Rome

[The guileless Octavia and her mother, the Leona Helmsley-like Atia]

Lisa and I have been watching the 12 episodes of the first season of "Rome", series shown in the United States on HBO. It reminds me of "Six Feet Under" or "The Sopranos", although it has more sex and violence than the latter.

I can't judge how historically accurate "Rome" is, but it made a better impression on me than "Gladiator". The series's attempt to recreate the seedy reality of Roman life is illustrated in the title sequence, during which the camera darts through crowded city streets, glimpsing animated graffiti scrawled on the walls - some of it grotesque or pornographic, like the real Graffiti found on the walls of Pompey.