This was Game of Thrones without dragons.

I disagree, I thought it faltered in its second season and that was why it was cancelled. "GoT" didn't falter until it's eighth season!

I liked it precisely because it was "GoT" without dragons, that is, in "GoT" everyone is caught up in all this life-or-death drama and theyre ever so intense about it, and in "Rome" these two guys were constantly thrust into all this drama against their wills, and were just trying to stay alive through it all. I really identified with them, that's how I'd behave under those circumstances!

I make it a point to revisit this triumphant series every so often. Everyone who loves Game Of Thrones should at least sample Rome. The first thing that stunned me was Rome’s attention to visual details, and its cinematography. If the Rome crew had filmed GOT’s Long Night episode, it would be crystal clear to all and sundry. I love that they made Rome, the city, look gritty and lived-in. The look brought the series to life. It looked completely different from all previous depictions of the city, which was shown as being made all of pristine (and sacrosanct) shining marble, and not the vulgar, brutal, crude and scatological metropolis we see in this HBO/BBC series.

The narrative is as refreshing and meticulous as the production design. We are given a pair of Centurians, Pullo and Veronus, brothers in arms whose story humanizes the vast historical events of which they are but a part.

Rome was planned to run for three seasons, but the production costs were huge for that time: $1million per episode, one-tenth of the price tag for a GOT episode. The BBC got cold feet and would not do more than two seasons. Otter, there is a satisfying conclusion to Rome. You may want to watch it. I was not disappointed. I agree that the second season lagged when compared with the first. I found the Cleopatra storyline wearisome; but the second season is still magnificent.

If you follow GOT, look in on Rome. You will find one familiar face: Indira Varma, mother of the Sandsnakes in Thrones,* is wife to and mother of Veronus’s children in Rome. Too bad she died so cruelly.

Yeah. Rome is THAT kind of show. Kind of like Spartacus with better everything. I never once, on GOT, heard an aristocratic woman point to her arch-rival and instruct her servant to “Cut off her face.” I did hear it in Rome!

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*And now you know why I’m one of the few who loves the Sandsnakes. Indira Varma is one fine woman.

Rewatching this series for the third time now, it's just as epic as I remembered. Game of Thrones before Game of Thrones, brilliant. Not sure if it's even possible, but a future third season, and beyond, following Octavian (Augustus) would be interesting to see.