This BBC miniseries is the prequel to Game of Thrones (palace intrigue, brutal murders and your own Tyrion)

They knew a lot about fancy and spectacular cinema for a long time when “Game of Thrones” was released, the older generation had their own “game”, in many ways worse than the current one. We are talking about the BBC-produced miniseries “I, Claudius”, which appeared on TV in 1976, but quickly won the hearts of a large number of fans.

And not just because viewers were far less advanced in TV series and movies half a century ago. But also because the project turned out to be really cool for its time.

Unlike George R. R. Martin’s gigantic mess, I, Claudius is a historical fiction set in early Imperial Rome. It is based on two slim volumes written in the 1930s by Robert Graves. Graves was a classical scholar and World War I veteran who used his vast knowledge and considerable writing skills to create an instant classic.

I, Claudius is a memoir about the first three Roman emperors (Augustus, Tiberius, and Gaius “Caligula”), written by the fourth, Claudius. Graves knew from his research that such a memoir had actually been published 1,900 years ago, but subsequently lost. His work attempted to reconstruct it.

This may sound very British and prudish, but I, Claudius was actually surprisingly straightforward for its time. The 1976 BBC television adaptation was equally innovative in its willingness to “go there”.

Frame from the TV program “I, Claudius”

For example, although Game of Thrones and I, Claudius depict incest between brother and sister, in I, Claudius the brother actually murders his sister and then eats her unborn child.

Over the course of a relatively short thirteen episodes, we witness a power struggle in the imperial palace as the Julio-Claudian dynasty gradually descends into bloody decline.

Perhaps the only obvious drawback to the project is the complete lack of special effects. But where could you get them in 1976?