If HBO wants to keep people from switching to Showtime, they need spit out more shows like ROME. They have incredible gladiator scenes(it makes the Russell Crowe version look tame) and their characters are fierce. You got the noble soldier Vorenus, charming rogue Marc Anthony (has a nice tight ass), cut-throat catfights between Attia & Servila, and Titus Pullo's humor (after he negotiated a price for young Octavian's first sex encounter. "For that price she better f__k like Helen of Troy with her ass on fire!").  

i've only seen it a few times and though it interested me while watching it i never felt the need to watch it again. it is one of the better series but i think the problem i have is they are too many happening too fast. if you have a life at all before you know it the show is over and there is a new one starting.

HBO has produced some really good series (Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Carnivale etc.) and this one rates as one of the best. Much more than it appears to be at first glance. It uses the political intrigue during the golden age of ancient Rome as it's backdrop but the stories of the individual characters is what really brings it to life. This is history as seen through the eyes of the little people... those peripheral characters whose lives made up the fabric of daily life in the empire. The photography, scenery, costumes etc. are lush, the acting is first rate, and the characters and plotlines are compelling.. and fun. A truly grand achievement for television. And for my money, Atia of the Julii is one of the best female characters ever written for television. A strikingly beautiful and intelligent woman whose moral compass swings wide and whose ambition knows no bounds. Her pragmatism and sense of humor carry her through the worst of times just as her lust and greed carry her through the good. Not the kind of woman you would want to marry but definitely the kind you would want on your side.