continuity/storyline's sake, the first season is remarkably true to historical events, and in its depiction of the traditional view of historical characters. However, history buffs may find themselves retching during the second season, where history takes a wild turn into almost fiction, as the characters of Mark Antony and Octavian veer away from history and lean more towards ratings-grabbing. But history aside, Rome is a magnificent series and well worth watching, even for those who don't normally care for 'history'.

A brilliant addition to the political/aristocratic core of the series is the common-man storylines of Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson), two legionaries returning to Rome after campaigning for Caesar in Gaul. Between handling their own affairs of wife, family, war, and survival, (and not just survival on the battlefield but survival in Rome itself), the two often find themselves witness to great historical events, or even outright influencing them. The result is a much more human side to Rome, its great battles, and its politics.