In Rome, Romans in Rome don’t do as Romans did
The BBC has launched a pre-emptive defence of Rome, its joint venture with HBO.
The first episode kicks off with a flogging, a crucifixion, and a ritual animal sacrifice, with full-frontal nudity, violent sex, and the words “piss-drinking sons of circus whores” following later on. Actor Ray Stevenson said at the press launch:
People will be told it features graphic content and adult language. If you’re going to be offended, don’t put yourself in that position.
However, according to The Times, the show has already proved too much for Italian network RAI to stomach. They will screen a heavily edited version next year. Paulo Masini, an RAI exec, said:
We realised from the start that the makers of Rome had a different concept of Ancient Rome than we do.
If we had broadcast the version being shown in Britain or America, it would have been incomprehensible to Italians.
The Times claims that the BBC is likely to fall foul of Ofcom for broadcasting the series so close to the watershed, at 9pm on BBC2.
It is not known many people have already composed their letters of complaint.
I see that the Times piece says, ‘Ofcom has warned broadcasters that the 9pm watershed must not become a “waterfall†after parents complained that material unsuitable for children was broadcast immediately afterwards.’ So the watershed is now a bit after the watershed, is it? And what happens when scenes that are unsuitable for children are shown a tad too close to the bit after the watershed? If parents are so worried, they should be looking at their watches at ten to nine and ensuring that the kids are out of the way by nine. Otherwise, the unofficial watersheds will be pushed later and later into the night as parents think that it’s now OK to let them stay up a little longer, because it’s not too bad just after the watershed. Aaaaarrrgh!
Regarding possible complaints:
This could be the same as the Jerry Springer: The Opera furore where campaigners orgistrate letter and telephone complaints prior to broadcast.
In other words those who will complain will probably do see before they’ve even seen the offending show.
Fairly fatuous thought regarding the “piss-drinking..etc”: Ghandi, Kevin Costner, John Lennon, millions of Chinese, and a large number of highly gullible naturopath-types all drink/drank (delete where deceased as applicable) their own pee on a regular basis. And an individual’s mother may, quite accurately, have been a prostitute who travelled with a circus. So not really much of an epithet, more a shorthand way of establishing certain characters’ unusual lifestyles, surely? 🙂
And if that flogging, crucifixion & sacrifice all involve the same animal, well… 🙂
There’s another, slightly more in-depth, defence on the Beeb’s website today.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4361038.stm
Without being prudish – its soft porn where the sex is not necessary to the story line and is doubtlessly there for the viewing figures.