History Series / TheCaesars

** In "Sejanus", when the conspiracy against Tiberius is uncovered, the Emperor is told that Sejanus' wife Apicata has committed suicide after the execution of her children by Sejanus, and Tiberius orders Macro to tell Livilla that she should kill herself as well.

* DefiantToTheEnd: Agrippina forcibly starves herself to death to ensure that her blood is on Tiberius' hands, while Caligula's last words as he is being stabbed are "Strike again, I'm still alive!"
* DirtyOldMan: Tiberius admits to shades of this in his later years, although fewer details are given than in ''Series/IClaudius''.

* DrivenToSuicide: When Caligula is assassinated, Caesonia knows she will soon follow and orders the Praetorian Guard to kill her. When they hesitate, she takes a sword from one of them and stabs herself in the chest.

* TheEmperor: Four of them, although the series mostly concentrates on the reigns of Tiberius and Caligula. Claudius remains an important character throughout, but only becomes Emperor in the final few minutes, while Augustus dies near the end of the first episode.

* BalancingDeathsBooks: When Caligula was ill with the fever that led him to believe he was a god, several Senators vowed that they would give their own lives if the gods would spare Caligula. When Caligula recovered, he decreed that the Senators in question would make good on their vows.

* ColdBloodedTorture: Frequently employed by the powerful to get their enemies to confess to imaginary crimes. Caligula even has Capito and his son Bassus tortured to death as dinner entertainment in "Claudius".

* LoopholeAbuse: When Sejanus is arrested and executed, Macro reports to Tiberius that the Senate ordered his children executed as well. His daughter was a virgin, and Tiberius points out that Roman law forbids the killing of a virgin. Macro explains that, before her execution, she was violated by the public executioner to make it legal.

** As Sejanus becomes more and more powerful, he arranges for the elimination of Tiberius' heirs apparent, Germanicus' son Nero and then Tiberius' own son Drusus. At the end of "Sejanus", Tiberius learns that Sejanus poisoned his son and conducts his own purge of Sejanus' family and supporters.

** In "Sejanus", when the conspiracy against Tiberius is uncovered, the Emperor is told that Sejanus' wife Apicata has committed suicide to avoid her inevitable fate as a victim of ThePurge of Sejanus' supporters, while Livilla has carried out an order to kill herself for her own role in the conspiracy.

* SuccessionCrisis: Tiberius is confronted with one throughout his reign. Initially, he plans to make Germanicus his successor, followed by Germanicus' son Nero. When they are killed, he names his own son Drusus as his successor, to be followed by Drusus' son Gemellus. When Drusus is killed, he names Caligula and Gemellus co-heirs; Caligula accepts, but glosses over the "co-heir" idea and has Gemellus murdered after Tiberius' death.

* LadyMacbeth: Agrippina shows shades of this in "Germanicus", trying to persuade her husband to use the rebellious troops' support of him to put himself on the Imperial throne.

* TorchesAndPitchforks: At the beginning of "Germanicus", following Augustus' death, the Roman legions on the German frontier have degenerated into an angry mob who have been pushed to breaking point by conditions in the army (twenty years' service instead of sixteen, unpaid wages, harsh punishments, etc.). Company commanders are stripped and flogged in retaliation for years of handing out floggings, and the armies demand that Germanicus, not Tiberius, be made Caesar as they believe he will be sympathetic to their plight.

* ReluctantRuler: Tiberius remains this throughout his reign, only accepting the title of Emperor very reluctantly, and mostly leaving the running of the Empire in the hands of Sejanus in his later years.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: Although he laments not being taken seriously or given responsibility during Tiberius' reign, Claudius resorts to pretending to be incompetent during Caligula's reign to avoid being seen as a threat.

* GoldDigger: In "Augustus", Tiberius accuses Livia of being one of these for divorcing his father, Tiberius Nero, fifty years previously and marrying Augustus, who at the time was clearly on his way to becoming ruler of Rome and her Empire. Livia insists that she loves Augustus, but that she also loved Tiberius Nero until she met Augustus; this does not help her case in Tiberius' eyes.

* KingIncognito: In the opening scene of the series, Augustus is sitting on a public staircase, begging from passers-by. It is later explained that this is a tradition he follows for one day each year.

