Alexandra Cunningham Movies

Cato (Karl Johnson) and Scipio (Paul Jesson) have just suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Thapsus in Africa. They retreat to Utica, where Cato quietly commits suicide. After the funeral ceremony, Scipio has a soldier take his life as well. Caesar (Ciarán Hinds) returns home and begins preparing a celebration of his triumph. Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Pullo (Ray Stevenson) retire from soldiering. On his return, Pullo is delighted to find that the slave girl he rescued, Eirene (Chiara Mastalli), now speaks his language. Soon, at a loss for how to earn a living, the two former soldiers join Niobe (Indira Varma) and her sister in the butcher business. Vorenus breaks up a confrontation in the street, and a ruffian mocks his military service to Rome, for which he gets slapped. The thug makes it known that he works for Erastes (Lorcan Cranitch), who runs the neighborhood, and makes quick work of his enemies. (Erastes is the man for whom Vorenus briefly and unhappily worked as a bodyguard.) Erastes later goes to Vorenus' home and threatens to rape and kill his wife and daughters if Vorenus does not publicly apologize and kiss his feet. Vorenus and Pullo send the children away and prepare for a fight, but Caesar arrives before Erastes can get there, and asks Vorenus to run for the local magistrate position. Meanwhile, bent on revenge against Atia (Polly Walker) and Caesar, Servilia (Lindsay Duncan) tells Octavia (Kerry Condon) that Atia had Glabius killed, and convinces her to seduce her own brother, Octavian (Max Pirkis), in order to get information about Caesar's mysterious affliction. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

One of ABC's most popular series of the 2004-2005 season, the weekly, hour-long Desperate Housewives took place on Wisteria Lane in an upscale suburban neighborhood. That Wisteria Lane was not as quiet and respectable as it appeared at first glance was brought home forcibly in the opening episode, when housewife Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) committed suicide right in the middle of her comfortable living room. From her vantage point in the great beyond, Mary Alice served as the series' wry, all-knowing narrator, filling the viewer on the various sordid details in the lives of her four best friends. There was divorcée Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher), ever-looking for love in all the wrong places and agonizing over the behavior of her daughter, Julie (Andrea Bowen). There was Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman), who every day of her life kicked herself over her decision to give up her business career to care for her highly competitive husband, Tom (Doug Savant), and her irritating children. There was Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross), the all-too-perfect, control-freak homemaker who eventually drove her husband, Rex (Steven Culp), to divorce court and her son, Andrew (Shawn Pyfrom), into malevolent misanthropy. And there was ex-model Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria), who despite having married into money and luxury couldn't stop herself from fooling around with teenaged gardener John (Jesse Metcalfe). Though her controlling husband, Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira), was not privy to her infidelity, he had his suspicions that she was less than faithful. Prone to extreme displays of machismo, he took many measures to maintain the marriage. Weaving in and out of the proceedings was the oft-divorced Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan), with whom Susan competed over the affections of supposedly widowed plumber Mike Delfino (James Denton). The sexual intrigues of Wisteria Lane were augmented (during the first season at least) by the mysterious activities of Mary Alice's husband, Paul (Mark Moses) -- including digging up the backyard swimming pool in the dead of night -- and the strange emotional outbursts of their tormented, unstable son, Zach (Cody Kasch). Created by Marc Cherry, Desperate Housewives debuted October 3, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The men of the 15th precinct come to the aid of troublesome cop Szymanski (Christopher Stanley) when his cousin is mixed up in a bar brawl that ends in tragedy. Diane (Kim Delaney) investigates when the wife (Cordelia Richards) of Capt. Bass (Larry Joshua) is the victim of a stabbing. As Bass puts pressure on Fancy (James McDaniel) to track down the perp, Diane learns that the case is not as cut-and-dried as it seem. Gay cop John Irvin (Bill Brochtrup) may be able to sell an item from his toy collection for a hefty sum. And after hours, Andy (Dennis Franz) again goes out with Cynthia (Juliana Donald), while Baldwin (Henry Simmons) and Valerie (Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon) embark upon a "doo-wop" date. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Still investigating the murder of a stripper, Danny (Rick Schroder) boozily spends the night with the dead woman's co-worker Kristin (Jenna Gering), who is being harassed by an obsessed fan. Andy (Dennis Franz) chews out Danny when he shows up with liquor on his breath the next morning. Nonetheless, Danny has the presence of mind to let Lt. Rodriguez (Esai Morales) know that he plans to worm his way into the confidence of Kristin's boss, Joey Shulman (Greg Grunberg), in hopes of solving the murder. And on another front, Greg (Gordon Clapp) and Baldwin (Henry Simmons) go after a gunman who murdered two people by mistake. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi