Shush.se – Watch TV Shows and Documentaries Online

Friends coming to Rome, having been to Rome, or hoping to someday to visit return to Rome:

Here’s a link to watch the HBO/BBC series Rome.  You can safely stream all of the episodes for free except for the last one — a message appears asking you to click to “download Java,” which is almost always a really bad idea. I bought the last episode on iTunes just to be safe.

More here on Wikipedia about the series. While it’s historical fiction, it follows actual history pretty and historic figures pretty closely. The characters, acting, sets, and costumes are incredible — so good, in fact, that two seasons was all HBO/BBC could afford.

Beware: lots of nudity, sex, and violence — I’m told about what might be expected from that period of history, but startlingly graphic (and certainly intensified for television and ratings). Definitely not PG (and at times not even R). Rumor in Rome is that the set was burned down because people here were so upset by how Romans were portrayed. You can judge that for yourself.

By the way, if you’re interested in this period of time, you might enjoy The Twelve Caesars: The Dramatic Lives of the Emperors of Rome.