It's not Verhoven, It's ROME Week!

[livius drusus]

The History Channel, in the name of either corporate synergy or shockingly high-priced advertising or both, is running documentaries on ancient Rome (http://www.historychannel.com/rome/) every night this week.

Last night was about Roman engineering and was damn good, although to be honest all the emperor gets killed if it bleeds it leads stuff was totally superfluous, imo. They could have easily stuck to basic background info and not even delved into the sword drama at all. The engineering stuff was far more interesting anyway.

But the most important thing about last night's program is that it introduced a certain Roman scholar who teaches a very popular history class at Syracuse University. Camera savvy and relaxed, his wit was a refreshing addition to the usual lineup of musty types.

Who was this unmasked man, you ask? It was Peter Weller (http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/343334p-292761c.html), Robocop himself, on his second career as a Classics professor. I love Rome. I love Robocop. I am Jack's :wriggle:.

[wei yau]

Who was this unmasked man, you ask? It was Peter Weller (http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/343334p-292761c.html), Robocop himself, on his second career as a Classics professor. I love Rome. I love Robocop. I am Jack's :wriggle:.

His friends call him "Murphy"


As for the History Channel special, I agree that the politics wasn't necessary. Sure, to provide the context for Nero's Golden House was interesting, but I tuned in for the engineering.

I missed the last half hour, did they go into the aspects of military engineering, siege weapons and the like? I mean, road-building definitely had a military advantage and Caesar's ten-day built bridge into Germany was decidedly hardcore military. But, was there anything else?

[livius drusus]

Hadrian's Wall is as close as they got to that, I think, eldar. The rest was more baths and aqueducts and the Pantheon, oh my.

P.S. - I so want to make a smiley where Caesar gets mowed down by ED-209 after his little speech on the arch. God that would rule, especially if it were really, really bloody.

[Crumb]

/me concurs.

[livius drusus]

So I'm watching the one on Roman vice tonight (no Robocop spottings yet), and it's aight but I can't help but be enormously annoyed that despite the tedious "sexual images" warning they flash whenever they come back from commercial, they still blur out all closeups of naughty frescos.

Oh sure, they'll show Priapus at a distance, but the closeup shot is strictly above the waist. They'll talk about Kama Sutra-like positions painted on brothel walls, but then they'll fill the screen with unrecognizable blurred crap as if the hookers and johns were testifying in a mob trial.

:bull:

[Crumb]

But if you see a penis on TV it will destroy the entire space time continuum! :afraid:

[livius drusus]

Well they showed us a snapshot of this fellow:

http://www.freethought-forum.com/livius/priapus.jpg

Even at a distance you can see the dude needs a crane of some kind to heft it. If that penis didn't destroy the entire space time continuum, no penis will.

[MonCapitan2002]

Was the fellow's phallus censored?

[livius drusus]

The showed the whole fresco from a distance uncensored. They only shot him from the waist up in close-up. As I noted in the OP, the program allowed distant pictures but blurred the full screen ones, which makes the whole full screen idea eye-crossingly stupid.

[Godless Dave]

They had something on siege engines last week. Built a battering ram and smashed a wall down somewhere in north Africa.

It does not surprise me that the man who played Buckaroo Bonzai would have two completely different careers in his life. Wonder if he speaks Japanese?

[wei yau]

Hadrian's Wall is as close as they got to that, I think, eldar. The rest was more baths and aqueducts and the Pantheon, oh my.


Finally saw the rest in a re-broadcast, good show. This was followed by one dealing with the really bad emperors to come. I didn't care for this episode. There was an awful lot of trendy club music and the whole thing was an analogy to paparazzi and celebrities that didn't quite work for me.

I found it very annoying.

[Dingfod]

That fellow in the painting was caught smuggling salami, that's all it was.

[cappuccino]

Well they showed us a snapshot of this fellow:

http://www.freethought-forum.com/livius/priapus.jpg

Even at a distance you can see the dude needs a crane of some kind to heft it. If that penis didn't destroy the entire space time continuum, no penis will.

:giggle:

I had the honor of viewing that fresco up close a few years ago. It was a quite illuminating lesson on my ancestors' anatomy size.

I don't have History channel :sadcheer: I'll just have to content myself with llustrated history books of the Roman civilization.