I, Claudius – A Brief Review

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Tired of goyslop media? Do you want something new? Media that you consume rather than media that consumes you? Interested in learning about Roman history?

I, Claudius is the answer.

I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television series based on books written by Robert Graves. This show is 13 episodes long and each episode is about 50 minutes in length. You can find all 13 episodes online, such as on DailyMotion at this link.

Now, who is the namesake of the show? Who is Claudius?

I think everyone in our sphere knows who Julius Caesar is. Let’s start there. The first emperor of Rome was Augustus Caesar, alright? He’s the great nephew of Julius Caesar. Claudius is the great nephew of Augustus. The show can be somewhat confusing with figuring out whose related to who and all but if people can keep track of all that for Game of Thrones families you can manage here.

_{Editor’s Note: The first handful of emperors came from the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Two prominent families at that time were the Julians, such as Julius and Octavian/Augustus Caesar, and the Claudians, such as Claudius, Nero, Tiberius, and Caligula.}

The show follows the ruling family and the plotting, secrets, and lies that come along with it and that shape the succession of Rome. It has excellent writing along with a wonderful cast that includes Derek Jacobi as Claudius, John Hurt as Caligula, Brian Blessed as Augustus, Sian Phillips as Livia, and many more with great guest appearances. I was really impressed with acting and I’d love to discuss my favorite scenes but I would rather people go in as blind as possible. Livia is a favorite of mine.    

Claudius has a stutter, some physical deformities, and is considered stupid by the rest of the family. He is often shunned and left out. Which is a good thing for him since he’s not considered a threat to the rest of the families plots. However, he still has to navigate around them and try to keep himself and those close to him alive. The show follows the branching ruling family but the main focus is on Claudius as both the book and the television show are told in a fictionalized autobiographical way – based on real Roman historical accounts from Roman historians such as Cassius Dio, Tacitus and Seutonius.

As a result, much of the show is based on real events that happened which I thought was cool. If you want to learn more about Roman history or just watch a good White show with excellent acting and writing this is at least worth a try.