Roman Mysteries (TV series) facts for kids
This page is about the TV series. For the book series, see The Roman Mysteries.
Quick facts for kids Roman Mysteries |
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The Roman Mysteries Title Card
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| Genre | Children's Action Adventure Period |
| Created by | Caroline Lawrence |
| Starring | Eli Machover Rebekah Brookes-Murrell Harry Stott Francesca Isherwood |
| Composer(s) | Cross Wyre |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Jon East David Hunt Keith Littler |
| Producer(s) | David Ball Martyn Auty |
| Production location(s) | Malta Tunisia Bulgaria |
| Editor(s) | Adam Green |
| Running time | 60 minutes (30 minutes per episode) |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One, CBBC |
| Original release | 8 May 2007 – 2 September 2008 |
Roman Mysteries is a super exciting TV show based on the popular book series by Caroline Lawrence. It's about a group of friends solving mysteries in ancient Rome! This show was quite expensive to make for a British children's TV series, costing about £1 million for every hour of viewing.
Filming for Roman Mysteries started in June 2006 in amazing places like Malta, Tunisia, and Bulgaria. The show first aired on May 8, 2007. The series is split into "scrolls," which are like mini-stories, with each one based on a book from the series. It begins with The Secrets of Vesuvius.
Most of the stories follow the same order as the books. However, book 6, The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina, was moved to the second series. Books 11 and 12 were not made into episodes. The TV series finishes with the story from book 13. Each "scroll" or story is made up of two half-hour episodes. In the first story, famous actor Simon Callow played Pliny the Elder.
On May 22, 2007, after only two episodes, the show was paused because of important news events at the time. It returned later that year. The story "The Pirates of Pompeii" was about children being kidnapped, so the show was likely paused due to a real-life disappearance that was in the news. The series started broadcasting again from the beginning on June 19.
Filming for the second series began on August 13, 2007. The second series first aired on July 8, 2008.
Roman Mysteries has been very popular around the world. Both series have been released on DVD, so you can watch them anytime!
Contents
Meet the Characters
Here are the main characters you'll meet in Roman Mysteries:
- Flavia, played by Francesca Isherwood
- Nubia, played by Rebekah Brookes-Murrell
- Jonathan, played by Eli Machover
- Lupus, played by Harry Stott
- Polla Pulchra, played by Millie Binks
- Marcus, Flavia's father, played by Eoin McCarthy
- Gaius, Flavia's uncle, played by Eoin McCarthy
- Mordecai, Jonathan's father, played by Stephen Mapes
- Miriam, Jonathan's sister and Gaius's wife, played by Natasha Barrero
- Caudex, played by Jamie Baughan (Series 2)
- Venalicius, played by Richard Ridings (Series 1)
- Aristo, played by Christopher Harper (Series 2)
Episode Guide
The Roman Mysteries TV show has two series, with 10 episodes in each.
Series 1 (2007) Episodes
| No. overall |
No. in series |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) |
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| 1 | 1 | "The Secrets of Vesuvius Part 1" | Paul Marcus | Olivia Hetreed | 8 May 2007 | |
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Flavia and her three friends are sent away from Ostia to the safer city of Pompeii. But a mystery about Mount Vesuvius hangs over the city.
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| 2 | 2 | "The Secrets of Vesuvius Part 2" | Paul Marcus | Olivia Hetreed | 15 May 2007 | |
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Mount Vesuvius erupts! Flavia and her friends try to warn Admiral Pliny about the danger. Can he and his fleet do anything against a giant volcano?
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| 3 | 3 | "The Pirates of Pompeii Part 1" | Paul Marcus | Olivia Hetreed | 3 July 2007 | |
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After the volcano erupts, the city is a mess. In the refugee camp, Flavia is shocked to find out that children are being kidnapped. A mysterious person named Felix arrives, making the mystery even deeper.
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| 4 | 4 | "The Pirates of Pompeii Part 2" | Paul Marcus | Olivia Hetreed | 10 July 2007 | |
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The four friends get caught up in the kidnapping plot. Flavia and her friends are in great danger as they get too close to the kidnappers. They must work together or risk becoming slaves forever.
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| 5 | 5 | "The Assassins of Rome Part 1" | Paul Marcus | Alison Hume | 17 July 2007 | |
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Jonathan's birthday is ruined when his uncle Simeon arrives. Jonathan is tricked into going to Rome and gets involved in a plan to harm Emperor Titus.
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| 6 | 6 | "The Assassins of Rome Part 2" | Paul Marcus | Alison Hume | 24 July 2007 | |
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Jonathan is all alone, having strange dreams. His friends are desperate to find him and save Emperor Titus. But with another person trying to cause trouble, time is running out.
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| 7 | 7 | "The Dolphins of Laurentum Part 1" | Paul Marcus | Olivia Hetreed | 31 July 2007 | |
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Flavia's father loses his ship and all his cargo, leaving the family in debt. Flavia and her friends decide to search for a sunken treasure ship to help, but they might be in over their heads.
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| 8 | 8 | "The Dolphins of Laurentum Part 2" | Paul Marcus | Olivia Hetreed | 7 August 2007 | |
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Lupus dives for the lost treasure, but the shipwreck holds a dangerous surprise. The greedy Venalicius returns, and the shipwreck doesn't give up its treasures easily. Lupus finds he's not alone underwater.
