For all you history buffs out there, this HBO series is going to have to be at the top of your Netflix qeu or your Blockbuster to rent list.  Not only is the acting superb and the actors spot-on for the characters they play, in look, poise and mannerisms, but the opulent sets are enough to make you believe what you are watching is a true piece of history.  Too bad the opulent and expensive sets are the reason this show did not renew for a third season, which I’m really disappointed about, and from the looks of the reviews the second season is getting, I’ll be even more disappointed when there is no more “Rome” for me to watch.

I just finished the first season, which takes place in those last few years that Julius Caesar was in power, and ends with Caesar’s demise at the hands of at least dozen of his own senate, on the senate floor in the political forum no less.  It brings back memories of those high school history classes, where I was actually, for once, glued to the lesson for that day and not bored in the least.  I think even if you don’t have a taste for history, you can appreciate the Rome series as an epic film of sorts, each show being a mini movie on its own.

The show is full of all the things that modern day addictive tv has, like romance, sex, intrigue, murder, and betrayal, only it is presented in such a way that never comes off as forced, because it is, after all, based (if not somewhat loosely) on real life events.  The actors are British, as far as I can tell, and many of them I’ve never heard of, although their styles make me think they were or are theater actors. 

Kevin McKidd plays Lucius Vorenus, a noble but poor man who is raised through the ranks by Caeasar, as a means to get the people on his side since he is a poor man’s hero, and the excellent Ray Stevenson plays Titus Pullo, and the show largely shows the events of Rome through their eyes.  Both men are more than capable actors,and they both have since gone on to bigger and hopefully better things, with McKidd playing “Journeyman” on the new network show, and Ray Stevenson is set to play the new Punisher avenger in the comic series movies. 

Vaness Hudgens can’t seem to catch a break lately.  First, there were those racy pictures of her in the nude that were plastered allover the internet, and an embarrassing apology from Disney and the star herself for “disappointing” her fans.  Then her ex lawyer brought a lawsuit against the young star, claiming that he had helped to develop her now successful career and was not compensated for that development adequately after she fired him.

The lawyer is asking for about $150 thousand dollars in restitution and claims that she breached a contract she signed with him.  Her argument is that she signed the contract when she was still a minor, just 16 years old, and that should negate the contract since she in essence was not of age to enter into a legally binding contract like that. 

We’ll probably hear more about this, but it’s looking like Vaness might have the upper hand.  You just never know what kind of loopholes there might be in the legal system and the laws though, and the guy who’s suing her is an attorney so we can assume that he thinks he has a good case or he wouldn’t have brought the suit against the rising star in the first place. 

Ricky Gervais, the unsung, but yes he’s in the credits, hero of The Office, the American version, has another hilarious comedy where he plays a similar character to his Office (British version) character called Extras on HBO right now.  It’s about movie extras who are trying to make their way to the top in the tough world of Hollywood while working humiliating lower level jobs as tiny bit parts in movies.  Ricky Gervais plays one of the extras.  He has a lousy agent who doens’t do anything for him, and from the first episode, he seems to have terrible luck with women, just like his Office character.

Unlike the Office though, he is not as much of an idiot, intellectually in this show, and he actually understands complex words and how to use them in sentences.  He also apparently knows how to talk to people, but has a bumbling room mate (a woman) who doesn’t seem to know how to keep her foot out of her mouth.  Gervais however, is almost a Larry David like character in that he gets stuck in situations that are impossible and ends up digging himself in to a deeper hole, even if he has the best intentions.

Nonetheless, Extras is fun to watch, and Gervais is still the master of the uncomfortable moment, the expression, and acting like a guy who really means well but ends up looking like the a$%hole in the end almost every time.  You can’t help but root for the poor fool, and yet you love watching as he gets himself into embarrassing situations time and time again.  Bottom line is if you like Curb Your Enthusiasm and the British versioni of The Office, you’ll really like Extras.  Oh, you may want to have subtitles on, since the accents are pretty heavy at times. 

The new season of Larry David’s show (he’s the co-creator of Seinfeld) is one of the best he’s done yet, in my opinion.  One thing that we both noticed though is that the hilarious comedian and idea man has lost tons of weight.  Come to find out, it might be because, just as his character experiences, the poor guy experienced going through a divorce in real life lately with his wife of several years!

Oh, where to begin with the episodes.  Of course, they’re all kind of Seinfeld-ian in nature, where some little incident always makes it’s way back around to bite him in the butt.  Among some of those incidents is him taking a bouquet of flowers from a friend’s mothers grave when he can’t go find any flowers for his wife.  Of course, his friend finds out he did it and he’s in hot water. 

Then there’s the one where he donates money to a charity and puts his name on a plaque, only to be outdone by his frienemy Ted Danson who donates “anonymously” and gets more credit than if he would have put his name on a plaque for being modest.  Larry does the same thing, only to have that faux-pas come full circle when he’s being chased by hoodlums on the street and the security guy won’t let him in because his name doesn’t appear on the plaque.

The infamous divorce episode is when Larry’s wife Cheryl, played by the great actress Cheryl Heines, is on a plane that she is convinced is going to go down, and calls Larry on one of the plane’s phones, only to have him dismiss her and have her call him back because the TiVo repair guy is there and he can’t hear him and her at the same time.  Cheryl tells Larry she’s leaving when she comes home, and she actually goes on a date with the guy that was sitting next to her on the plane just a couple days later. 

A guy with hair, and that really bothers Larry since he’s bald.  Oh, then there’s the bald episode that’s all about being discriminated against because you’re bald.  Anyways, to sum it up, there is some great writing in this season, and it looks as if Mr. David did a lot of the writing himself judging by the credits. The show’s not for everyone, and I do have some friends that just don’t really think it’s funny, but if you get into it, it’s even better than Seinfeld.  It’s really just a more vulgar, dirty version of Seinfeld!