** In "Tiberius", when Germanicus is poisoned by Piso and Plancina, Tiberius notes that if he does not prosecute Piso for the crime, it will look as though Piso was acting on his orders, whereas if he does prosecute Piso, it will look as though he is trying to hide his involvement in Germanicus' murder by letting Piso take the fall. Either way, he knows the public will believe he ordered Germanicus' murder to remove a major obstacle to his continued reign as Emperor.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: Although he laments not being taken seriously or given responsibility during Tiberius' reign, Claudius resorts to pretending to be incompetent during Caligula's reign as a survival mechanism.
* OpinionFlipflop: Everyone behaves like this around Caligula as a survival mechanism, although Caligula himself [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the fact that he rules in such a way that there is no way to predict whether a given instance of blind agreement will please or anger him, and that he can twist any flattery into an insult and react accordingly.
* PraetorianGuard: The original one carries out the assassination of Caligula and declares Claudius Emperor at the conclusion of "Claudius".

* MyBelovedSmother: In "Augustus", Livia clearly has a tight hold on the reins controlling Tiberius, telling him in their first scene together that she has always ordered him to come when she sends for him. However, by the time of "Tiberius", he regards her as largely irrelevant, and her death between the events of "Tiberius" and "Sejanus" goes unmentioned.

** In "Caligula", carrying on a tradition from the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, Caligula decrees that all wealthy Romans should include a bequest to the Emperor in their wills... and that the size of their bequests shall be taken as a sign of their loyalty. Those who bequeathe their entire estates to him will be deemed fully loyal, those who bequeathe only a small part of their estate will be deemed traitors - a crime punishable by death and seizure of their full estates. A Senator who bitterly draws attention to the lose-lose nature of this law is executed on the spot.
* MyBelovedSmother: Livia to Tiberius in "Augustus". By the time of "Tiberius", he regards her as largely irrelevant, and her death between the events of "Tiberius" and "Sejanus" goes unmentioned.

* ShamingTheMob: In "Germanicus", the title character engages in this approach in a bid to quell the mutiny among the troops on the Rhine who want to have him declared Emperor instead of Tiberius, reminding them that the discipline of the Roman legions is what has made the Empire great.

* VillainousIncest: Caligula, naturally.

[[Creator/{{Granada}} Granada Television's]] take on the early years of TheRomanEmpire comprised six episodes written by Philip Mackie (who went on to write ''Series/TheCleopatras'' for Creator/TheBBC in 1983) and directed by Derek Bennett, first airing in [[OlderThanTheyThink autumn of 1968.]] Rather than encompassing the entire Julio-Claudian dynasty, the series focuses primarily on the reigns of Tiberius and [[TheCaligula Caligula]], beginning with the last days of Augustus in 14 AD and concluding with the declaration of Claudius as Emperor in 41 AD. Each of the six episodes is named for one of its primary characters: "Augustus", "Germanicus", "Tiberius", "Sejanus", "Caligula", and "Claudius", with the title characters played respectively by Roland Culver, Eric Flynn, André Morell, Barrie Ingham, Ralph Bates, and Freddie Jones.

* AncientRome: The early years of TheRomanEmpire.

[[{{Granada}} Granada Television's]] take on the early years of TheRomanEmpire comprised six episodes written by Philip Mackie (who went on to write ''Series/TheCleopatras'' for TheBBC in 1983) and directed by Derek Bennett, first airing in [[OlderThanTheyThink autumn of 1968.]] Rather than encompassing the entire Julio-Claudian dynasty, the series focuses primarily on the reigns of Tiberius and [[TheCaligula Caligula]], beginning with the last days of Augustus in 14 AD and concluding with the declaration of Claudius as Emperor in 41 AD. Each of the six episodes is named for one of its primary characters: "Augustus", "Germanicus", "Tiberius", "Sejanus", "Caligula", and "Claudius", with the title characters played respectively by Roland Culver, Eric Flynn, André Morell, Barrie Ingham, Ralph Bates, and Freddie Jones.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Caligula is portrayed as this, flirting openly with members of the PraetorianGuard and even planting a kiss on Drusilla's husband Lepidus in "Caligula".

* BatmanGambit: Tiberius pulls one of these in "Germanicus" to put down the mutiny among the armies of the Rhine. Crispus is sent to Colonia to tell Germanicus that Tiberius is very ill, and simply wants to retire to his villa and die. Germanicus takes this as a sign that he doesn't need to march on Rome with the rebellious troops behind him to become Emperor, but simply needs to wait a short while for Tiberius to die, and so he orders the ringleaders of the mutiny executed and restores order - just as Tiberius wanted him to do.

