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Not So Fast, Brut?!! Has HBO Un-Greenlit ROME's Second Season??
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
This arrived in the Mt. Olympus mailbox yesterday:
After an article in the New York Times (17th November) the second
season of Rome is now in question.
Pre-production has stopped in Italy and the producers are baffled by
the possible "un-greenlighting" of the show.
Why is HBO head, Albrecht making such a public statement from out of
the blue without discussing with the shows producers when the show has
just found it's dramatic stride?
Call me "eye"
The story by Bill Carter in the New York Times discussed the future of HBO's original series. An excerpt:
[HBO chairman Chris] Albrecht announced only a couple of weeks into ["Rome's"] run that he was renewing the series for another season. But in the interview he said, "That ship hasn't entirely sailed yet."
The reason, he said, has nothing to do with how well "Rome" turned out. Mainly, the issue has been money. "Rome" was wildly expensive, costing an estimated $100 million. It initially experienced debilitating production delays, fueling rumors that it was a troubled show. Once it was on the air and was seen to be a quality production, Mr. Albrecht said, those rumors subsided.
But he said those delays meant he had only a short window of time to retain a hold on the actors, which was why he renewed the series so quickly. For now, that means ordering scripts, which will be difficult to write because they need to cover the complicated period following the fall of Caesar.
"The real reason why, even though I ordered the show, we haven't formally gone into production, is how long it's going to take," he said. " 'Rome' won't be back until, at the earliest, March of 2007. Which makes you say to yourself: When I bring the show back, can I build an audience?"
If you can hold of it, read the whole story. It’s great. The final two sentences read like this:
Re-emphasizing just how unconcerned he really is about that competitor, [Albrecht] noted the critical reaction to "Desperate Housewives" this season. "Anybody who knows anything about television," he said, "could look at that show and say: two years, maybe three."
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I expect to see Antony honoring Brutus and burying Caesar.
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You hear me ABC (Australia)? You gave us the first season of Carnivale, back it up with season 2 and Rome. It's not like you've got any quality Australian programming coming up after the Kath and Kim movie this weekend...
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I knew it...Rome is one of the best shows on TV. GAH!
What else does HBO got besides Deadwood and the Sopranos? Both of those shows bring in BANK. And DVD they get God knows how much thanks to the fact they charge no less than 70 bucks a set. Money my ass. -
Nov 23, 2005 8:54:30 AM CST
the first few weeks were great, then it lost me, but MAN OH MAN
by emu47
This show must go on. It is everything you could want in an HBO production of some very absorbing material. And excellent casting on the part of Octavian. Can't wait to see him take over. HBO, if you're listening: I'll be there if you are. And as a Sopranos fan ... well, y'know, I'm getting good at waiting.
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Bring it back idiots. I'd like to see Rome replaced, they could do and have done, better.
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Cleopatra back for a couple of episodes towards the end. James Purefoy/Mark Antony losing his devil-may-care attitude and joining Max Pirkis/Octavian in hunting down Brutus and Cassius and the rest of the conspirators. Goddammit. This is too fucking good to miss.
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apparently the episodes shown here have suffered from editing, but from what i saw (episodes 1 and 3) this is a poorly scripted drama that fails to engage. The directors even managed to get boring perfomances from Lindsay Duncan, who is otherwise an excellent actress. Also, historically this show is not very accurate... not necessarily an important fault, but it doesn't help to sell the story if you doubt that what you are seeing actually happened. personally i don't really see the pint of bringing it back. It's turned into something of a white elephant for the BBC, but i feel most sorry for HBO having spent most of the money on this disappointing series,... it's no "I Claudius"
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for some tit to mention I Claudius.
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how can hbo have any doubts about bringing back Rome? down here, it
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Rome is easily the best show on television. We need a second season, we need it bad. I want to see Octavian make Servilla suffer. I will gladly wait until 2007 to get that satisfaction.
