TV Gold

Following on from the previous instalment, this tenth episode (as he would indeed have aptly call it, has the title <span style='color:green'>?Fool?s Luck?</span>) finds Claudius attempting to come to terms with his new ?enforced? role as Emperor. With supportive council from his dear friend Herod (apparently the ?King of Bashan?) he indeed rises to the challenge well. No more so is this indicated than when he meets the assembled senators utilising the opportunity well I thought by putting them in line with a firm and resolute speech and certainly bodes well for his leadership. In this episode his wife Messalina features in an important and rather telling scene where she compares herself to Livia in her desire to take some duties from her husband. Now if I was Claudius, knowing of the relationship between Livia and Augustus, I would certainly have been suspicious of this. I think this perfectly illustrates the perceived treachery that will ultimately lead to her downfall. I can see a similarity between the ruling couples of Claudius and Messalina and Livia and Augustus. Both Livia and Messalina have that ambitious ruthless streak to them however it is the age, experience and knowledge of the two characters that clearly set them apart. Both are married to husbands who appear to be ?weak willed and easily led? however Livia is closer in age to her husband than Messalina is and has been, from what we are told, have been married longer. <span style='color:green'>?Fool?s Luck?</span> marks the welcome debut of Claudius? assistants, the occasionally bickering Pallas (a pre-Secret Army Bernard Hepton) and Narcissus (John Cater), a paring that I?ll be coming back to in the next episode. Lastly worth mentioned we also have a brief but most welcome cameo appearance by John Bennett (who can be seen in things like Doctor Who ? ?Talons of Weng Chiang? and Blake?s Seven ? ?Weapon?) here playing Xenophon, a Greek doctor treating Claudius. Bennett?s character has a distinctly dour, superior aspect despite the high profile, powerful aspect of his patient no doubt supported by the rock solid assuredness in their abilities that all Doctor?s of the time have in their abilities.

<span style='color:orange'><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>BEST EPISODE OF THE SERIES</span></span>

Well first of I must begin by saying that I absolutely love ( <!--emo&:D-->[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]<!--endemo--> <!--emo&:D-->[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]<!--endemo--> <!--emo&:D-->[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]<!--endemo--> ) this eleventh episode of ?I, Claudius? and consider it without doubt to be the best instalment in the whole series. I find <span style='color:green'>?A God in Colchester?</span> to be a well paced piece with an enjoyable mix of comedy and drama rounded off by a such a dramatically shocking conclusion. Fairly early on we have Messalina?s outrageous challenge to the president of the guild of prostitutes as to which of them can have the greatest amount of lovers before admitting defeat. With distain, Scylla makes her way into the crowded area where she meets and sizes up her challenger. As we see a couple of scenes later her confidence becomes misplaced as she staggers out, admitting defeat. Following on from ?Fools Luck? we do indeed find Messalina gaining the use of the Emperor?s seal just like Livia and like her predecessor appears to have Claudius around her little finger. To such an extent that, following their earlier scene, you can?t help but laugh when she gets Claudius to command Mnester (Nicholas Amer) to do whatever Messalina commands of him! There are interesting references to ?The origins of Christ? (DVD chapter 5 is so named) which I was a little bit surprised to have it links in this series, albeit so perfectly. Now I said I was going to say something more about Pallas & Narcissus and here we find them again working their excellent ?bickering double act? once more. It does remind me somewhat of Robert Holmes classic Doctor Who double acts (e.g. Sabalon Glitz and Dibber (?Mysterious Planet?) and Litefoot and Jago (?Talons of Weng Chiang?) such is my enjoyment of their entertaining verbal interaction. I agree that Pallas & Narcissus are excellent characters in their own right however they are all the more memorable for me when they are verbally sparring against each other, usually within earshot of their emperor. In <span style='color:green'>?A God in Colchester?</span> we find them, amongst other things, plotting the fate of Messalina behind Claudius? back. It is they that, choosing an appropriate moment, trick Claudius, into signing a charge sheet for Messalina?s seemingly justified (from what we have learnt) execution. The strength of an actor/actress?s performance is to what degree the character?s emotions convincingly resonate with the viewer. For myself Sheila White?s sheer terror at the guard?s arrival with the intention to kill her and sever her head for display purposes is an entirely spin chillingly and effectively realised interpretation. With the fear so palpable it is indeed a devastating dramatic climax to, in my opinion, the finest episode of the I, Claudius series. <!--emo&B)-->[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cool.gif[/img]<!--endemo-->

?Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out.? A rather apt phrase referring to the metaphorical stagnant pool environment of Rome, uttered a few times by Claudius in <span style='color:green'>?Old King Log?</span>, the twelfth and final episode of ?I Claudius?. The title is also appropriate in that Claudius, now an aged, lonely and broken man, shows little of the sparkle that had so typified his rule in <span style='color:green'>?Fool?s Luck?</span>. This is of course understandable with the sudden (and painfully upsetting) execution (in his eyes) of his wife Messalina, on top of the death of his dear friend Herod. Although it is a rather withdrawn emperor here Caludius? intellect is still as sharp as ever despite his advancing years. There are definitely flashes of insight into his thinking especially with regard to his son, Britannicus, who is unable to follow his father?s reasoning. I strongly think that Claudius left it way too late to take him into his confidence regarding his plans. Aside from this he does, in the end, have the final victory over his adversaries, secretly making a copy of his book and burying so no one can find it. We once again have the bickering Pallas & Narcissus who notably on this occasion offer up contentious choices for their emperor?s fourth wife. The episode itself opens oddly enough without a ?setting up? scene from Claudius as for him it is indeed now contemporary events. Instead it?s a bit of a jolt having Agrippanila (Barbara Young) and Nero (played in a rather pouting camp fashion (maybe typical of the character) by Christopher Biggins) standing over the now dead form of Claudius. Worth noting, even though he only has one scene and only one line, is the surprise appearance of Peter Bowles as British King, Caractacus, looking (in my opinion) as if he had, perchance, stuck his finger in a light socket such was his slightly spiky snow white hair. A moving final scene in the senate by Claudius gives way to a pleasing dream like hallucination sequence where there is welcome cameos from past stars of the series. Seeing Augustus (Brian Blessed), Caligula (John Hurt), Tiberius (George Baker), Livia (Sian Phillips) and Antonia (Margaret Tyzack) once more is a bit like an ?end of series? party with the cast celebrating the success of the series, which they are indeed more than deserve to, it is indeed a truly stunning piece of work, a timeless classic with many excellent performances from a script that offers in equal measure, pleasing aspects of comedy and drama. <!--emo&;)-->[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif[/img]<!--endemo-->

<!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Sheila White?s sheer terror at the guard?s arrival with the intention to kill her and sever her head for display purposes is an entirely spin chillingly and effectively realised interpretation. <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Not my head! What a great line. After the roller-coaster rides of Livia and Caligula, I had feared that the final Claudius-centric episodes would be a bit boring in comparison. Not to fear! Like you, Sarah, I count A God in Colchester among my favorites.

Also turning up in this episode is Stuart Wilson as Messalina's final lover, Silius. A few years earlier, he played Ferdinand Lopez in The Pallisers, which I finally saw last December, and which also features Derek Jacobi as the comically wimpy Lord Fawn.