5. Rome (HBO & BBC2, 2005 2007)
What Was The Show? An epic drama about life in Ancient Rome.
What Was The Stupid Decision? The BBC treated it like an embarrassment
How Did It Kill The Show? The BBC pumped $15 million into the production of Rome with HBO providing the rest of the $100 million budget. But when the time came to broadcast it in the UK, it feels like the BBC they did everything they could to stop people watching it short of burning all the tapes. Firstly, they edited three hour long episodes into two, cutting out masses of character and plot development. Following that, they edited the trailers to play up the violent and sexual elements of it instead of the dramatic ones. And finally, they resorted to the classic tactic of sticking it where nobody will watch it by dropping it into an 11PM timeslot on BBC2 on Fridays before pulling out of financing any episodes beyond Season Two. Without the BBCs money and amidst worries that the show wouldnt do well enough to be profitable in the next season, HBO let the axe fall on Rome. After that, the BBC went on to make The Tudors which was full of rampant sex and, unlike Rome, was about as historically accurate as 10,000 BC.