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The finale of Rome was a masterpiece! Beyond Rome, The Sopranos and Curb Your Enthusiasm there is little reason to actually keep HBO. Endless reruns of "Cheaper by the Dozen" or "Spanglish" are simply not cutting it. With the end of The Sopranos looming and the possible fall of Rome, I forsee a shift from HBO to Showtime in my near future. If they renew Rome, I will stick with HBO, its that simple. I am certainly not alone in this sentiment. Like the real Rome, HBO has ruled proudly and strong, but years of poor leadership and circling competitors are threatening the empire, it could go either way at this point. I hope it survives.
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Nov 23, 2005 9:37:37 AM CST
Look on the bright side... maybe they're un-greenlighting th
by chastain-86
It's a long-shot, but hey... I'm willing to hold out some hope.
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...quite large ones too, the Bull sacrifice ritual only emerged in Italy some 200 years later, but it's certainly entertaining and I've become quite drawn into it. Sometimes it falls a little flat, but compared to most shows it's very solid. A strong British cast with high American production values and treatment (as did Band of Brothers - which had its own inaccuracies). I'd like to see a few more series go this way in terms of production as it seems to work. Old alliances coming together to mildly rewrite history. Hussah!
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What's the matter? Is there a shortage of capital letters in Rio? All the E.E. Cummings wannabes have moved on... poor capitalization skills are sooooo last week.
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They cancelled Carnivale, not sure how many were watching that, but I'm positive they never went into red numbers with that show.
Now they might cancel Rome, which has been THE best drama this fall. Very fun to watch "history drama" when they are doing such a great job. -
Rome is on par with The Sopranos and Deadwood. Quit fucking around and greenlight a second season, already!
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...whole different ballpark, dude. I doubt Rome returns $100+ to HBO...it is a business you know and Rome doesn't have a huge audience, regardless of how good a show it might or might not be.
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Nov 23, 2005 10:16:47 AM CST
carnivale is dead ... stop crying about it and get HBO to give D
by emu47
Seriously. MAYBE Carnivale was good season 2, but I suffered mightily through all of season 1 for nowhere close to the satisfaction of Rome ("Thirteen!" is my new "Where's Wallace at?!?!"--and for all you who don't know that quote, go watch the fucking brilliant Wire). But who am I to talk? I'm still pissed ABC didn't pick up Mulholland Drive. Speaking of good quotes, I should ask as well, "How's Annie? How's Annie? How's Annie?" Oh, the mad cackling.
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It's very disappointing to hear HBO are considering not bringing it back but seeing as the BBC is being lambasted for putting out a poor show and they pony up part of the production costs it's perhaps the Beebs fault that there is some doubt the show will return. I'm in the UK and i tune in to watch the show but mainly to try and aid the shows ailing viewing figures, i'll make no apologies for downloading the show; i pay my TV licence i'm just getting it now instead of later and the bbc could do with the positive vibe. I will concede that the first 3 episodes weren't that great but it was common knowledge that the show underwent some retooling after the first 3 eps were filmed and i could see the potential for ep 4 onwards. I've mentioned it before but Rome has one problem here in the UK, the people who watch it. It's too high brow for the people who wouldn't mind the gratuitous nudity, language and sex and too crude for the people that should really appreciate it; for those that don't know Cunt is an even worse word that fuck on these shores and Rome is littered with both words. Personally, i think it's one of the most engaging dramas i've seen on television in a long time and should it be canned i'll be deeply disappointed. The sad fact is there are too many people like Mansep above who will judge a show in it's early stage and continue to harp on about the it's poor quality or its historical innacuracy long after they've stopped tuning in to watch it. My advice to any brits who are having doubts is give it time, the characters really do blossom into engaging and interesting. It does a great job of recreating life in ancient Rome and it does its best to remain historically accurate. Those looking for perfection should stick to the Discovery Channel
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It is just that the viewing figures aren't as high as the Beeb expected (but still very good for what BBC2 gets). I am a Brit and I loved it all, having downloaded it as it aired in the states.
