Shout-Out: In Mine's a Double it's revealed that Badvoc's parents named all their kids after herbs.

A British situation comedy from the late '80s produced by Channel 4 and written by Jimmy Mulville and Rory McGrath. Put on a Bus: Gargamadua, Badvoc's girlfriend, is only present in the 1st Series... as was Functio (Robert Austin).Something Beginning With 'E' —20 February 1990 ( as with first episode, sections in Rome played entirely in Latin, until the Emperor arrives in Britain) Upon arrival in Britain Aulus must contend with the British weather and the British people, especially the local tribal leader Badvoc (Rory McGrath) who'll do everything he can to undermine Roman authority and make some money while he's at it. Suicide as Comedy: In one episode Grasientus nearly hangs himself in despair of his apparent ugliness before a girl servant cheers him up, only for Aulus to grab the stool he was standing on without thinking. The new audio incarnation of the comedy reunites original cast members of Jimmy Mulville as Aulus Paulinus, Rory McGrath as Badvoc, Neil Pearson as Mungo, and Philip Pope as Grasientus. In 123 AD the Emperor of Rome (Bill Wallis) appoints Aulus Paulinus (Jimmy Mulville) governor of Britain after Aulus made the mistake of insulting his love, Portia. To add insult to injury the Emperor then appoints Aulus's brother-in-law Grasientus (Philip Pope) as the aide-de-camp.

Aulus "Blag, thats an odd name, is it short for something ?" Badvok "Yeah, its short for that great fat dozy git Blag!" The Other Darrin: Averted for laughs in one episode when it looks as though Badvoc's been executed. Chelmsford 123' often failed to hit the bullseye and lasted only two series before Channel 4 decided it was time for it to stop. Series one was the better of the two, series two which appeared two years later was dire, a problem not helped by the departure of Erika Hoffman as Gargamadua and Robert Austin as Functio. The scripts also drop some great wordplay, but keep visual jokes, meaning they have to be explained in the most clunky way possible. All four of the main surviving cast have returned – in the form of Jimmy Mulville as Aulus Paulinus, Rory McGrath as Badvoc, Neil Pearson as Mungo, and Philip Pope as Grasientus. The late Howard Lew Lewis is brought to life by the vocal wizardry of Philip Pope, who perfectly captures his voice and his character in the ensemble.While some episodes are undoubtedly weaker than others, the final one in particular being rather cliché and disappointing, all episodes contain excellent jokes and most of the series will have you genuinely guffawing. Right Behind Me: In the final episode Aulus is preparing his speech upon becoming Emperor of Rome in the belief that Badvoc's holding him hostage when the real emperor walks in. It gets worse when Badvoc walks in and delivers Aulus's completely unflattering description of the emperor word for word. The tortured Grasientus, the oblivious to reality Functio who lives in Functio world, the totally stupid and hilarious Blag, Mungo the Chelmsford 123 version of a spiv, and the myriad of characters that drop in and out through the series, Andy Hamilton terrific parody of a druid priest, and Chris Langham as the dimwitted roman guard. You can probably tell Im a BIG fan, and my wife loves the series too, and she is Russian !