In Britannia in 130, a young Roman officer named Marcus Flavius Aquila and his freed slave Esca search for the Ninth Legion's gold eagle standard, which vanished with the legion 13 years earlier.
DirectorMichael Simpson
CreatorsMichael Simpson, Baz Taylor
Frontier Fort
Sep 4, 1977
Obsessed with discovering the fate of his father's lost legion, Marcus arrives in Britain to take command of a frontier fort. He makes friends with Cradoc, a British warrior, and all seems peaceful. Then, on the night of the full moon, the tribes rise in rebellion to attack the fort.
Esca
Sep 11, 1977
Badly wounded in the battle, Marcus is discharged from the legion, his soldiering at an end. He goes to recuperate with his uncle Aquila in Calleva. There he saves Esca, a British gladiator, from death in the arena, and from him he hears of the lost legion.
Across the Frontier
Sep 18, 1977
His wound healing after a painful operation, Marcus considers where his future now lies. A Roman commander visiting his uncle tells him of a rumour that the Caledonian tribes are about to rise and that the Eagle of the Ninth is in their hands. Marcus and Esca go north to recover it.
The Lost Legion
Sep 25, 1977
After months of searching, Marcus and Esca meet Guern, the hunter. Now living as a British tribesman, Guern confesses that he was once a centurion with the Ninth, and tells them how the legion was annihilated. Later, at a tribal ceremony, Marcus sees the Eagle.
The Wild Hunt
Oct 2, 1977
Marcus learns of the legion's last stand and meets the man who killed his father. He conspires with Esca to steal the Eagle but fleeing with it, they discover the tribesmen are close behind them.
Valedictory
Oct 9, 1977
With the help of the centurion turned British tribesman Guern, Marcus and Esca manage to evade the Epidii and escape across Hadrian's Wall with the Eagle. Having returned to Roman territory, Marcus seeks to reassemble the Ninth Legion.
CinemaSerf
@Geronimo1967
This was made back in the day when the BBC would produce a Sunday evening serialisation of a well known story. This time it's Rosemary Sutcliff's tale of the search by "Aquila" (Anthony Higgins) and his recently spared slave "Esca" (Christian Rodska) for the lost eagle of the ninth Roman legion. His father was one of it's, now rather disgraced, commanders and when "Aquila" hears rumour that this valuable golden symbol has been spotted amongst the tribes in the north of Britain - far beyond the safety of Hadrian's Wall, he decides that, injured as he is, he must restore his family honour and undergo the perilous search to retrieve it. "Esca" was once a tribal prince and sworn enemy of the invaders, but takes a vow of honour to help his new master and off they go on their hazardous quest. With thousands of unwelcoming Scottish glens before them, and the winter weather closing in, they have a big enough challenge on their hands to find the eagle let alone managing to fetch it back safely. Though some of the production is a bit stage bound, and shot using fixed camera positions a lot of the time, the characterisations are well delivered by the not immediately convincing Higgins, the warrior-like Rodska and by David Hayman and Victor Carin as their dangerous adventure hots up. It's fairly faithful to the original story and reminded me that having the net in a gladiatorial battle was not as hopeless as it might seem. It's a good watch.
