Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire

Lore & Background

Series Producer Mark Hedgecoe stated he made the series in response to previous films that 'have tended to ignore the real history and chosen to fictionalise the story.' The series was filmed with the Panasonic SDX 900 DVCPRO50 professional camcorder in widescreen progressive scan mode at 25 frames/s. Hedgecoe noted that a standard-definition format was chosen because it was more forgiving to focusing errors and required less light than high definition, speeding up shooting. He believed the camera delivered better footage than a Digital Betacam camera and provided a rich, filmic feel suited to capturing the gritty reality of the Roman Empire. The series was co-produced by BBC, ZDF, and the Discovery Channel. BBC History commissioned the online-game CDX to tie in with the series.

Reader's Guide

The series comprises six episodes: 'Caesar,' 'Nero,' 'Rebellion,' 'Revolution,' and two others, each covering a different turning point. Reception was mixed. Historical novelist Lindsey Davis, writing in The Times, noted that 'the episodes were produced by different teams' and 'it shows,' stating episodes 3 and 4 work better than episodes 1, 2, and 5. She complimented the producers for avoiding 'the talking-heads style' but criticized the series for not giving enough scope in self-contained one-hour dramas and for featuring few women. Nancy Banks-Smith in The Guardian praised Michael Sheen's performance as Nero but criticized the docudrama format. Sam Wollaston in The Guardian found episode three historically accurate but 'a grand bore,' stating docudramas 'never work, either as dramas or as documentaries.' Ratings ranged from 4.2 million viewers for episode one to 3 million for episode six.

Did You Know?

• Series Producer Mark Hedgecoe chose standard definition because it required less light and was more forgiving of focusing errors than high definition.
• Episode one, 'Caesar,' attracted 4.2 million viewers, the highest rating of the series.

Production Philosophy and Technical Choices

Mark Hedgecoe created this series as a deliberate corrective to what he saw as the tendency of earlier films to sacrifice historical accuracy for entertainment. Rather than fictionalizing Roman history, he aimed to present the real turning points of the Republic and Empire. This philosophy extended to technical decisions: the series was shot on a Panasonic SDX 900 DVCPRO50 camcorder in widescreen progressive scan at 25 frames per second. Hedgecoe explained that standard definition was preferred because it was more forgiving of focusing mistakes and demanded less lighting, which accelerated the shooting schedule. He felt the camera produced richer, more filmic footage than a Digital Betacam, capturing what he described as the gritty reality of the Roman world. The project was a co-production between BBC, Germany's ZDF, and the Discovery Channel, and BBC History commissioned an online game from CDX to extend the series' reach beyond the screen.

The Docudrama Format Controversy

The hybrid docudrama format became the central point of contention among reviewers. Lindsey Davis in The Times praised the producers for avoiding the talking-heads approach, instead weaving literature and modern historian commentary into the narrative, yet she felt the self-contained one-hour structure lacked sufficient scope once battle and crowd scenes filled the runtime. Nancy Banks-Smith in The Guardian compared the experience to watching a play while someone insisted on explaining the obvious, noting the narrator seemed to speak past the viewer entirely. Sam Wollaston, also in The Guardian, was more blunt, declaring that such hybrid formats never work either as dramas or as documentaries, and faulted the series for lacking proper character development. Despite these structural criticisms, Davis acknowledged the strong filming, realistic dialogue, effective sets, and military sequences that would satisfy many viewers, while Wollaston conceded the material was historically accurate even if he found it a grand bore.

Narrative Scope and Episode Structure

Each episode of the series tackles a single pivotal moment in Roman history, structured as a self-contained one-hour drama. The Caesar episode traces his arc from the decisive counterattack at the Battle of Alesia through the crossing of the Rubicon, the civil war against Pompey, the decimation of the Ninth Legion, the victories at Dyrrachium and Pharsalus, his assumption of dictatorship for life, and ultimately his assassination. The Nero episode follows the emperor through the Great Fire of Rome, his ambitious marble reconstruction project, the Pisonian conspiracy, his controversial arts festival, the fatal kicking of his wife Poppea, and his eventual isolation and departure from the capital. Notably, the episodes were not broadcast in chronological order, a decision Davis criticized as jarring, comparing the programming to a comedy sketch where all the moments appear but not in the right sequence.

Audience Engagement and Viewership

The series drew substantial but gradually declining audiences across its six-episode run on BBC One. The premiere episode, covering Caesar, attracted 4.2 million viewers and a 21% audience share on September 21, 2006. By the final episode on October 26, viewership had fallen to 3 million with a 13.6% share. The middle episodes hovered between 3.3 and 3.8 million, with the fifth episode showing a slight recovery to 3.8 million and a 17% share before the final installment dipped lowest. This pattern suggests initial strong curiosity about the series' premise, followed by a gradual erosion of interest that the non-chronological broadcast order and the docudrama format may have accelerated. The co-production with ZDF and the Discovery Channel indicates the material was deemed internationally marketable, and the CDX online game tie-in commissioned by BBC History points to an attempt to sustain engagement beyond the broadcast window.