Wednesday, january 18, 1978
daily nebraskan
page 13
s
Sunday nights will be empty without 'I , Claudius'
By Pete Mason
Entertainment Editor
Every once in a while, in between
th Gong Shows and the Hee Haws of
televisions still arid wasteland, comes a
breath of fresh air or a cool drink in the
form of a truly fine program.
Eleven weeks ago Public Broadcasting
introduced , Claudius, a Masterpiece
Theater presentation. It seems hard to
believe that Masterpiece Theater has yet to
come up with a clunker. From Upstairs,
television.
fVI
Downstairs, through the adventures of
Lord Peter Wimsey to Poldark, Masterpiece
Theater has produced masterpiece tele
vision. , Claudius must rank among the best.
The sets are sumptuous and historically
accurate and the acting is first-rate.
The 13 episodes, which are adapted
from Robert Graves' best-selling novel,
are anything but dry lessons from a text on
Roman history. Each episode could stand
afone as an example of fine drama. It seems
the citizens of Imperial Rome were
anything but dry or boring.
The rpogeam follows the reigns of
Roman emperors from Augustus to
Claudius amidst bloodletting and intrigue
that would make Atilla the Hun blush.
The chief bloodletter is Livia, wife of
Augustus, portrayed by Sian Phillips. To
ensure that her eldest son, Tiberius,
succeeds Augustus as emperor, she poisons
more unsuspecting people than Lucretia
Borgia, including a younger son, and
finally, Augustus himself.
In one wonderful scene, Livia and a pro
fessional poisoner compare notes and offer
tips about the best ways to poison enemies
undetected. The conversation is so matter-of-fact
it borders on the hilarious.
Brian Blessed, as Augustus, handles the
role with aplomp. Bellowing like an
enraged bull or sulking like a child, Blessed
makes a very likable emperor.
That can not be said for John Hurt who
plays Caligula. Caligula is the emperor you
love to hate. Hurt's Caligula is a mad child
who never grew up. As a youth he
proclaims that one day he will become a
god. He makes good on his promise and in
Hurt's final scene, as he falls under the
knives of his murderers, his astonishment
that a god can be killed is so convincing,
it's worth the cost of a 24-inch color TV.
But the piece de resistance of this epic
is the portrayal of Claudius by Derek
Jacobi. Claudius was a stutterer with a
limp. Had he been born to anyone but a
royal family, he would probably have been
left on a high rock to die when he was an
infant.
As a member of royalty, he lived, or
rather he survived. Thought to be simple
minded by everyone in the household
save a few close friends, Claudius escaped
the scrutiny of plotters and was able to
observe their furtive goings-on. The entire
production is seen through the eyes of
Claudius who has the names and deeds of
every palace villain stored safely away in
his keen mind.
Jacobi is Claudius. He stutters and stam
mers his way to a certain Emmy Award
although he deserves better. Jacobi has
created a character both comic and tragic,
a man who because of his affliction must
call on his brain constantly just to see the
next sunrise. His performance may well
be one of the finest in the past ten years
on television, either public or private.
, Claudius is nearly over. Already most
of the characters are dead and buried. I
mourn them almost as if they were friends.
Sunday nights will seem dull when this
series finishes its run and. although there
will undoubtedly be reruns it won't be the
same.
We can only hope that Masterpiece
Theater surprises us once again. I can't
imagine anything bettey than , Claudius
and I'm sure I will suffer a withdrawal.
And Gong Shows and Hee Haws will only
make the symptoms harder to bear.
Slower spring thaw predicted
UNL students trudging to class in subzero-degree
weather probably will agree
that this is history's coldest winter, but
relief is in sight. That is, eventually.
Temperatures in Nebraska will begin to
rise gradually to their norm by April or
May, but the warming won't be as rapid as
it was last year, according to a UNL
meteorologist, in the geography depart
ment. Arthur Douglas and two UNL students
have been predicting the long-range
weather scene since last spring. The three,
who call themselves NORAX, are 60 to 80
percent accurate in their projections,
Douglas said.
NORAX makes weather predictions and
contracts it services to various organiza
tions, Douglas said. Money taken in is usetk
to pay for data storage and research, he
said.
Douglas described NOR AX .technique:
"From Pacific Ocean water temperature
data, a contrast zone is found. Water
north of this zone is colder by a degree or
less from the water south of the zone.
"Water temperature in the ocean is very
stable, and moves very slowly, so it is
possible to locate the contrast zone in ad
vance, and thereby know where the jet
stream will enter, and where it will go once
it is over land.
The stream is totally predictable as to
how far north and south it will travel. Last
winter-which was very cold-the contrast
zone was in Alaska. Having gone that far
north, the stream had to come back a long
way south at a rather sharp angle. Since
temperatures at locations north of the
stream are generally below normal, and
vice-versa . . . this caused drastic cold in the
East, and temperatures in Florida to be far
below normal."
NORAX makes no short-term predic
tions, and can only predict the weather
for one season at a time.
"The water temperature at a given loca
tion is only stable for about a six -month
period," Douglas explained.
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BILLY CLYDE PUCKETT. QUARTERBACK.
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WELCOME BACK
We're here if you need us.
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Call 472-2200
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RICHARD DREYEJSS MARSHA MASON
arxl mUk B19 QUINN CUMMiNGS tiKV
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films of 1977. Well paced, with elaborate
setting the dialogue and acting are
SUpSrb." L$rryWichman,Al GOLDSTEIN'S MAQ.
' in RATED
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