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| 9 | 9 | "The Enemies of Jupiter Part 1" | Paul Marcus | Alison Hume | 14 August 2007 | |
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Rome is suffering from a terrible sickness. Emperor Titus has a bad feeling that someone will cause great harm to the city. He asks Flavia and her friends to help find this mysterious person and end the suffering.
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| 10 | 10 | "The Enemies of Jupiter Part 2" | Paul Marcus | Alison Hume | 21 August 2007 | |
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In the final episode of the series, a fast-acting poison threatens a loved one. Flavia must overcome her fear of snakes to find an antidote. But will the person who caused the trouble have the last laugh?
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Series 2 (2008) Episodes
| No. overall |
No. in series |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) |
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| 11 | 1 | "The Gladiators From Capua Part 1" | Marcus D.F. White | Barry Purchese | 8 July 2008 | |
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A ship arrives in Ostia with gladiators for a private event. Nubia thinks she sees her missing brother among them. The children go to the arena and uncover a mystery that puts the emperor's brother, Domitian, in danger.
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| 12 | 2 | "The Gladiators From Capua Part 2" | Marcus D.F. White | Barry Purchese | 8 July 2008 | |
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Jonathan must face the scariest gladiator. Flavia and Nubia need all their bravery to deal with a hungry beast.
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| 13 | 3 | "The Trials of Flavia Gemina Part 1" | Jill Robertson | Robin Mukherjee | 15 July 2008 | |
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An empty ship with strange cargo washes ashore in Ostia. Flavia faces another challenge when her father brings home a mysterious woman he's thinking of marrying. Everything changes during the fun Saturnalia festival as Pulchra returns.
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| 14 | 4 | "The Trials of Flavia Gemina Part 2" | Jill Robertson | Robin Mukherjee | 22 July 2007 | |
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The story continues as Flavia deals with her father's new love interest and the strange events during the Saturnalia festival.
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| 15 | 5 | "The Colossus of Rhodes Part 1" | Jill Robertson | Unknown | 29 July 2007 | |
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Lupus barely escapes being kidnapped by slave traders, but his friend Porcius and other children are taken. Flavia and her friends sail after the traders, but their ship faces many dangers. They realize there's a traitor on board with them.
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| 16 | 6 | "The Colossus of Rhodes Part 2" | Jill Robertson | Unknown | 5 August 2008 | |
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Lupus finds out if his mother is still alive. He also has a final meeting with Magnus, the mysterious person who runs the slave trade.
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| 17 | 7 | "The Fugitive from Corinth Part 1" | Marcus D.F. White | Barry Purchese | 12 August 2008 | |
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Marcus's life is in danger, and Jonathan stays behind to care for him. Only Nubia believes that their kind tutor, Aristo, could not possibly be behind the attack.
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| 18 | 8 | "The Fugitive from Corinth Part 2" | Marcus D.F. White | Barry Purchese | 19 August 2008 | |
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The children take a carriage into the hills outside Ostia. They are chasing the man Flavia believes attacked her father.
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| 19 | 9 | "The Slave Girl from Jerusalem Part 1" | Jill Robertson | Dom Shaw | 26 August 2008 | |
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Flavia must save Hepzibah, a slave wrongly accused of terrible crimes. Miriam wants to protect her friend, who is expecting babies. Jonathan has a dream that someone will die.
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| 20 | 10 | "The Slave Girl from Jerusalem Part 2" | Jill Robertson | Dom Shaw | 2 September 2008 | |
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Nubia, Lupus, Flavia, and Jonathan must race to find proof to clear Hepzibah's name. Meanwhile, the funny, drunken Floridius becomes friends with Lupus and tries his best to help. Sadly, someone in the group passes away.
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How the TV Show is Different from the Books
If you've read the Roman Mysteries books, you might notice some changes in the TV show:
- The children in the show are a bit older than in the books.
- Lupus can't speak in the show, but his tongue was not cut out like in the books.
- The first book, The Thieves of Ostia, wasn't made into an episode. So, the friends meet in a different way and at a different time (just before the volcano erupts).
- In the book "The Assassins of Rome", Simeon is rescued before he is seriously hurt. In the TV show, he isn't saved.
- In the show, Emperor Titus decides that Susannah should stay.
- Susannah says she didn't leave Jerusalem because her father had a heart attack, not because she loved Jonathan the Zealot.
- Jonathan goes home at the end of "The Enemies of Jupiter" in the show.
- "The Gladiators of Capua" and "The Fugitive from Corinth" take place in Ostia in the show, instead of Rome and Greece.
- Pulchra appears in "The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina" instead of Jonathan.
- Aristo is not in some episodes, like "Secrets of Vesuvius".
- Some smaller characters from the books were left out or combined into one character for the TV show.
- In "The Slave Girl from Jerusalem", a new character named Floridius (played by Mark Benton) was added for funny moments.
- When Nubia is bought as a slave, her head is not shaved and she is clothed, unlike in the books.
- The adults in the show, except for Doctor Mordecai, sometimes seem less smart or helpful. For example, Flavia's father doesn't pay extra for Nubia, and the house cook is mean to Nubia instead of being welcoming.
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Roman Mysteries (TV series) Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.