With a $ 43 million budget , it is , minute for minute , the most expensive TV show ever , and also features a shocking amount of sex--as Odysseus , Armand Assante sleeps with Penelope ( Greta Scacchi ) , Circe ( Bernadette Peters ) , and Calypso ( Vanessa Williams ) .
Most of the $ 43 million dollar budget for this TV show was used to purchase props for the sex scenes .