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19/01/1983 Drama 0h 50m
37
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Overview

The Cleopatras is a 1983 BBC Television historical drama serial created and written by Philip Mackie. Set in Ancient Egypt during the latter part of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, the eight-part series follows the lives of a series of queens belonging to the Ptolemaic Dynasty of ancient Egypt, culminating in its final active ruler Cleopatra VII. Intended to be the I, Claudius of the 1980s, The Cleopatras met with a decidedly negative critical reaction, and was regarded and portrayed as a gaudy farce. It also produced a number of complaints due to scenes of nudity.

Top billed cast

  1. Michelle Newell

    Cleopatra

  2. Graham Crowden

    Theodotus

  3. Richard Griffiths

    Pot Belly

  4. Robert Hardy

    Julius Caesar

  5. Christopher Neame

    Mark Antony

  6. Shirin Taylor

    Charmian

  7. Elizabeth Shepherd

    Cleopatra, the Mother

  8. Pauline Moran

    Cleopatra Berenike

  9. Amanda Boxer

    Cleopatra Tryphaena

  10. View more

Full Cast & Crew

Current Season

Season 1

 1983 | 8 Episodes

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Reviews

A review by CinemaSerf
Written by CinemaSerf on 2022-02-23
Written by Philip Mackie, who also penned "The Caesars" (1968), I recall the furore at the time here in the UK when the BBC started showing "The Cleopatras". This eight-parter was accused of being a seedy, tawdry - and just about everything else pejorative - depiction of the Ptolomeic court in Alexandria that saw a multitude of women called Cleopatra rule Egypt. What those criticisms failed to acknowledge is that this is pretty much exactly how these depraved, incestuous individuals did behave. Mothers married sons, fathers their daughters - indeed it would have been quite possible for your mu...read the rest
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Recommendations

  1. Cleopatra65%
  2. The Odyssey72%
  3. The Bible73%
  4. The Hollow Crown74%
  5. Band of Brothers86%
  6. Ben Hur63%
  7. I, Claudius78%
  8. Nautilus67%
  9. Fosse/Verdon70%
  10. Shōgun76%
  11. Tell Me Lies76%
  12. Those About to Die74%
  13. Obsession64%
  14. X Company75%
  15. Citadel68%
  16. Rome82%
  17. Helen of Troy61%
  18. Lady Chatterley63%
  19. Empire65%
  20. Masada70%

Status
Ended

Original Language
English

Original Name
The Cleopatras

Keywords