If you asked me ten years ago to watch a historical documentary about the Roman Empire, I arguably would have told you to go and pound salt. When I was younger, I was not, in any manner whatsoever, interested in history; I found it boring beyond comprehension, and I never really found it terribly engaging.
Fast forward to the present-day, and now that I’m an adult with the ability to explore areas of history I actually find interesting as opposed to solely what I was taught in school, I can’t get enough of it, and most of what I watch television-wise addresses historical periods.
Medieval history is one area that really gets me going, and I recently started watching a documentary-style television series via Netflix titled Roman Empire. I say documentary-style because roughly half of its contents are filmed as a documentary, with the other half being shown scenes with actors and actresses depicting famous historical figures.
I heard great things about this series, and so far, I’m honestly a little bit disappointed. I would not go so far as to say the documentary is bad, because it isn’t; rather, it moves quite slowly, and some of the acting is borderline unbearable.
The series covers the rule and eventual death of Marcus Aurelius, followed by his only son, Commodus, taking over as the Emporer of Rome after his father’s passing. The show covers a lot of the opposition Commodus encountered from close friends and family trying to overthrow his rule in addition to the challenges he faced upon beginning his rule.
I think I will finish it because I’m about halfway through, but I do find it to be a wee bit lacklustre. If you’re a history buff, you might not be too impressed by it, but if you’re like me and enjoy Medieval history, you likely won’t mind it.
Photo by Mauricio Artieda on Unsplash
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