I, Claudius (1976)

Our recent interview with the VIFF Centre's Tom Charity reminded me of the not-so-early days of television, when Britain had only three stations. But of those stations, programs of exceptional quality, enough that at least one of them, for many of us, would be a favourite today. Taken together, I would not be surprised if all three would be more than enough to live on, especially now, when anything that isn't being done on television should be, because it can be.

During a recent thrifting expedition (North Burnaby's Sally Anne) I came upon all 12 episodes of I, Claudius. First broadcast on BBC 2 in September-December 1976, I, Claudius tells the story of the early days of Rome, from Emperor Augustus to his eventual successor, the "idiot" Claudius, who narrates (the series is based on Robert Graves 1934 novel of the same name).

I remember seeing I, Claudius when it was first broadcast on PBS in 1977, and only vaguely remember it being about succession. For me, it was about treachery (pictured above is the scheming Livia and her husband Augustus's granddaughter Livilla) and nudity. The Caligula episode was intense and would not be depicted so gently today. Too suggestive. Too much for the imagination exaggeration.