Augustus

Though covering some of the same ground as HBO's more vigorous ROME (2005), this engrossing pan-European miniseries, also known as IMPERIUM: AUGUSTUS, provides a more nuts-and-bolts view of history. During his lifetime (63 BC to 14 AD), Gaius Octavius Augustus (Peter O'Toole) rarely wavered in his belief that the gods chose him to rule. In 29 BC, the Senate named him Emperor; in 27 BC, the title of Augustus was bestowed on him. When we first meet him, we see that the personal cost of reigning over an empire has been staggering, with a daughter who has forsaken him and two grandchildren who died before their time. Flashing back, we find the young Augustus (Benjamin S...