Sunday 15 November 2009

The I Claudius Challenge: 12 episodes in 12 weeks - Part One

Sun 4 Oct: 1. A Touch of Murder
A double-length episode that seems to have been two episodes edited together, as evidenced by the two halves having separate plots* - the first half is the power struggle between Marcus Agrippa and Marcellus for who should be Augustus’s successor. Although Marcellus dies first, neither of them wins because Livia poisons them both. The second half is about Claudius’s father Drusus and his relationship with his brother Tiberius, so we understand that when Drusus dies there is nothing keeping Tiberius ‘good’ any more.
The episode is utterly dominated (in both plot and acting stakes) by Livia and her subtle manipulation of everyone to maneuver Tiberius, her son, into position as Augustus’s heir. It’s not long into the series before she poisons Marcellus and claims her first victim, with the audience her only co-conspirator. It’s wonderful to watch, and I especially love the sly asides that only the audience can appreciate the meaning of.
The other great performance in this episode is BRIAN BLESSED as Augustus Caesar, for one scene in particular, where he subtly hints to Drusus that he would make a very dangerous enemy, while otherwise acting like an affable father-figure to him.
*Wikipedia tells me that it was made as 2 episodes and then edited together for the original BBC broadcast.
Guest-star of the week: Ian Ogilvy (Drusus), who went on to play Simon Templar in Return of the Saint.
If we were counting the first half of the episode separately, then I guess either of the actors who played Marcellus and Marcus Agrippa could count. But as I have also recently been watching John Silver's Return to Treasure Island, I'll nominate Christopher Guard (Marcellus), who went on to play Jim Hawkins.
Sun 11 Oct: 2. Waiting in the Wings
Probably the most memorable of the BRIAN BLESSED episodes, for the scene where, having just discovered his daughter is the town bicycle, Augustus goes down the long line of Romans daring any of them to deny it, and then he yells at the top of his lungs-
“IS THERE ANYONE IN ROME WHO HAS NOT SLEPT WITH MY DAUGHTER?!!”
Livia is once again behind all the intrigues, and I noticed this episode how a couple of her key moves are illustrated for the audience by nice directorial flourishes - the first is when the camera zooms in on Lucius as he falls into her trap. The other is when she makes a rare miscalculation, and the camera pans steadily - without cutting - from her face to Augustus, his face showing he is not going along with her before he speaks to confirm it. Still, one more murder and she gets her way in the end.
Guest-star of the week: Nobody very well known, but I certainly recognised Darien Angadi (Plautius) from Blakes 7, where he was Ro in season two’s Horizon.
Sun 18 Oct: 3. What shall we do about Claudius?
This is the first episode with an adult Claudius taking part in the plot, and it's only in his second scene being played by Derek Jacobi that he first receives the advice that will keep him alive - play up his disabilities so he is not perceived as a threat. This time it is given to him by Pollio, a leading historian/scholar of the day, and it is paralleled by a later scene where Posthumous Agrippa - whose downfall forms the main plot of the episode - gives him the same advice.
The other plot for this episode concerns the historical event where three entire Roman Legions were wiped out in an ambush by German barbarians. We don't see any of that, of course, just the report of the events from a messenger and, crucially, the reactions of the main characters to it - they just can't believe such a disaster was possible. I think the episode implies that Augustus, already old and going senile, is just about finished off by this event.
QUINTILLIUS VARUS, WHERE ARE MY EAGLES?!!
Livia still has all her wits about her, and it shows in every scene she’s in, with the possible exception of the scene where she and Augustus argue like any old married couple, not the Emperor and Empress of Rome, about their family affairs. It’s a very funny scene because of that contrast.
The scene where Livilla (for those keeping track: Claudius’s sister, married to Castor, who is Tiberius’s son) lures Posthumous to destruction - by accusing him of attempting to rape her - is very, very nasty. Livia puts Livilla up to it because removing Posthumous will put Tiberius (and thus Castor) as Augustus’s only heir. But unlike Livia’s previous schemes, which she carried out in a cool, calculating way with all the considerable charisma Sian Phillips could put into it, Livilla is a shrieking harpy so the scene is brutal.
The episode ends with everyone laughing at Claudius at his wedding, because his bride is revealed to be about a foot (or more, perhaps) taller than him. This shows nobody takes him seriously, so nobody perceives him as a threat - not even Livia, who seems to enjoy laughing at him the most. He’s safe. We know this because the final shot goes back to him as an old man, and it shows this is how he survived to become the old man.
Guest-star of the week: John Castle (Posthumous).
Sun 25 Oct: 4. Poison is Queen
An early scene confirms a thread begun in the last episode, that Livia, who seems to know everything that goes on in Rome, is incapable of suspecting someone she considers to be a fool. Livia doesn’t suspect Claudius of having the wit to guess her schemes when even Livilla suspects him of causing the truth behind the rape accusation to reach Augustus.