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Apparently HBO likes to torture fans of its shows by cancelling them after too short a run, and/or taking a year or more in between seasons. I wish it was just HBO, but just about every network has fucked up terribly for me this past year by cancelling something I thought was ten times better that most of what they kept. I sure hope the TV/Film industry destroys itself soon, I'm getting sick of their politics and bullshit decisions. It's not show business anymore, it's business buisness.
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I can tell you that the word around the office is that the show will most likely return. After, all it was HBO's biggest hit in years, getting the network's biggest audience since the finale of Sex and the City. The hold up on season 2 is no doubt due to the fact that the show is ridiculously expensive to produce, but I believe that in the end this won't matter. They are rushing the dvd of Season 1 to see how it does and just making sure that all the many many people who watched Season 1 will in fact keep watching. I know I will. I love me some Rome.
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All very well to say fuck the brits, except HBO only made the first series with BBC funding - and its taking a bit of a critical beating over here. I don't know how much BBC2's random editting is ruining the drama, but it comes across as nothing more than an unstructured, posh soap opera. Since Britains's crappy normal soap operas get 2 or 3 times Rome's viewing figures, they might not think its worth the future investment...
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I watch DH on Sunday and I watch Rome on Monday. Since HBO is not a commercial network, what's the big hairy deal with ratings?
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Yeah they do? Nuff Said...
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I have tried to watch it 3 or 4 times and each time I could not finish a single episode. I for one wouldn't mind Rome getting shelved in favor of some other project. Of course this is just my opinion, so flame away Romans.
And I don't agree with comments about Rome being on par with Deadwood. -
I'm going to be very pissed if they don't have a second season. I am so mad right if this is true. Rome is one of the best shows on tv. They need to have a second season. I would give money to HBO to have one. We need to start a collection for it.
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I'm going to be very pissed if they don't have a second season. I am so mad right if this is true. Rome is one of the best shows on tv. They need to have a second season. I would give money to HBO to have one. We need to start a collection for it.
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The profanity is just replaced with sex. The characters in Rome are actually more profound to watch, but Deadwood has the advantage of two seasons of development. Rome season one is one par with Deadwood season one. At first, I would've doubted this, but the series has turned out to be fantastic. I love these shows.
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Seriously. Bunch of moaning bastards for the most part. Some critics are giving it credit but for the most part the people watching the show are geriatric codgers used who consider class drama to be things like Holby City or some Robsone Green shit on ITV. God forbid that their should be swearing in a BBC show but Breasts?? Pubes????? that's just disgusting, didn't you know? I can't believe that it's running the risk of being canned because of some Mary Whitehouse wanna be's. It's enough to make you cry sometimes.
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This might be a tactic for HBO to see how many fans it has. By saying they might cancel it will cause the fans to have an uprising. They just might want to know how many fans they really have. How many seasons did Carnival have? I know if you've seen it you either love it or hate it. I personally havent seen an episode. I'm still waiting for HBO to start replaying some episodes.
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Bullshit. What's so complicated? Just focus on Augustus/Antony/Cicero.
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Rome was great but ya gotta give HBO props for bringing The Wire back.Along with The Shield they're probably the best buncha cop shows since Miami Vice.I cant believe someone compared Rome to I Claudius.Sure it was great back in the day and its still watchable but Rome is more enjoyable.Rome took the best of I Claudius and mixed in a little Caligula for good measure.I guess seeing a little blood&bush offends some people.
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That is the only way your opinion will matter. If you want Rome season two go to there Rome email link: http://tinyurl.com/bkzxk and let them know. The more of us who post there the better the chance that they will see the viewer interest and renew this brilliant, if expensive, series. Hail Caesar!!!
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Either way, go to http://tinyurl.com/bkzxk and post an email request for Rome Season Two!!!
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in the UK the BBC butchered the first 3 US epsodes and condensed them into 2 episodes. They kept in all the sex and violence, but removed a lot of the character development and interaction. From what i've heard, the US cut is more interesting. But David Attenborough's new series starts on BBC1 tonight at the same time as BBC2 is showing Rome, so Rome will lose even more viewers tonght. .... a shame.... i would have loved Rome to have been good and successful.