* SmugSnake: As opposed to ''I, Claudius'', Germanicus is painted in a less flattering light, as quietly power-hungry, and a great deal less clever than he imagines.

* BlackWidow: Livia has become this by the events of "Tiberius".

* {{Seppuku}}: Many characters are obliged to commit this over the course of the series, mostly off screen - Piso in "Tiberius", Livilla and Sejanus' ex-wife Apicata in "Sejanus", Macro and his wife Ennia in "Caligula", and Caesonia in "Claudius".

* KingOnHisDeathbed: Augustus and Tiberius. Caligula is not so fortunate in his death.

[[{{Granada}} Granada Television's]] take on the early years of TheRomanEmpire comprised six episodes written by Philip Mackie (who went on to write ''Series/TheCleopatras'' for TheBBC in 1983) and directed by Derek Bennett, first airing in [[OlderThanTheyThink autumn of 1968.]] Rather than encompassing the entire Julio-Claudian dynasty, the series focuses primarily on the reigns of Tiberius and [[TheCaligula Caligula]], beginning with the last days of Augustus in 14 AD and concluding with the declaration of Claudius as Emperor in 41 AD. Each of the six episodes is named for one of its primary characters: "Augustus", "Germanicus", "Tiberius", "Sejanus", "Caligula", and "Claudius", with the title characters played respectively by Roland Culver, Eric Flynn, [[Series/QuatermassAndThePit André Morell]], Barrie Ingham, Ralph Bates, and Freddie Jones.

[[{{Granada}} Granada Television's]] take on the early years of TheRomanEmpire comprised six episodes written by Philip Mackie (who went on to write ''Series/TheCleopatras'' for TheBBC in 1983) and directed by Derek Bennett, first airing in [[OlderThanTheyThink autumn of 1968.]] Rather than encompassing the entire Julio-Claudian dynasty, the series focuses primarily on the reigns of Tiberius and [[TheCaligula Caligula]], beginning with the last days of Augustus in 14 AD and concluding with the declaration of Claudius as Emperor in 41 AD. Each of the six episodes is named for one of its primary characters: "Augustus", "Germanicus", "Tiberius", "Sejanus", "Caligula", and "Claudius", with the title characters played respectively by Ronald Culver, Eric Flynn, [[Series/QuatermassAndThePit André Morell]], Barrie Ingham, Ralph Bates, and Freddie Jones.

* NeverTrustATrope: Caligula invokes "Trust no one" as a personal philosophy. Of course, his tyranny creates enough enemies even among his inner circle that he can be regarded as ProperlyParanoid.

* OpinionFlipflop: Everyone behaves like this around Caligula as a survival mechanism, although Caligula himself [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the fact that he rules in such a way that there is no way to predict whether a given instance of flattery will please or anger him, and that he can twist any flattery into an insult and react accordingly.

* LikeAWeasel: Everyone behaves like this around Caligula as a survival mechanism, although Caligula himself [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the fact that he rules in such a way that there is no way to predict whether a given instance of flattery will please or anger him, and that he can twist any flattery into an insult and react accordingly.

* MasterPoisoner: Livia is accused of this, but in contrast to ''Series/IClaudius'' we never actually see her poison anyone. Likewise subverted with Piso and his wife, who are likely innocent of the charges of poison against them, and quite possibly with Sejanus and Livillia as well--in all cases, we never are actually shown the poisoning, leaving it ambiguous whether the "victim" was murdered or not.

[[{{Granada}} Granada Television's]] take on the early years of TheRomanEmpire comprised six episodes written by Philip Mackie (who went on to write ''Series/TheCleopatras'' for TheBBC in 1983) and directed by Derek Bennett, first airing in [[OlderThanTheyThink autumn of 1968.]] Rather than encompassing the entire Julio-Claudian dynasty, the series focuses primarily on the reigns of Tiberius and [[TheCaligula Caligula]], beginning with the last days of Augustus in 14 AD and concluding with the declaration of Claudius as Emperor in 41 AD. Each of the six episodes is named for one of its primary characters: "Augustus", "Germanicus", "Tiberius", "Sejanus", "Caligula", and "Claudius", with the title characters played respectively by Ronald Culver, Eric Flynn, [[{{Quatermass}} André Morell]], Barrie Ingham, Ralph Bates, and Freddie Jones.