I, Claudius (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| I, Claudius | |
|---|---|
 Cover of I, Claudius DVD |
|
| Format | Period drama |
| Written by | Jack Pulman |
| Starring | Derek Jacobi Siân Phillips Brian Blessed John Hurt |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 50+ minutes per ep |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC One |
| Original run | 20 September 1976 – 6 December 1976 (subsequently repeated) |
I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves's I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman[1], it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time. It also provided popular initial exposure for several actors who would eventually become well known like Derek Jacobi, Patrick Stewart, John Rhys-Davies and John Hurt.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
I, Claudius follows the history of Rome, narrated by the elderly Claudius, from the death of Marcellus in the first episode to Claudius's own death in the last. The series opens with Augustus, the emperor of Rome, attempting to find an heir, and his wife Livia's plots to have her own son become emperor. This plotting and double-crossing continue for many years, through the conspiracy of Sejanus, the rule of the emperor Caligula, and eventually, Claudius's own rule.
[edit] Production
The series was produced by Joan Sullivan and Martin Lisemore, and directed by Herbert Wise in the studios at BBC Television Centre. Production was delayed because of complex negotiations between the BBC and the copyright holders of the aborted film version. This did however give the scriptwriter Jack Pulman more time to fine-tune his script.
[edit] Music
Wilfred Josephs provided the title music. The incidental music for each episode was performed by David Wulstan and the Clerkes of Oxford ensemble.
[edit] Awards and reception
Among other awards, the series won three BAFTAs in 1977 (Derek Jacobi, Best Actor (TV); Siân Phillips, Best Actress (TV); Tim Harvey, Best Design (TV)).
The series was subsequently broadcast in the United States as part of PBS's Masterpiece Theatre series, where it received critical acclaim. Tim Harvey won a 1978 Emmy for Outstanding Art Direction. The producers and director were nominated but did not win. In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, I, Claudius was placed 12th.
[edit] Cast
The major cast included
[edit] Legacy
 |
Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (February 2008) |
In the following decade, the large-scale historical dramas The Borgias and The Cleopatras were produced by the BBC in an attempt to imitate I, Claudius's success, but both these proved to be flops. The idea of large-scale historical drama thus came to be satirised in comedy of the time, most notably Blackadder (for example, the writhing snake from the I, Claudius title sequence is parodied in the title sequence of Blackadder II). Such dramas did not become a BBC staple again until the series Rome, which (due to its similarly Roman subject matter and ambitious scale) was openly touted in the press as a successor to I, Claudius[2].
[edit] VHS/DVD
Most VHS and DVD versions of the TV series include the 1965 BBC documentary The Epic That Never Was, about the attempted Alexander Korda film adaptation of the first book, featuring interviews with key production staff and actors as well as most of the surviving footage. The 2002 UK DVD edition also contains a documentary on the series, I, Claudius – a Television Epic, as well as some alternate and deleted scenes.
[edit] References
- ^ In Pulman's script for Claudius's speech to the senate in the final episode, Claudius prophesies that "the man who dwells by the pool shall open graves, and the dead shall live again". This is a reference to the scriptwriter, Jack Pulman, and a pun on the book's author, Robert Graves.
- ^ "Epic Roman drama unveiled", BBC News, 27 October 2003. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
[edit] External links