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fuck HBO and their fucking price point bullshit.
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the wire rules...i didn't know that....that fucking rules...does anybody know what city? oh...and ejcarter, you're gonna have to try a little harder than that to get a rise out of me, although the e.e.cummings bit was funny.
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Nov 23, 2005 12:10:24 PM CST
"Rome took the best of I Claudius and mixed in a little Caligula
by drath
Which is funny because John Hurt dancing in a diaper as Caligula was the low point of I, Claudius. It'd be cool if they got Sian Philips to play Livia's grandmother though.
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I noted this in Sunday's Season Finale talkback...this show is massively expensive to produce. They film on location in Rome. HBO and BBC were splitting the costs. The show has been a critical hit for HBO, but due to airing on public television in the UK, BBC has been editing the shit out of it, and it has not caught on. So now BBC cannot justify the cost of producing this, so the $100 million falls on HBO's shoulders alone. As you can see, this now becomes EXTREMELY risky, given the state of cable subscriptions lately.
I can see the producers giving the "fuck you" to HBO, and trying to secure finance film funding, but this concept best in the maxi-series format.
I predict that unless another studio jumps in, "Rome" will not see a season 2. I'm just grateful that we got what we did. Congrats to the producers...it really was a great show. -
Two seasons of a better show shouldn't be too much to ask for.
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Nov 23, 2005 12:35:22 PM CST
"the wire rules...i didn't know that....that fucking rules..
by -guyinthebackrow
What do you mean, "What city?" Do you mean Baltimore? They aren't changing the locale. I know that much.
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Do you really think HBO, or *ANY* network for that matter, is going to produce a show just because it's really really good? No one really cares if you like it, all they care is that you watch it, and if there are not enough people watching or subscribing to HBO to make Rome profitable, then why on earth would they spend millions of dollars to make it? And for all of you complaining about the length of time between seasons, would you rather they rush into production and produce something subpar? Would you prefer that the actors leave the show because they've earned a little fame and would prefer to make movies rather than be a slave to a yearly TV production schedule? It sucks that we might lose good shows and that HBO can't make them as profitable as they should be but at least they're trying and giving us stuff that's 10 times better than almost anything the networks have to offer.
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oh and Herc, that swipe at the end regarding DH, could be said about MOST of what is on today. Just bring the Wire back, don't care about any of their other shows, (well maybe Sopranos).
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Nov 23, 2005 1:23:06 PM CST
Show is so bad compared to "Carnivale" and "The Wire" it's n
by indiephantom
Bring Carnivale back. It's cheaper and it's actually a GREAT series. Oh, and John Milius is a fascist asshole.
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Nov 23, 2005 1:26:43 PM CST
Funny, I'm sure if DH debuted on HBO and had a successful fi
by mr. profit
Also.... 100 million dollars is an insanely ridiculous amount of money for a 13 episode series. I don't think that the show can come back and be profitable. Also HBO seems to be running scared with 2 of their main shows gone and their "Sunday" night not being buzzed about anymore.
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That's why anchorite likes him.
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Deadwood veers all over the map, it's only good when following Bullock and Swearengen. Rome was much more focused in its storytelling. Plus, they speak English in Rome, wheras in Deadwood I lose half of what's going on trying to decipher the language. I like Rome better. Not by much, but I do...Although no single character in Rome is as fun to watch as Swearengen.
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Carnivale was not an expensive show to produce. THAT is why it got another season.
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Nov 23, 2005 1:43:04 PM CST
I think Deadwood has more to say about American society than Rom
by cameron1
And I like the deviations Deadwood takes, it (for me at least) creates a richer deeper world. Having said that, Rome is the business, but I find it a little dry sometimes. As for the language, well I have to go with Deadwood again, I realise it's a lot of monologues, especially season 2, but god, what monologues they are. Literary, intelligent, incisive and sometimes just fucking hilarious. Neither beats The Wire though.
