i, claudius tells the history of the roman empire and is as bloodthirsty and dangerous a setting as has ever been created for the small screen. think the mafia in togas. i could kill you now. this was the bbc“s hugely successful effort to bring to life the novel by robert graves, in 1976, ancient rome visited shepherd s bush as an impressive cast, layered on the latex at the bbc“s television centre. you wouldn t be emperor if it weren t for me. a caesar salad of power, ambition, murder, and sex. told across decades, viewers were gripped by what in many respects was a feuding family soap opera. first of all, an emperor, i can t even rule my own family. let me go. your fat, drunken cow. plots were hatched. i want a catalogue of my daughter