I, Claudius 40th Anniversary: Reign of Terror

A City Purged!

Episode 8: Reign of Terror
Broadcast Date: UK: November 1, 1976 US: December 25, 1977
Studio BBC/London Film Productions Ltd.
Producer Martin Lisemore
Director Herbert Wise
Writer Jack Pulman (Based on the novel by Robert Graves)
Starring Derek Jacobi, John Hurt, George Baker, Margaret Tyzack, Patrick Stewart, Patricia Quinn, Fiona Walker, Kevin Stoney
Introducing John Rhys Davies as Macro
Guest starring Charles Kay as Gallus, Karin Foley as Helen, Liane Aukin as Aelia, Kate Lansbury as Apicata

31 AD. While Tiberius attains the peak of true monstrosity, Sejanus' power reaches its height. Agrippina and her eldest sons Nero and Drusus are arrested for conspiracy. Caligula avoids their fate, being the Emperor's favorite. Nothing can stop Sejanus from attaining full power, except for Livilla...

Death(s) in this episode: Sejanus: executed, Livilla: starved to death; Sejanus' children: executed.

Memorable quotes:
"My dear, you look like a Greek Tragedy." -Tiberius
"And you look like a Roman Farce." -Agrippina

"Blood-soaked mud you've been called and that's what you are!" -Agrippina
"Bring me a vine branch! This queen needs flogging before she goes!" -Tiberius

"Caligula, if you get the chance, you must speak up for them." -Claudius
"Of course I shall. For mother, anyway. To tell you the truth, I couldn't give a damn about Drusus and Nero." -Caligula
"But they're your brothers." -Claudius
"Yes, I know. But then, you don't like Aunt Livilla, and she's your sister. Now, I love my sisters, uncle." -Caligula

"Do you know him [Macro] personally?" -Tiberius
"No, but I slept with his wife several times." -Caligula

"I will make you my successor, Gaius Caligula. Rome deserves you." -Tiberius
"Is that a joke, uncle?" -Caligula
"Not yet, but it will be." -Tiberius

"Mother! Let me out! Let me out!" -Livilla
"What are you doing? For heaven's sake, How long are you going to leave her in there?" -Claudius
"Until she dies." -Antonia
"Dies? Dies? Have you gone mad? She is your daughter. How can you leave her to die?" -Claudius
"That's her punishment." -Antonia
"How can you b-bear to sit out here and listen to her?" -Claudius
"And that's mine. Leave me Claudius. I shan't move from here until they open that door and find her dead. Leave me." -Antonia

"I can't do it. I can't just kill them, they're underage." -Guard
"They're on the list. Now get on with it." -Macro
"The girl is a virgin. It's unprecedented to kill a virgin. It will bring bad luck to the city." -Guard
"Then make sure she's not a virgin when you kill her. Now get on with it!" -Macro

"Rome, you are finished! Finished! You are despicable..." -Claudius

Trivia
-Gallus was the man Vispania (Tiberius' first wife) married. He died in his prison cell of consumption.
-Antonia's punishment for Livilla was foreshadowed in episode 3, when she scolded the girl to 'go to your room, you shall have nothing to eat for the rest of the day!'
-Apicata committed suicide after learning about the deaths of her children. Aelia managed to escape her family's fate by being pregnant with Claudius' child. The daughter she produced, Antonia, is not mentioned in the series.
-What happens to Agrippina and her eldest children? Agrippina, partially blinded by Tiberius' beating, was exiled and managed to starve herself to death. Nero was pressured into suicide. Drusus starved in his prison cell, eating the stuffing of his mattress to no avail. On a lighter note, Plancina, Germanicus' murderess, was arrested on trumped-up charges (Tiberius wanted her money), executed, and her body thrown around like Sejanus'.
-In its original US broadcast, the scene of Macro ordering the rape of Sejanus' daughter was excised by WGBH, the American station that aired Masterpiece Theatre. I suppose the scene of blood-soaked bodies lying around the streets was also removed.