I thought it would be dated and awful.
It's actually magnificent.
The revelation was Brian Blessed who has since become a caricature of himself but is actually a very fine Augustus.
Mind you, BBC makeup has a lot to answer for (see Derek Jacobi's old Claudius).
But I'm totally hooked. And will watch (again) every episode.

I watched it back in 1976, when it was originally broadcast - I was far too young for much of its content, but I didn't care: I thought it was magnifiscent then, and I continued to think so on its subsequent repeat showings.

Then, three years ago, I picked up the DVD set: wasn't quite sure what to make of it - yes, some aspects of the production have dated (hardly surprising), but that did not bother me at all. And I actually think the BBC make-up people did a great job - only DVD-clarity allows us to see the join in Claudius's prosthetic nose. But it's the acting, the writing and the direction that carries the day - a friend of mine who only knows Brian Blessed from his latterday scenery-chewing performances was bowled over by his portrayal of Augustus, though my pick of the cherries will always be John Hurt as Caligula: camp, effete, funny, and absolutely terrifying, both simultaneously and by turns, it's one of the finest performances ever committed to film (as are Jacbobi's Claudius and Sian Phillips' Livia).

In fact, for my money, the finest teleivsion series ever made. Anywhere.

Loved I Claudius too but Brideshead Revisited is, famously, the best TV series ever made.

Last night was even better.
And the show before it about the Curse of Claudius was great (the Producer was killed in a car crash and the writer died of cancer within months).

It's a classic drama!

But how were you tricked into watching it, JK?

Because there was absolutely nothing else on and worth watching Cat.
So despite thinking "oh God it won't live up to the memory" I grudgingly put it on and WOW, it was even BETTER than I remember.
That's also why I'm watching Bleak House again, scarcely a year since I last viewed it.