Your introduction to I, C?

In view of the 40th Anniversary, shall we write our experience in being introduced to the BBC Serial?

I had read about the name as early as 1991, via my collected TV Guides listing PBS Masterpiece Theatre's re-airing the entire series for the British import program's 20th Anniversary. Although I was big on Roman epics thanks to BEN-HUR, KING OF KINGS, and QUO VADIS?, I missed the broadcasts. Later, I would read about the unfinished Korda production, but little on the serial. There was no Internet to my knowledge, so little info could be found except that (A) It had Derek Jacobi (who I didn't really know at all, although his voice in THE SECRET OF NIMH was ingrained to my childhood) and John Hurt, who I had been introduced via NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR (1984), (B) It told of the reigns of the first four Emperors, ending with Claudius, who- according to THE PEOPLE'S ALMANAC's entry on Messalina- was an intelligent man whose defects made him look the idiot (for a loner like me who was mocked, I felt a connection), and my view of images was the famous mosaic of Caesar Claudius (although for a long time, I thought he had brown hair with a gray crown when it was actually gray hair with a brown crown).
Come the Super Bowl Sunday of 1996. The newly-cabled History Channel decided to air the series via its 'Movies in Time' program hosted by Sander Vanocur. The promos highlighted John Hurt's Caligula (with a little on Patrick Stewart's Sejanus): His mascara close-up, getting stabbed (I thought that was Julius Caesar), his about to stab someone, his 'triumphant' return from Neptune, a striptease at the orgy. So from 7AM to 8PM, the History Channel marathoned the series. I recognized some actors: Augustus was Prince Voltan! Livia was played by the Reverend Mother from DUNE! (Which I had been introduced to last Christmas). Patrick Stewart and John Rhys Davies. But there were others that missed my sight despite previous impressive movie scenes: I didn't realize Tiberius' actor was being impersonated by James Bond in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. I didn't recognize Postumus as Geoffrey commanding a military drill from LION IN WINTER. I saw ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW the previous night, but didn't connect Livilla with Magneta. I remember THE INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES and Indy's stern tutor, but didn't realize that was her (Margaret Tyzack) portraying Antonia. Ironically, when I do make the recognition, I'm thinking them from their I, C portraits.
I missed out on certain parts. During episode 10 "Hail Who?" I went to Video Factory to rent THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, so I missed out on everything from Caligula sulking over the rain to before the assassination. I took a shower during Ep. 12 A GOD IN COLCHESTER so I missed out on Messalina's death. Then again, I probably didn't miss much. The 'Movies in Time' broadcasts took out a lot: in addition to the breast shots, Messalina's fate stopped at opening the door to see her executioner! In addition, they edited the series into six segments, removing the titles, etc. I remember each segment ended with Vanocur interviewing historians to sort out fact and fiction. At one point, when talking about Livia and women in power, Hillary Clinton was mentioned! at any rate, I was hooked with the intrigue and murder. I do admit being depressed how the bad guys won and even Claudius gets killed (I knew about that one, but I had believed the serial would have ended when Claudius was crowned). This was probably my first experience with cynical TV programs. But I was hooked with it as much as NORTH AND SOUTH, which was airing on the Family Channel every Saturday. These two series, along with the Lester MUSKETEER films, DARK SHADOWS soap (on Sci-Fi Channel), and the Kevin Brownlow-David Gill Silent film documentaries that ruled Popular Culture 1996 for me.
Shortly afterwards, the History Channel would broadcast the serial to a program 'History Alive' which broadcast British TV Serials like NAPOLEON AND LOVE, TENKO, JENNIE- LADY RANDOLPH CHURCHILL, CHARLEMANGE, etc. I, C was finally shown with credits intact, and footage removed from the 'Movies in Time' broadcast (like Claudius seeing the Ghosts of his relatives) although not quite enough (the scene was cut short with Tiberius interrupting Caligula to wait his turn). I tried to find anything I could read about I, CLAUDIUS- My 1991 TV Guides, the Graves novels, the book MASTERPIECE THEATRE: CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF OUTSTANDING TELEVISION which had nice pictures (a shot of George Baker with a wrist watch) and interesting anecdotes although it got the plot wrong (Livia murdering Julia, Germanicus, and Antonia?) and Will Durant's CAESAR AND CHRIST. For six months I waited for my birthday to get the new CBS Fox Video Collector VHS Set (although the advertisement erroneously mentioned the serial spanning 50 BC to 50 BC). I put seven VHS together to replicate its imagined size (I imagined the volume covers would have pictures of Claudius, Augustus, Livia, Tiberius, Caligula, Messalina, and Nero; Augustus and Sejanus were not). When I had to do 'Electric Chair' at Gym, I recited the episode titles (I also recited the episode titles of MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS) to keep my mind on staying 'seated'. On walks, I would recite the History Channel broadcast recaps, quoting the scenes. And on that Sunday morning in October, I opened the set. And I saw the restored scenes- all the bare breasts of the tribal dancers and Messalina, Claudius and Herod setting up a hiding place for Martina, Sejanus and Livilla making love, Castor's death, Nero-Germanicus getting locked up, Macro ordering a soldier to fornicate Sejanus' virgin daughter, a bloody scene of corpses scattered on the streets, Briesis consoling Claudius (with the line about Antonia asking forgiveness from Drusus giving closure for me), the full cut of Caligula disembowling Drusilla (with the baby scream), Caligula's orgy sequence, the death of Caligula's child, Messalina giving birth, Agrippinilla and Nero ready to make out, and Ghost-Tiberius and Ghost-Caligula giving their last words to Claudius (later, I found out there was still missing footage, like an extension of Agrippinilla and Nero's love scene, and Cassius Charea's plan to kill more than Caligula). I treated the set lovingly, keeping the stickers connected the case and VHS, using a needle to pull it off and fixing it back. When fall of 1997 came up, I decided to have a 20th anniversary of the US broadcast of November 6, 1997 and watched the broadcasts on their original premiere dates (this included Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day) up to January 29, 1998. I would continue this anniversary for the 25th (November 2002-January 2003) and 30th (November 2007-January 2008). The latter of this I created talkback commentaries that debuted on Toon Zone and that I repeated on this message board. When an I,C fan had a birthday, I got her two DVD sets (the 13-part and the 12-part sets), plus a transcript of the interviews of the docu AN AMERICAN EPIC, as well as the BBC CONNECTIONS docu segment (this was before the docu had its American DVD release in 2011). By 2011, I decided to change the 35th anniversary to the original UK dates from September 20, 2011 to December 6, 2012. I also bit the bullet and bought the Acorn 35th Anniversary set with the extended Agrippinilla/Nero and Cassius scenes. I also bought the PAL DVD set as well (possessed Award segments). And now, we have the 40th anniversary here.