The Surprising History of Rome

Terry Jones is probably my favorite ex-Monty Pythoner. That's because his career in recent years has been WONDERFUL for me, as I adore excellent documentaries--and he's been making some dandy ones! His history of the Crusades was amazing and his series on the Middle Ages was even better. Each time I see one of his shows, I marvel at how amazingly fresh an insightful they are.

Here in "The Surprising History of Rome", Jones does it once again. Here he does NOT approach the same old history from the same old point of view. This is NOT a show about emperors, wars or the gladiators but one about the average Roman citizen--something completely ignored in almost every other documentary I've seen. As a retired history teacher, I've seen scores of them and the only one remotely like "The Surprising History of Rome" was Tony Robinson's (of "Black Adder" fame) series on nasty jobs through history (the one specifically about Roman jobs). In fact, his shows also are terrific viewing. In fact, I've shown both to high school kids and they ADORED them because the shows are both interesting AND a bit nasty (and kids love the nasty stuff, that's for sure--such as the portion that talked about Roman toilets!). Jones very entertainingly presents a portrait of the lifestyle, food and homes of the normal everyday Roman--and manages to make history come alive in the process. Well worth seeing and proof that history does not need to be dull, violent or full of dates and names. Great for kids or adults.