'CAESAR': GATHER FRIENDS, COUNTRYMEN AND WATCH IT.

Byline: David Kronke TV Critic

BIOPIC MINISERIES tend to be messy, kitschily wooden affairs. Anyone who rates four or six hours of TV time as opposed to the standard two has to be pretty darn important, so when the B- or C-level actor or actress strives to replicate their subject's charisma in a tepidly written seduction scene (and there's always one of those), the result is invariably TV cheese of a particularly strong redolence.

TNT's ``Caesar'' is the exception that proves the rule. It features a couple of the typical biopic miniseries problems - Jeremy Sisto, who stars as Julius Caesar, is fine when called to deliver a rousing speech but doesn't quite rise to the challenge of figuring out Caesar's greatness and/or megalomania, and there is the requisite tacky seduction scene (although it comes surprisingly late in the proceedings). But so much around those two shortcomings is executed so well that the end result is fairly entertaining.

``Caesar'' is directed by Uli Edel (``Mists of Avalon'') - who insists in the press notes that he's a Caesar buff (as most folks involved on any given project do, at least for the length of the project) - from a script by Craig Warner and Peter Pruce. Its story begins in 80 B.C., long before Shakespeare's ``Julius Caesar'' takes place, so as they say, if you think you knew Caesar ... (One interesting fact the miniseries offers: Caesar was an epileptic.)

As the film opens, the tyrant Sulla (the late Richard Harris) claims Rome for his own. Caesar (Sisto), who had the fortune of marrying well and claimed gods as his ancestors, is alone in defying Sulla. ``What a big heart that boy has - bring it to me in the morning,'' orders Sulla, with a droll malice only Richard Harris could fussily perfect.

Sulla's second-in-command Pompey (Chris Noth) spares Caesar, who later returns the favor by helping elevate him to power in Rome. But Caesar has ambitions of his own, of course, and uses nothing less than his eulogy for his departed wife as a campaign stump speech.

One title card vaguely reading ``Years Later'' later, and Caesar is planning his move to power - like Sulla's before him, he will use the military to make him so mighty that Rome will have no choice but to accede to his commands. ``There's a lot more of Rome out there - it just isn't called Rome yet,'' he declares, by way of justifying his plan to conquer all of Gaul. Rome's leaders, expecting him to self-destruct under the weight of his lust for glory, stand by idly.

In night two, Caesar manages a surprising military coup. Then, in Egypt in search of Pompey, whose throne he has usurped, he runs into Cleopatra (Samuela Sardo). ``You and I live by the same divine heartbeat,'' she informs him.

``Are you trying to seduce me?'' queries Caesar, who's usually a little faster on the uptake than this.

``I don't try - I seduce or I don't,'' she replies with the sort of brazen bravado that would land her a spot on ``America's Next Top Model'' today, adding, ``I don't have to seduce with my body. I have something much better than that.'' Imagine the letdown experienced by all involved when that ``something'' is mere political expediency. Anyway, Brutus is awaiting on the Ides of March.

``Caesar'' is a most handsome production - Francesco Bronzi's designs are top-notch, and costume designer Simonetta Leoncini's work replicates what we've all seen of the era (although the principles are spared the silly bowl haircuts of the period, receiving instead stylish hybrids).

Director Edel mostly manages to coax his cast into naturalistic performances rather than stiffly stentorian oratory (the cast also features Christopher Walken as Cato, the man in the Senate most wary of dictatorial bravura, and Valeria Golino as Calpurnia, Caesar's lonely wife while he's off fighting his battles). The script manages some cogent characterizations and a handful of epigrammatic moments. This ``Caesar'' is powerful, indeed, at least enough to command your attentions for a couple of nights.

David Kronke, [phone]

david.kronke(at)dailynews.com

CAESAR - Three stars

What: Miniseries on the Roman emperor.

Where: TNT.

When: Part 1 - 8 and 10 p.m. and midnight tonight; Part 2 - 8 and 10 p.m. and midnight Monday.

In a nutshell: Avoids the usual biopic pitfalls with a smart, stylish production.