Plebs: Soldiers of Rome

Why do we have to write 600 characters? Who thought that number up? Was it decided by a team of high power executives in silicon valley or more likely a lower management nerd. Is it to discourage reviews regarding vapid excuses for comedy such as Plebs:Soldiers of Rome? Could be, it's frankly a tough job coming up with 600 characters concerning this pile of old cobbler's. I vaguely remember the Plebs TV show, mildly amusing after pub foder for the herbal cigarette enthusiast. A bit like The Inbetweeners set in ancient Rome. It wasn't without some charm however non of that charm has transfered to this tragically unfunny abomination.

I been waiting a long time for this and I'm glad to say it was worth the wait. It was first announced that Plebs would end in April 2020, but COVID delays slowed production of the planned finale. It means the last episode of season five aired more than three years ago.

The four main characters and landlord are back ITVX had a few new shows on it's release, but this was the first on my watch list. This is British comedy at it's best in my opinion.

The original suggestion was this was to be a film length but just over a hour 30 minutes duration with a lot of getting into trouble and out of it followed a Normal 30 minute episode, I don't think it would be every ones taste, I'm guessing the humour wouldn't be understood and the moral in the story would be lost.

A solid conclusion to Plebs, nicely rounding off the adventures of three lovable losers in Ancient Rome.

Marcus, Grumio and Jason enlist in the military with hopes of an easy ride, societal perks, and most importantly, no conflict. Of course, this is short lived as they are marched to the north of Europe to battle Barbarians. Naturally, the uptight Marcus does not assimilate well, unlike his slave and conflicted friend. After a farce in the face of conflict, the trio look to survive long enough to return home.

Most likely to capture attention of those who watched the series, the comedy here does not stray away from the fan-favourite incredulity of Marcus in response to the dozy idiocy of Grumio, supported by the positive womanising of Jason. It stays true to it's series-long approach and values, and moves at a great pace, keeping a simple plot interesting throughout. An easy watch, and a great sendoff for the trio of Plebs.

We liked the 5 series and were looking forward to the film. Plebs was a homage to carry on films and Up Pompeii and being of a certain age that added to the pleasure. However the film is poor . It has lost all its charm and even the opening music which was great. It just wasn't funny and yet another example of producers not bothering as they knew that the fan base would watch it. Also the series 30 mins episodes were perfect. To get 10 out of 10 the film would have had to be an all time classic. I don't understand those scores. It was fun to watch the series but this film is way way below the series.

Fantastic and long awaited. Grumio continues to be the star. Missed the usual amount of reggae, which from the very first series was so wrong and yet perfect. Please, please, please do more. The humour is fast flowing and often basic, just what the doctor ordered. Plebs is probably the best comedy in the last 20 years, please don't go.... As a student of Latin in the early 1970s I learned through Grumio the slave (school booklet teaching method rather than rote learning ), it's amazing to find a parallel universe where Grumio really exists.

Escapism at its best and with bonkers humour , love it and always will.