Threadjacking!

[M.I.K.]

So, do you UK types have King Chuck on your coins or stamps yet?  Shame to replace the profile of Liz in her youth - she was a bit of a looker (though her sister Anne was a stunner in her day).

So far only encountered one 50p piece about a month ago. Also, I think you mean Margaret.

[JayzusB.Christ]

I meant Anne alright, but I see where you're coming from.

[The Legendary Shark]

I've just finished watching I, Claudius again (the perfect compliment to Rome) and it's left me with the same fundamental question it leaves me with every time I watch it...

...was Slaine inspired by Peter Bowles?

[JayzusB.Christ]

I loved I, Claudius and remember Yozzer the Gaul well. He's Sláine's dad Roth, surely? Or not Sláine's dad, as it turned out long after Pat Mills had lost me with the introspective and self-righteous direction the strip took.

Anyway, it wouldn't be the only time I, Claudius influenced the prog.  As most of us probably know, Judge Cal is clearly John Hurt as Caligula.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Hang on. Forgive the double post but obviously I don't remember him THAT well... I could have sworn he was played by a pre-Yosser Bernard Hill.

[The Legendary Shark]

I think Bernard Hill played an officer in the Praetorian Guard, the one who finds Claudius hiding behind the curtain if memory serves. Centurion Yosser - "Gizzan emperor, go on, gizz 'im."

I'm on to Spartacus (again) now. Next time I'm in a Roman mood I'm gonna do Spartacus first, then Rome, then I, Claudius because they all happen within a few decades of each other. Maybe I'll even top off that future binge with Gladiator, because why not?

[JayzusB.Christ]

I do remember watching I, Claudius happened not long after Rome, and the last emperor of the latter was the first of the former - can't remember his name though.  So I watched them back to back and despite the massive drop in production values it was a straight run of Roman history.  Great stuff; though I've since learned that Caligula's depravity may well have been exaggerated a lot - it was just that people didn't like him much. Still an absolute masterclass in acting by John Hurt, of course.

[The Legendary Shark]

And by Brian Blessed (that very emperor, Augustus) - his death scene is magnificent.