Barbarians Rising

This four-episode History-aired series adopts a very expansive view of “barbarians” in Roman history, using it to refer to any peoples (except, apparently, the Greeks) who ever fought Rome, whether during the time of Rome's expansion as a Republic or in the late Imperial period when various tribes were invading territory long under the empire's control. The individual segments focus (in roughly chronological order) on particular warriors who opposed Rome, from the Carthaginian Hannibal in the 3rd century B.C. through the Vandal Gaiseric, who took the city in the 5th century A.D. Others profiled include the Lusitanian leader Viriathus; the rebel slave Spartacus; the Romanized German Arminius, who turned against the empire; the British warrior princess Boudica; the Visigoth king Alaric, whose army sacked Rome; and Attila, king of the Huns, who marched toward the city but was eventually defeated by a combined Roman-German force. Their stories are cast here as heroic mini-dramas centered on battles for freedom against brutal imperialism, but all are undercut by wooden acting, insipid dialogue, and chintzy production values (the many battle scenes are portrayed on a very small scale, although the computer graphics employed to make strategic points are nicely done). The narration is complemented by excerpts from interviews with historians, former military men (such as Gen. Wesley Clark), and others (including Rev. Jesse Jackson), but their remarks are mostly trite generalizations. As popular history goes, this is not an especially effective example. Not a necessary purchase. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)