Seeing as the series PLEBS has just come to an end, it is only fair that they release a ‘complete’ collection for all the fans. I count myself as one, to be fair. I really enjoyed the escapades of three young men in 67BC Rome. Marcus (Tom Rosenthal), Stylax (Joel Fry) (replaced later by Jason (Jonathan Pointing) and Grumio (Ryan Sampson). Love, life, food and frolics were aplenty then it seems (possibly not as much as suggested by history mind.) They lived in large, failed often and found the little details in the Rome of history and my own studies as a student of the discipline. All good. Marcus and Stylax  work in the scriptorium of a grain company, one as a scribe the other as a shredder of paper. Marcus slave / brother Grumio serves him dubiously at home and his manager Flavia (Doon Mackichan) serves him her cutting wit and the water-carrier Aurelius (Tom Basden), ample hilarity in the office. They achieve a level of adventure, met a bunch of famous faces (from a great turn by Danny Dyer as a gladiator, to Miriam Margolies as a randy theatre producer).

The series is adapt at creating a sense of comedy, camaraderie and factual content. The key components of the series that really worked were, the great scripts from writer (Waterboy…sorry Waterman…) Tom Basden and director Sam Leifer. The great Ryan Sampsons Grumio, who has a brilliant, understated quality and of course the magic of getting the detail right. Every episode of the ITV comedy is here, from the first season  ‘The Orgy’, ‘The Gladiator’, ‘The Erotic Vase’, ‘The Herpes Cat’, ‘Bananae’ and ‘Saturnalia’. Series 2  ‘The Chariot’, ‘The Best Men’, ‘The Baby’, ‘The Patron’, ‘The New Slave’, ‘The Candidate’, ‘The Phallus’ and ‘The Race’. Series 3  ‘The Beasts’, ‘Justin Junior’, ‘The Vestal’, ‘The Cupid’, ‘The Crime Wave’, ‘Jugball’, ‘The New Master’ and ‘The Weatherist’. Series 4  ‘The Accident’, ‘The Critic’, ‘The Marathon’, ‘The Satirist’, ‘Lupercalia’, ‘The Bathhouse’, ‘The Accountant’ and ‘Beer’. Series 5  ‘The Vineyard’, ‘The Paedos’, ‘The Banquet’, ‘The Grumbrella’, ‘The Hooligans’, ‘The Dig’, ‘The New Flat’ and ‘The Wedding’. The final feature-length ‘Soldiers of Rome’ . All is here. Now the set is the old DVDs that were around in single season sets and added to this the feature length episode but it is well worth time and money. The extras middle about a bit to be fair, but the show itself is excellent and yes I know it is on ITVX but you get to enjoy it in one go, on DVD forever.