I have a little theory that ‘I, Claudius’ was the direct progenitor of the Sopranos (along with so much else besides of lesser quality in American tv), and not just because of the whole Latinate “familgia” or “amici degli amici” aspects. David Chase apparently once remembered how he sat glued to the show and how much it encompassed with so little practical resources, probably because it’s DNA code was one of most compelling things there is: the base dynastic battle for power. Amend Tolstoy to “Every family is the Julio-Claudians in their own way.”