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The difference is David Milch writes "Deadwood", and is the reason why its language is so poetic. Interestingly enough, Milch pitched a show about "Rome" to HBO, but they had already moved forward on the current "Rome" show deal. Instead, he came up with "Deadwood". We win both ways.
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That we do. That we do. Although the sooner the Wire is back the better.
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They should save that show. Rome is whatever..At least we have that Alan Ball vampire thing coming up.
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Rome wasn't built in a day.
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Normally at a time like this I'd ask you for advice, and you'd say something that would make no sense at all, but somehow it would all fit together. Like, I would tell you, "Sir, I have a problem," and you'd say, "Well, what is it?" and I'd say, "Well, sir, Lisa wants to have a baby, but she doesn't want to get married," and you'd say "Dave, why milk the cow when you have a fridge full of steaks?" And I'd say, "Sir, that makes no sense," and you'd say, "Well, it sure made sense when that guy Chuck Connors said it in that movie Chinatown," and I'd say, "Sir, Chuck Connors wasn't in Chinatown," and you'd say, "Dave, if I wanted to have this conversation I'd have hired that guy Siskel Ebert to do your job," and I'd say, "Sir, Siskel and Ebert are two people," and you'd say, "Dave, just because the man is fat is no reason to make fun of him."
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Nov 23, 2005 2:36:32 PM CST
Name me one work of art that is both historically accurate and g
by eg4190
Come on, I'm waiting to hear it. Every piece of historical fiction ever made has some inaccuracies. This is not a flaw unless the inaccuracies are so ridiculous as to take one out of the story. Even something like Gladiator is watchable despite all the leaps. Yet anytime any historically-themed movie or TV show comes out, some little bitch know-it-all armchair historian has to pipe up calling it crap because the wrong stirrups or helmet or gun is used. Accuracy is not the point of drama. In fact, it is its antithesis, as liberties must be taken to conform the historical record to conventional dramatic structures. Anytime a filmmaker spends all his time and energy on accuracy, the result is unwatchable crap. Anyone ever see Gods and Generals? No? Good.
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i fully enjoyed Rome. even though i knew what was gonna happen in the end, i had butterflies in my stomach in anticipation. i did not want to see Gaius killed, but knew it had to happen. after growing up knowing a little of Caesar and being a history minor in college, i always had an idea of how Brutus and his henchmen killed Caesar, but only saw it in pictures and drawings. to actually see it happen, or at least see HBO's dramatization of it, was gut-wrenching. i really want this show to come back, but if it doesn't, there is a history there that we all can read about and use our imaginations to fill in the blanks concerning Rome after Caesar. if Rome does not return for a second season, the mark it left on me is indelible.
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My friend is a grip for the show and don't worry it's being shot in Baltimore like the rest of the series. He said they'll be done shooting this season by February so depending on how long it takes in post we should see the new season of the Wire sometime in '06. Hopefully by the Fall at the latest. Does anyone know when Deadwood season 2 is coming out on DVD? And why the fuck is HBO's box sets so goddamn expensive for single seasons?
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While I admire it for the verisimiltude it creates, it makes parts of the show impossible to follow. It also seemed to get more cryptic as the show went along.
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Not sure where the info that it was cheap comes from, but at around $4 million an episode it was one of the most expensive shows on televion - for comparison, Lost, another expensive, ensemble, shot on location hour-long, costs about $3 million an episode.
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Nov 23, 2005 3:15:24 PM CST
Um, no show is better than DEADWOOD, including Lost, Sopranos, e
by chickychow
Love all those other shows but finding a more entertaining and brilliant hour of t.v. is an impossible task. Deadwood (and The Wire to a slightly lesser extent) rewards the viewer greatly with multiple viewings, even closed captions (and for those of u who poo-poo using closed captions to better understand a show, you're missing the fuck out, cocksuckers)I watched the first three ROME'S, it seemed okay but didn't hook me, so I dropped it. Maybe I'll check it out one day on demand. (and btw Canivale was bullshit)
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Nov 23, 2005 3:20:02 PM CST
i thought most of rome's 100 million was spent on the sets
by fried samurai
Which are already built.So where's the problem.It's not like they have big name actors asking for huge amounts of dough.AS for the next season of The Wire it'll deal with inner city politics and the corrupt school system.I met some of the cast when I was in Miami awhile back.
