This is gonna be a short one.I love historical fiction. I like when they create realistic characters that play a part in a historical figure's life. Rome and Tudors are great examples of this. However this one not only creates a completely unrealistic character/hero that we follow around, it also creates fictitious events and characters that actually existed.I was excited to hear about a show that was about young Octavius during his life before becoming absolute ruler of Rome and becoming the first true Emperor. Instead we learn about a child who is completely uneducated, lacking any charisma, and lacks any actual wisdom to be a powerful ruler. It's as if they wanted to explain the magnitude of his character by making him garbage in the start and progressing his character. Sorry, but Augustus has his life written about upwards, downwards, starboard to port. He was a great and ruthless man from start to finish.Aside from the events and characters in history being completely destroyed or missing, the character who we piggyback on, Tyrannus, is a Gladiator who is basically the greatest fighter to ever exist. And you may be excited by hearing that, but if you combine all the fights scenes in the season of this show; it still wouldn't amount to a single fight scene from Rome or Gladiator.The plot is flushed with historical butchery and massive plot holes. Along with that, you can't seem to find any love for any of the characters and if you have a seventh grade education or higher, you'll be in disbelief that this show actually got aired.

No sooner had the DVD hit the shelves than I bought it. I was immediately hooked onto this when it was airing. Despite being a student of history and Latin and seeing the gaping holes in the historical background, I enjoyed it immensely for the plot and actors. I was disappointed when it failed to continue.Tyrannus, despite being inserted by creative licence, is by far the best character. His portrayal makes me want to have him as my own bodyguard. It is also good to see Home and Away's Chris Egan stepping into a very different role.The show Rome didn't strike any chords with me and I preferred Empire immediately.

I missed the first bit and may watch the final instalment just for the masochistic amusement of seeing Roman history so utterly perverted. I am a Roman historian and have to say that anyone watching this will learn nothing of Roman history, culture, society or fashion if they wanted to. I thought the Peter O'Toole Augustus was rather awful but this is just s**t and it's perfectly clear that the producers didn't bother with historical advisers. I guess I'm pleased that some people watching this enjoyed it and it might spark their interest in learning something true about Rome, but the story's so good anyway that it didn't need someone making up history. Buena Vista presents this mini-series as the rise of Octavian / Augustus. Get them under the trades description act then...

Fiends and I at work thoroughly enjoyed Empire. We liked the characters as well as the actors playing them. We thought the story line was exciting and looked forward to each installment. We were not expecting a documentary or doctoral thesis, we simply enjoyed being entertained, as well as having the opportunity to learn interesting facts about antiquities, the Roman way of life and history, and period clothing. We believed Empire to be interesting, intriguing, and thought provoking as well as not insulting to our intelligence. We are vastly disappointed that Empire was canceled. We were prepared to watch Empire last week, and even speculated about whether a follow up series might be produced. Then, something else came on.