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Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out.
Acclaimed blackly comic historical drama series. Set amidst a web of power, corruption and lies, it chronicles the reigns of the Roman emperors - Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula and finally Claudius.
BBC Two
12
55 min
Livia, the scheming wife of Augustus, seeks to disinherit her husband's grand-children in favour of her own son Tiberius.
Sep 20, 1976
Livia, wife of Emperor Augustus plots against his daughter Julia and manages to convince him to bring her son Tiberius back from exile.
Sep 27, 1976
Livia has engineered the downfall of Julia, who has been banished. Tiberius is recalled to Rome and is joint heir with Postumus. Poor stumbling, stuttering Claudius finds a friend in Herod, king of the Jews.
Oct 4, 1976
The Imperial Army on the Rhine has been wiped out and Tiberius sent to avenge the defeat, followed later by Germanicus. Livia has discredited Postumus, who has been banished. Augustus has been feeling unwell, but is avoiding suspicions of poisoning by eating figs from his own garden.
Oct 11, 1976
As Augustus learned of Livia's plot against Postumus, she took action which resulted in Tiberius becoming emperor. The situation in the East now threatens Tiberius's position.
Oct 18, 1976
Germanicus has been murdered in Antioch and his wife Agrippina is convinced Tiberius ordered the killing. Livia has discovered that Caligula helped to poison his father. While Tiberius's perversions have become notorious, his right-hand man Sejanus, commander of the Praetorian Guard, gathers more power for himself, including a marriage alliance with Claudius.
Oct 25, 1976
With Tiberius retired to Capri, Sejanus plans to tighten his grip on Rome and divorces his wife so he can marry Livilla. But he also has powerful enemies and his attempts to consolidate power set in motion a bloody chain of events.
Nov 1, 1976
Claudius has high hopes of a return to a Republic when Caligula insanely proclaims himself a god and his sister a goddess... but Rome officially accepts his divinity.
Nov 8, 1976
Caligula's erratic behaviour continues, as he makes his horse a senator and turns the palace into a brothel. Many in the Praetorian Guard grow to realise that their ruler is insane and, fearing the collapse of Rome itself, believe that something needs to be done.
Nov 15, 1976
Claudius is happily married, while the mad Caligula has been assassinated. To his astonishment, Claudius has been proclaimed emperor by the Praetorian Guard.
Nov 22, 1976
Claudius has ruled wisely for a year with the support of Messalina, whom he deeply loves. Convinced of her devotion, he is totally unaware that she is deceiving him.
Nov 29, 1976
Almost at the end of his family history, Claudius' thoughts turn to the future of Rome.
Dec 6, 1976
Claudius
Livia Drusilla
Antonia
Augustus
Herod Agrippa
Agrippina
Castor
Pallas
Messalina
Narcissus
Julia
Germanicus