It is established that Livia has been driven to poison her husband before he can undo her work of the last episode by pardoning Posthumous and reinstating him as heir. Livia is seen drunk in a couple of scenes, indicating the inner turmoil she feels about her actions, even though in her speech to Tiberius she remains resolute.
The stand-out moment in this episode is Augustus’s death scene: Livia talks (about herself and Tiberius, and how her actions have been for the greater good of Rome) and BRIAN BLESSED says nothing, but acts like the death like nothing else I’ve ever seen him do - you can see him die as the camera stays on his face, in extreme close-up, until Livia comes over and her hand closes his eyes. Then we see Tiberius come into the room, and there are tears in Livia’s eyes.
“By the way… don’t touch the figs.”
So we have reached the end of the section with BRIAN BLESSED in it. The very next scene Sejanus (Patrick Stewart) arrives, and is sent by Livia to execute Posthumous and remove the last couple of people who might stand in the way of Tiberius becoming Emperor.
Guest-star of the week: Virtually all the significant characters of this episode appear in other episodes. I guess I’ll nominate Jonathan Burn as Fabius, who knew Augustus’s true Will and so died for it.
Sun 1 Nov: 5. Some Justice
Tiberius is now Emperor and immediately things go wrong for him, because Germanicus (Claudius’s brother) is more popular than he is. But even when Germanicus dies it is not entirely good news for him, because there is a republican faction, headed by Aggripina (Germanicus’s wife) and Castor (Tiberius’s own son), that seeks to put governor Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso and his wife on trial for the murder of Germanicus and treason against Rome - they have evidence Piso arranged for Germanicus to be poisoned, including the alleged poisoner as a star witness. What makes this bad for Tiberius is that Piso was his agent and has letters to prove it.
Most of the episode is about the trial - in the senate - of Piso and the manipulation of it by the interested parties. The republican faction, of which Claudius is a member and actively involved, want justice. Piso, naturally enough, wants to get off. It gets complicated when Tiberius and Livia get involved. Piso was acting under orders from Tiberius, so thinks the Emperor will side with him, but an acquittal would be incredibly unpopular in Rome so Tiberius withdraws his support. Livia, not trusting her son to handle the affair himself, steps in to ensure that Piso doesn’t damage Tiberius by revealing any embarrassing letters as he goes down.
Once again it is Livia who comes out on top in the end. She also gets the best scene in the episode, having a gossip with Martina - the poisoner, whom Livia had arranged to have disappeared - about poisoning methods. Over the course of the conversation Martina realises that Livia’s knowledge is not just academic…
This episode also sees the first appearance of Caligula (not yet being played by John Hurt). Here he is a creepy child, already showing signs of the monster he will become.
Guest-star of the week: Stratford Johns (Piso).
Sun 8 Nov: 6. Queen of Heaven
“You must have a very long reach.”
“The empire is very large - I need one.”
-- Claudius and Livia
This gets going immediately, skipping the usual lead-in with elderly Claudius, with a very dark tale about Tiberius, told by the woman Lollia who then kills herself because of what she has experienced at the hands of the Emperor. This is shortly followed by the first appearance of John Hurt as the adult Caligula, giving a gift of p*rn to Tiberius. The scene establishes their relationship perfectly.
The key scene of the episode is where Livia reveals all to Claudius - her ultimate ambition to be made a goddess after her death (wonderful roman logic behind this - she’ll go to hell for all the bad things she has done, unless she becomes a god and therefore immune to any punishments), and in exchange for Claudius’s promise to fulfil this for her when he becomes Emperor (which has by now been foretold more than once) she shares with him all her plots - previously only shared with the audience.
This builds up to Livia’s death scene at the end of the episode - Caligula reaches new heights (depths?) of monstrousness, explaining gleefully to the dying Livia how he will not make her a goddess because it has been foretold that he will be the greatest god of all (though, cleverly, the audience can recognise the prophecy as referring to Jesus, not Caligula).
Claudius arrives and restates his own promise to her, then Livia finally dies. Only at the end, when she needs Claudius, does Livia recognise he’s not such a fool.
So farewell to Sian Phillips's fantastic performance as Livia, which has utterly dominated the series up to now. But this episode sees her passing the baton on to John Hurt, whom I know will give a very different, but at least as show-stealing, performance in the episodes still to come.
Meanwhile the other plot of the episode is Sejanus’s rise to power. He uses Claudius to get one step closer to his goal by arranging Claudius to divorce his first wife and re-marry Sejanus’s sister - so Sejanus’s family is now connected to the Imperial family. This shocks Claudius’s mother and sister, but his friend Herod recognises Claudius has made the smart move - not antagonising Sejanus by a refusal.
Guest-star of the week: Kevin McNally (Castor). Although Castor had appeared in previous episodes, he was only in a few scenes. This, his most significant appearance, is the run up to his death at the hands of his wife and her lover, another stepping-stone in Sejanus’s rise to power.

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