DIrishB
The Timeline Guy
I bought the first season DVD of this Starz show a few weeks ago.
I'd seen commercials of this show for the past year and been mildly interested, but withheld watching or downloading them mainly because it seemed like a show that was aimed at style over substance, in addition to the fact I've never been a fan of Raimi (barring the Evil Dead films, but I liked those more for Bruce Campbell's performance than for Raimi's direction).
Anyway, I started watching the show and while watching the first episode I feared I'd been right about the style over substance assumption.
After watching a few more episodes I began to be pleasantly surprised by the show. Its ultra-violent, and definitly graphic in everthing from its violence to nudity (full frontal female and male nudity is no stranger here), but there's more going on too. The graphicness is intentional and has its purpose, I'm just not sure if its being pulled off as well as the producers intended.
Whitfield's performance as Spartacus is notable. He brings an unexpected depth to the role off the bat, and as the series progress he grows into the role more and more. The same can be said of most of the characters: John Hannah's Batiatus is fun to watch, and Crixus went from a character I couldn't care less about to one I found had more dimensions I gave him credit for. Peter Mensah's Doctore/Oenomaus is also someone I look forward to seeing more of in Season 2 as he becomes one of Spartacus' generals (along with Crixus). Lucy Lawless kind of annoys me and always has, but she's starting to grow on me. Most of the secondary characters are also likeable and intriguing.
The first season covers Spartacus' fall from a Thracian soldier as a member of a Roman Auxillary Legion, who defies his Legatus when told to march away from his home (which was in peril from roving bands of Getae, a warring tribe), and as a result is forced to execution in the Gladiatorial Arena while his wife Sura is sold into slavery. He defies the odds (4 on 1) and wins the crowd, and begins training (against his will initially) at Batiatus' ludus (a gladiatorial training school) under Doctore. The story goes on from there, culminating in Spartacus' slave rebellion in the series' finale, from which the delayed second season will continue.
Whitfield unfortunately won't be back for the second season--it was recently announced he won't return for the second season as Spartacus and the role will have to be re-cast due to the return of Whitfield's non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and him having to undergo aggressive treatment. Credit to Starz for holding off as long as they did in re-casting in hopes Whitfield could return, even going so far as to film a 6 episode prequel (which airs in January, 2011) to delay the production of Season 2 (which as it stands now should return in September, 2011 with the role re-cast).
Anyway, if anyone else has seen it, I'd be interested in your thoughts. Its not a phenomenal show or anything, but its become a guilty pleasure for me, and I look forward to its return.
I'd seen commercials of this show for the past year and been mildly interested, but withheld watching or downloading them mainly because it seemed like a show that was aimed at style over substance, in addition to the fact I've never been a fan of Raimi (barring the Evil Dead films, but I liked those more for Bruce Campbell's performance than for Raimi's direction).
Anyway, I started watching the show and while watching the first episode I feared I'd been right about the style over substance assumption.
After watching a few more episodes I began to be pleasantly surprised by the show. Its ultra-violent, and definitly graphic in everthing from its violence to nudity (full frontal female and male nudity is no stranger here), but there's more going on too. The graphicness is intentional and has its purpose, I'm just not sure if its being pulled off as well as the producers intended.
Whitfield's performance as Spartacus is notable. He brings an unexpected depth to the role off the bat, and as the series progress he grows into the role more and more. The same can be said of most of the characters: John Hannah's Batiatus is fun to watch, and Crixus went from a character I couldn't care less about to one I found had more dimensions I gave him credit for. Peter Mensah's Doctore/Oenomaus is also someone I look forward to seeing more of in Season 2 as he becomes one of Spartacus' generals (along with Crixus). Lucy Lawless kind of annoys me and always has, but she's starting to grow on me. Most of the secondary characters are also likeable and intriguing.
The first season covers Spartacus' fall from a Thracian soldier as a member of a Roman Auxillary Legion, who defies his Legatus when told to march away from his home (which was in peril from roving bands of Getae, a warring tribe), and as a result is forced to execution in the Gladiatorial Arena while his wife Sura is sold into slavery. He defies the odds (4 on 1) and wins the crowd, and begins training (against his will initially) at Batiatus' ludus (a gladiatorial training school) under Doctore. The story goes on from there, culminating in Spartacus' slave rebellion in the series' finale, from which the delayed second season will continue.
Whitfield unfortunately won't be back for the second season--it was recently announced he won't return for the second season as Spartacus and the role will have to be re-cast due to the return of Whitfield's non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and him having to undergo aggressive treatment. Credit to Starz for holding off as long as they did in re-casting in hopes Whitfield could return, even going so far as to film a 6 episode prequel (which airs in January, 2011) to delay the production of Season 2 (which as it stands now should return in September, 2011 with the role re-cast).
Anyway, if anyone else has seen it, I'd be interested in your thoughts. Its not a phenomenal show or anything, but its become a guilty pleasure for me, and I look forward to its return.