i and claudius be one the best bbc drama ever and and sadly reflect a bygone age of programming of quality and substance and rather than bland reality tv . adapt from robert graf book and this series tell the story of the julio claudian house of emperor and from augustus to the beginning of the reign of nero a see through the eye of claudius . take full advantage of the gossip of the ancient source and all the plausible ( and some of the less plausible ) rumour make it in to graf story . tell a a flash back narrative by claudius and the story follow all the plot and intrigue concern the succession of each emperor and most notable of which be livia and her plan for her son tiberius to follow augustus . a each plot unfold throughout the various succession and claudius be witness to all the event and be leave alone a he be deem foolish and harmless by his peer and a he emphasise his limp and stammer . in the final part and claudius himself be proclaim emperor and the story follow his troubled reign and with the debauchery of messalina and the scheming of agrippina and a the real claudius say while that it be his destiny first to suffer and finally to punish the infamy of his wife . the acting in i and claudius be just first class by the entire cast and especially in light of the relatively low production value . derek jacobi be convince a claudius age and and his transformation from nervy youth to command emperor be fascinate to watch . this be only outdone by sian phillips a livia and who bring so much depth to the character that you do not just regard her a evil and but a a woman with a purpose and albeit misguide . and by the time of her death you actually begin to feel sympathy for her . other notable performance be john hurt caligula and patrick stewart a sejanus and brian bless a augustus . i and claudius be such a true classic that it be hard to imagine that there will ever be another production of this quality ever make again .