Rome - The Complete First Season (2006) (6-Disc Set)

Great DVD and Best HBO Series currently airing.

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Jan 19, 2007

Pros: Great Acting, Great Sets, Great Special Effects, Great Story!

Cons: Might get a little slow for those not all that fascinated with Ancient Rome or political intrigue.

The most expensive series ever produced, and it shows. Not only in the beautiful (and purposefully ugly) sets, costumes, weapons and CGI effects, but they clearly spared no expense in recruiting actors (mostly British, because hey, what's an anci...ent Italian without a British accent?) of high talent, as well as writers who can craft a story that packs in the political intrigue of a long dead empire and still make it interesting. How's that for a run-on sentence? Those who find Ancient Rome fascinating, like me, will be enthralled by a representation of the society that is perhaps the most accurate screen depiction to date (aside from the History Channel documentaries). The series is complete with the debauched sex and blood-soaked violence of the day, but is also intelligent and well-paced. It's unfortunate that viewing numbers for the series have dropped, but that's to be expected as some people find it hard to make a weekly appointment for a TV show. Thankfully the first season DVD is here and you can watch it at your leisure, complete with pristine video and audio quality and a descent list of extras, including an awesome text commentary by the series' historical consultant. HBO thinks their shows are pure gold, how else would they justify selling twelve hours of television for as much as they do, but if you can catch a sale or an online seller handing 'em out on the cheap, then I would recommend snatching Rome: The Complete First Season right up. Read more Less