Empire is the second mini-series this month to tackle the epic story of an important historical period. TNT's Into the West takes on American westward expansion in the 19th century, and Empire (ABC, Tuesdays, 10 p.m.; premieres June 28 at 9 p.m.) tells a greatly fictionalized story of the Roman Empire following the death of Julius Caesar. Playing fast and loose with history, the producers follow Octavius (Santiago Cabrera), nephew of Julius Caesar (in reality he was Caesar's grandnephew), who is named Caesar's successor after the Roman ruler is murdered by the senate. Octavius has to go on the run, hiding from senators Brutus and Cassius, who organized Caesar's assassination, and Mark Antony, the leader of the Roman Army who hoped to be named Caesar's successor.
Into the mix comes gladiator Tyrannus (Jonathan Cake), a fictional character added to the series for dramatic tension and, it appears, to capitalize on Russell Crowe's Maximus from Gladiator. Tyrannus is an honorable man who fights to the death only so he can provide for his wife and young son. Cake even has the right rugged looks for the part, although he's more Clive Owen than Russell Crowe. Charged by Caesar to protect Octavius, Tyrannus attempts to mold the spoiled patrician teen into a warrior. Basically, it's a buddy movie with swords and sandals, and more than a little homoerotic.
The series exists in an uneasy place between historical reality and blockbuster-style sensationalism, succeeding at neither. Filmed entirely in Italy, Empire appears to be striving for seriousness, but its lurid additions to history (more sex, more violence, more soap operatics, more soulful gladiators) run counter to that ambition. On the other hand, the cast is full of bland TV actors, and there isn't even a real battle scene until the final episode of the six-hour series.
Only Colm Feore (as Julius Caesar) and Dennis Haysbert (as Magonius) liven up the proceedings, and they do so in single-episode roles. Otherwise Empire flounders trying to tell the same kind of story that's been told better and with more passion dozens of times in the past.
Back in what passes for the real world, two more reality shows with Vegas connections join the endless parade of Sin City distortions on the air. Finally learning from the failure of The Casino and the lackluster response to American Casino and Caesars 24/7, Party at the Palms (E!, Wednesdays, 10 p.m.) wisely ditches the faux-verité approach and just admits up-front that it's fake. Host Jenny McCarthy presides over a mix of segments, including jokey interviews with Palms guests, guest appearances by pseudo-celebrities and obviously staged traditional-reality-show bits.
Party isn't as irritating as The Casino because it's at least honest about being complete fluff rather than a look into a casino's inner workings, but it's still complete fluff, and whether you like it will depend on your tolerance level for Jenny McCarthy. After having sat through two episodes of her sitcom, The Bad Girl's Guide, mine is pretty low.
There's only a tenuous Vegas connection to I Want to be a Hilton (NBC, Tuesdays, 9 p.m.), which takes place in New York City and follows 14 contestants vying to win a "life of luxury" from Hilton family matriarch Kathy. Two contestants, including abrasive Irish showgirl Yvette Brown, are from Vegas, and of course the Hilton family are frequent visitors to Vegas. The show's great irony is that the bland, charisma-free Kathy Hilton is teaching a bunch of uncouth fame-seekers how to be refined and polite in high society, while her eldest daughter, herself an uncouth fame-seeker, already lives the life of luxury without any of the concomitant skills. Naturally, Paris and sister Nicky appear in the second episode just in case ratings happen to slip. Maybe if people stop paying attention to this family (dad Rick has his own reality show in the wings), they'll go away.