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What don't you have a sense of humour? Calm down.
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being on the NRA board of directors and making red dawn make him an asshole.
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he does describe himself as a "zen facist", so do the math.
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"Rome" didn't kick in until the 4th episode. You missed out...
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This needs a reeling in financially. There is no way they are efficiently making these. Probably because there are 50 people who have their collective hands out for each episode. I swear I could make these shows for 10% of what they cost. Treat them like a business, and stop ordering $40 hamburgers for the crew, 4 meals a day. 100 mill for anything that isn't a hard core special effect fest is way too much.
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We can do without a whole lot of movies made in the 80's, but Red Dawn is irreplaceable. Wolverines, damn it. Wolverines.
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Just like Rambo: First Blood Part II. "John, where are you going?" "I don't know." "You get a second medal of honor for this." "You should give it to them. They deserve it more." "You don't belong here why don't you come back with me?" "Back to what? My friends died here, let me die here." "The war, the whole conflict may have been wrong but damn it don't hate your country for it." "Hate it? I'd die for it." "Then what is it you want?" "I want, what they want, and every other guy who came over here and spilled his guts and gave everything he had wants! For our country to love us as much as we love it! That's what I want!" "How will you live John?" "Day by day." Hahahaha...amazingly jingoistic cheesy speech. Rambo won the war for us! Whoohoo! I heard Reagan loved Rambo II.
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my gun nut uncle LOVES red dawn. i remember watching it at his house over the holidays a few years ago and just howling my ass off the whole time, which really pissed him off. god that movie sucks. Rome however, is pretty damn good. So I'll give the crazy fuck some points for that.
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...in a post modern sorta "lets make fun of anything slightly serious" way. It has less artistic merit then "The Volk" though. Piece of shit. Though i can imagine if you were a teenager in the 80's you would fucking love it.
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Very funny off topic post. During the faceoff in ESB, Vader offers to train Luke in order to help him overthrow the Emperor. Granted, this is so they can become co-emperors, but it indicates to Luke that there is some conflict within Vader -- i.e, he is not Palpatine's mindless pawn, as Yoda and Obi-Wan believe. If Vader is willing to betray the Emperor, then he must also be willing, on some level, to betray the dark side. That and the Force (which really is the most valid reason, since Luke says repeatedly throughout the movie that he "felt the conflict within him"). Always hated Lucas's logic here, since Vader really is a child-killing wife-choking genocidal maniac, and I never thought throwing a crusty old man down a well was enough to redeem all the millions (billions?) he had helped kill.
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Nov 23, 2005 5:53:59 PM CST
March 2007? It shouldn't take that long; it's not that g
by snow scorpion
The Sopranos has been gone so long I've completely forgotten the storyline and no longer give a rat's ass about any of the characters.
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I remember when I read the announcement that they were renewing this for a second season was because most of the 100 mil was spent on the lavish and detailed sets. At the time they said it would be economically sound to do a second season since they already spent these major bucks, and a second season would actually save money by making further use of this investment.
So the arguement that a second season is too expensive doesn't make sense. -
I started watching this show today, and I'm 4 episodes in on On Demand. Fucking brilliant. And I hear it only gets better. Amazing casting for Octavian and Caesar. Just fucking great.
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I'm not "trying to get a rise out of you", I'm trying to shame you into using proper capitalization. Shame. Shame-shame-shame.
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Unlike network TV (whose suck factor steadily increases every year) we PAY to watch HBO so they get their money either way. Why are they worried about ratings for their shows? They don't seem to be worried that no one is watching Spanglish no matter how many million times they air it, so what gives? Just about the ONLY reason I have HBO is for Deadwood, Carnivale, Rome, etc. It is rare for me to find a movie I like being aired on any of the 7 HBO channels I have....but I digress. If I am missing something, please fill me in.
