Synopsis:

Rome: Decimated condenses season 1 of Rome to focus on a few core story lines, trim episodic digressions, and make a fanedit paced and structured like a movie. The story focuses on two soldiers, Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus, and their general, Julius Caesar.

Intentions:

The 2005 HBO series Rome deserves all the critical praise it has received. It shows the ancient Roman world in a fresh way, with as much authentic detail as possible. The plotline is also innovative. The series covers the fall of the Roman republic and the rise of the empire, which is familiar from other Hollywood movies. But in addition to the generals and senators, it tells the stories of middle and lower class people, slaves, women, and soldiers. Throw in the usual HBO sex, violence, and astronomical production values, and you get some classic video. Rome: Decimated focuses on Titus Pullo, a cheerful, impulsive foot-soldier in the Roman army. He’s my favorite character and the heart of the series, really. And it has some of the story of his commanding officer Lucius Vorenus, a middle-class, moralistic prig, and some of the war between Julius Caesar and the Senate, which everyone is caught up in. One of the commentary tracks on the commercial DVD says the conceit of the series is Pullo and Vorenus go through Roman history like Forrest Gump. They’re always in the right place at the right time to change the course of history. This fanedit rolls that gimmick back, to make the plot more serious and less dependent on wild coincidence. As great as it is, the original series has a lot of soap opera, and Rome: Decimated aims to scrub a lot of that out. The romantic intrigue, marriages, affairs, etc are trimmed. Gratuitous sex and torture scenes are cut. Many of the major characters in the series are reduced to bit parts. There’s also many scenes that are very on the nose, as if the producers are shouting “see how weird and cruel and pagan the people were in ancient times!” Material like that can be a lot more subtle and folded into the background.

Change List:

Cut Pullo and Vorenus’s adventures in the Mediterranean Sea and Greece Cut the Egypt episode Cut the subplot about Pullo and the Republic’s gold Cut Pullo’s first contract killing Trimmed Pullo’s trial Trimmed Vorenus’s home life, marital and financial problems, and his various jobs as an ex-soldier Replaced Vorenus’s final scene with the season 2 version Cut Caesar’s romantic liaisons and home life Cut the storylines of Atia, Timon, Octavia and Servilia Cut Antony’s romance Trimmed the storylines of Pompey and the Senate leaders Added season 2 battle scenes for the battle with Pompey’s army Cut or trimmed various scenes of religious and governmental procedures Cut some Senate sessions Cut stage performances and some newsreader announcements Added some subtitles to tell where scenes are happening Customized the start and end credits.

Additional Notes:

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Other Sources:

Rome Season 2

Special Thanks: