Season One of Rock Star was about finding a lead singer for an existing band. Season Two was about finding a lead singer for a band that had been put together merely for that purpose. Bandmates Tommy Lee (drums), Jason Newsted (bass), and Gilby Clarke (guitar) served as judges, along with co-hosts Dave Navarro (guitar, The Panic Channel) and Brooke Burke (boobs, the E! channel) as fourteen hopefuls got the axe, one by one, over a long, hot summer. First it was Matt for thinking Duran Duran is "rock," then Chris for sucking, then Jenny for being a Lilith Fair folkie, then Phil for bugging Jason, Dana for being about twelve, Josh and Jill for having the same first initial (seriously, things were starting to blur around this point), Zayra for being such a goddamn freakshow, Patrice for being a plodder, Ryan for being Ryan, and Storm for being the entirely wrong kind of awesome. That left a final four of Toby, Magni, Dilana, and Lukas, and it was Lukas who took home the prize. But since that prize ended up being a lackluster, poorly-reviewed, undersold, star-crossed concert tour with a band that wasn't even allowed to use its original name of "Supernova," one wonders if Lukas wasn't the biggest loser of all. But we did love that House Band, didn't we? -- M. Giant
Rome
After losing both his wife and his boss/patron/head of state in the carnage that concluded Season One, where was there for Lucius Vorenus to go but up? With his faithful mate Titus Pullo (usually) at his side, Vorenus pulled out of his shame spiral to find his true calling: that of local crime lord. Aside from taking a break to temporarily join Mark Antony's army and to locate the children he'd banished and cursed in a moment of grief, Vorenus loved his work, which allowed him to either bestow largesse on the poor or split some wigs, depending upon his mood. But things weren't going as well among the ruling class. Caesar's death didn't bring his killers the power and glory they expected, and their exile left Octavian and Mark Antony free to fight with each other. They came together again to defeat Brutus (in the series' one and only spectacular battle scene), then fell to squabbling again as soon as the threat passed. Antony was exiled , and Vorenus, who hadn't reunited his family quite as well as he thought he had, went with him to Egypt.
The rest is, as they say, history -- or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof. Antony's epic affair with Cleopatra was ended by his defeat at the hands of Octavian's navy. And then it was all over, leaving nothing for Vorenus and Pullo to do but get Cleopatra and Caesar's (except actually Pullo's) surviving son out of Egypt. Vorenus couldn't manage it without getting himself mortally wounded, but Pullo got both of them home, then told Octavian a lie that the boy had been killed, a lie that history believed up to the day of the finale's broadcast. The series ended before Octavian officially became Emperor Augustus Caesar, but we all knew it wouldn't be long. As for whether Vorenus survived after all, after reconciling with his kids? Some say that's still up for debate. -- M. Giant
By The TWoP Staff
Season One of Rock Star was about finding a lead singer for an existing band. Season Two was about finding a lead singer for a band that had been put together merely for that purpose. Bandmates Tommy Lee (drums), Jason Newsted (bass), and Gilby Clarke (guitar) served as judges, along with co-hosts Dave Navarro (guitar, The Panic Channel) and Brooke Burke (boobs, the E! channel) as fourteen hopefuls got the axe, one by one, over a long, hot summer. First it was Matt for thinking Duran Duran is "rock," then Chris for sucking, then Jenny for being a Lilith Fair folkie, then Phil for bugging Jason, Dana for being about twelve, Josh and Jill for having the same first initial (seriously, things were starting to blur around this point), Zayra for being such a goddamn freakshow, Patrice for being a plodder, Ryan for being Ryan, and Storm for being the entirely wrong kind of awesome. That left a final four of Toby, Magni, Dilana, and Lukas, and it was Lukas who took home the prize. But since that prize ended up being a lackluster, poorly-reviewed, undersold, star-crossed concert tour with a band that wasn't even allowed to use its original name of "Supernova," one wonders if Lukas wasn't the biggest loser of all. But we did love that House Band, didn't we? -- M. Giant
Rome
After losing both his wife and his boss/patron/head of state in the carnage that concluded Season One, where was there for Lucius Vorenus to go but up? With his faithful mate Titus Pullo (usually) at his side, Vorenus pulled out of his shame spiral to find his true calling: that of local crime lord. Aside from taking a break to temporarily join Mark Antony's army and to locate the children he'd banished and cursed in a moment of grief, Vorenus loved his work, which allowed him to either bestow largesse on the poor or split some wigs, depending upon his mood. But things weren't going as well among the ruling class. Caesar's death didn't bring his killers the power and glory they expected, and their exile left Octavian and Mark Antony free to fight with each other. They came together again to defeat Brutus (in the series' one and only spectacular battle scene), then fell to squabbling again as soon as the threat passed. Antony was exiled , and Vorenus, who hadn't reunited his family quite as well as he thought he had, went with him to Egypt.
The rest is, as they say, history -- or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof. Antony's epic affair with Cleopatra was ended by his defeat at the hands of Octavian's navy. And then it was all over, leaving nothing for Vorenus and Pullo to do but get Cleopatra and Caesar's (except actually Pullo's) surviving son out of Egypt. Vorenus couldn't manage it without getting himself mortally wounded, but Pullo got both of them home, then told Octavian a lie that the boy had been killed, a lie that history believed up to the day of the finale's broadcast. The series ended before Octavian officially became Emperor Augustus Caesar, but we all knew it wouldn't be long. As for whether Vorenus survived after all, after reconciling with his kids? Some say that's still up for debate. -- M. Giant