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Dont mess with me like this. The show is great and deserves a second season.
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DID I NOT TELL YOU SO? This is the reason I cancelled HBO after Carnivale. THEY CANNOT BE TRUSTED. At least Rome had a logical conclusion (The death of Julius Caesar) whereas Carnivale ended on a fucking cliffhanger. HBO can go to hell for all I care. Rest assured that the money I used to spending on them for Carnivale is now being given to Showtime in lieu of Masters of Horror.
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And I stick to my guns - I will never, ever, ever subscribe to HBO again unless they give us a proper third act to Carnivale. Instead of doing another season on Rome, give us our Carnivale conclusion, goddammit!
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I think you mean a proper second act. I've read that the show was envisioned to run for 6 years with 3 2 season arcs. So far, we've only seen the first part of the trilogy.
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Nov 24, 2005 11:36:06 AM CST
WTF??? So HBO greenlights a show, an expensive show, and doesn&
by r.c. the "wise"
I mean, essentially, they are admitting that they were braindead from the start. They invested all this money into 12 episodes, without even considering following up with an additional 12 to conclude the story arcs. Thats...that's just lunacy. They should've had the writers working on the next twelve scripts while the production was being shot. They wasted a year and now the writers, if approved, have to scramble to mold complicated scripts into the story arc of the first season. BRAVO HBO BRAVO!
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Does anyone know when the dvd is expected to hit shelves? I want this dvd set so bad. I know that hbo goes all out most of the time for their series. I'm really excited for it.
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And to fans of all other shows too. Except Firefly, of course. [JUST KIDDING]
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Just kidding.
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bacci40: that bit about ratings and buzz and dvd sales makes sense. thanks.
movieman742: i heard the dvd will be released in late dec/early jan, but i have no confirmation yet. -
If you listen to the commentary on the Carnivale Season 1 box set, the show's creator, Daniel Knauf, says that the show had a 3-season story arc that would make up what he called "Book 1". HBO purchased the rights to all three seasons at the getgo. If all things went well, he would write a "Book 2" and "Book 3" which would have entirely different characters but use the same mythos. Basically, we got fucked in the second act of Book 1.
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The fact that the first season encompassed four years and the entirety of Julius Caesar's "rule" was the problem. Too much time passed, too many events ahppened too quickly, and they wound up with Titus and Pullo as the Forrest Gump and Bubba of the classical world. They should have followed the Deadwood mold and focused just on one time period, specifically, the civil war between Caesar and Pompey. That would have left much more room for showing the "daily lives of Romans" as they stated in their early press, and better sevred the simmering tensions between the main players. Have Pompey driven out to Egypt for the season finale, only to be betrayed, and have what they showed for the fourth episode. That could have led into a second season comprising Cleopatra's fight against Ptolemny. Instead, the war is represented by three flashes of horrid slo-mo. And the next episode jumps forward yet another year. If they really plan on having a second season, they'll be hard pressed to show Octavius becoming leadership material. The actor is good, he's just too young to portray an adult. He needed four years to grow into the role. All that said, the final two episodes were great, and the assassination was brilliant. If the Sopranos elevated mobster drama to Shakespeare, then Rome turned Shakespeare into a mob hit. Too bad about Indira Varma though, by Jupiter she was hot.
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They really don't have a name for today, do they?
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seriously... does anyone actually watch this? even Deadwood wisn't this monotonous
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I don't watch Rome and don't really care to. But I am still troubled by the way HBO seems to be having trouble managing this show and the way it really yanked the carpet out from Carnivalle. Picking up and then dumping a show seems very FOX, but not very HBO, and after all the hype they put into Rome to get people hooked on it, it just seems low to end it this way. Carnivalle was also a show they claimed they would back, and no matter what you think of either show you have to wonder if HBO will seriously back anything. It used to be HBO would back a show for the long term, but now not so much. Other than Curb and Maher, there isn't much I'm interested in from HBO these days, and I don't know that I have faith that they are picking good projects(comeback and entourage are painful), and if they do make something good I'm not convinced they will stick with it, so why bother checking it out? Unless someone buys Arrested Development, I think my premium subscribing days end with this season of Curb.
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His stupid network allows the whiny, pretentious, utterly mediocre "Six Feet Under" to drag on for four or five years, but he can't find the wherewithall to greenlight the vastly superior "Rome," which is just as engrossing and fascinating as "The Sopranos" and "Deadwood?" What a dick! Instead of pouring money into stupid shows like SFU and that ridiculously unfunny Lisa Kudrow show, why don't you try to burnish your image by raising the intelligence level of the series on your network a bit? Crap. And I really wanted to see what happens to Pullo and Vorenus, as well as the series' take on the downfall of Antony and Cleopatra, and the rise of Octavian. Oh well -- I suppose there's always Suetonius and Plutarch.
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Comparing HBO to Fox is dead-on. When Fox started playing games with all their shows, they isolated me as a viewer and now I won't even give new Fox shows a chance. If HBO cancels Rome after cancelling Deadwood, Six Feet and jerking us around on the Sopranos, I will definitely cancel my HBO subscription. I can DL Deadwood or Netflix it (god knows affording HBO dvds is out of the question). HBO has gone to the dark side and it'll likely takes years before they snap back (if ever). Did they get a new CEO or something? If they can't make Rome work, they can't make anything work. In fact, even if they bring Rome back, I may just cancel anyway. I am so tired of companies that have nothing but contempt for their consumers and seemingly little desire to actually make money. Hell, why don't they air an empty black screen and we can just pay for that?
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If they aren't happy with the ratings, they cancel the show regardless of the storyline. Hundreds of shows have been cancelled on all stations after a cliffhanger, not just your beloved Carnivale. Railing against HBO for it seems rather silly.
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It was excellent. Alan Ball will kick ass again. Why did Rome get cancelled? Hmmm. I guess people don't feel like chatting history around the water cooler on Monday. HBO is all about the water cooler. They ain't masterpeice theatre unfortunately.
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Nov 28, 2005 8:31:16 PM CST
i used to think The Sopranos was the best show i had ever seen o
by peven
...then i watched Deadwood, and it owned my ass. if only the Calamity Jane character wasn't played quite so over the top, but hey, thats a small quibble. can't wait for season 2 to come out on dvd. the first season, while expensive, is a gorgeous box set and i hope they retain that level of quality with the second season.
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I think the lack of emmys for Carnivale probably hurt as much or more than ratings. They probably expected stronger DVD sales for their insanely priced season DVD as well. Since people who buy HBO are the sponsors, we have every right to rail against it for anything that bothers us, and we also have a right to pull our sponsorship, which I am doing right after the season finale of Curb.
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Neo, Six Feet Under was good sometimes. I had to stop watching after the 2nd to last season because I found it to be so horrible. I heard it got good again, but most fans admit that show was hit and miss. -
...please believe that the audience will return. What they should be doing instead of hedging on green-lighting the second season is green-light the second AND THIRD season right now! That way they audience they're worrying about will already be locked in -anticipating a good solid 2 years when it comes back in 07.
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Rome was simply sublime television. I mean, I know it helps having a prior interest in the subject matter (as my screenname will attest) and in ancient civlizations in general, but, man, I can't fathom ANYONE not liking this show. If nothing else, it must be a huge hit with all the Sid Meier dweebs out there.
I think Rome season one was about as good as Deadwood season one, but frankly I was a little disappointed with DW season 2. Frankly, I think both shows represent about the pinnacle of dramatic writing for the popular audience: way better than anything else on TV and better than 99% of what the Film industry vomits out. Compare Rome to, say, Alexander or Troy. For that matter, comapre Deadwood to anything short of the Searchers. HBO is something very very special right now. -
The actress who plays Niobe's wife is the most gorgeous creature I have ever laid eyes on. I can't believe they killed her! Fuck!
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