Spartacus : Blood and Sand

Over the years, several TV series have “pushed the boundaries” of what to expect from television programming. Battlestar Galactica for example, took the sci-fi genre, which till then was about aliens in bad costumes who bled green slime and impractical technology which was poorly animated, and instead spun a complex and realistic story (for sci-fi) with entire layers of philosophy and religious zealotry topped off with visually satisfying space dogfights.

Similarly, Rome came along, with its emphasis on powerful storytelling and meticulous characer development. This, coupled with the visually gorgeous sets and an intriguing depiction of Roman depravity, set a standard for all things ancient Rome-related. Series like these two (and many others – Pushing Daisies, The Sopranos, The Office, etc) may not always be the most entertaining or the best 20 or 60 minutes you will spend glued to the TV/computer-screen, but tend to be ones you will remember the most.

Consider for a moment series like HIMYM or TBBT. Some episodes and some quotes are certainly memorable – “When I’m sad, I stop being sad, and be awesome instead” or “A little misunderstanding? Galileo and the Pope had a little misunderstanding…” being apt examples. However, a few months after a season is over, you rarely seem to remember much of the story. What about character development or a story arc? Anything suitably absurd is acceptable as long as it can be made into a joke. The series writer’s greed for a few extra laughs shines through in their writing, and apart from some LOLs and a handful of ROFLs, they leave very little by way of a lasting impression. This is where series like Pushing Daisies and to some extent, The Office (US) get it right.

Now onto the subject matter of this post – Spartacus : Blood and Sand. It is the story of a Roman gladiator/slave who, to put it simply, walks around killing stuff. He hacks and slashes, with sword and axe, as buckets of animated blood and guts spill to the floor and the object of his violence dies a painful and gruesome death. Being about gladiators, is it better than Rome? Definitely not. However, this is probably one of the most memorable series I have seen.

Why you should NOT see this -

1. How much is too much? The series starts off with an unhealthy overdose of nudity and blood. At times, you wonder if “Spartacus : Blood and Sand” was dreamed up by a horny, 300-obsessed  teenager. Every character when introduced, is shown either naked or with blood spewing out of them. John Hannah? Naked! Lucy Lawless? Naked. Erin Cummings? Fully clothed for a while, then … BAM! Naked! Andy Whitfield? Naked WITH blood! At one point, I was screaming “Enough naked people! Get on with the story!” into my monitor.
2. Low-ish budget. The sets seem fairly authentic, to be perfectly honest. However, when this series is inevitably compared with Rome, the limited-area sets seem like a major issue. The CG parts, especially in the first few episodes are a bit fake. The writers do the sensible thing, and rely less on fancy CG and more on solid acting as the series progresses.

Why you SHOULD see this -

1. It really improves as the season progresses. The first few episodes, as you can imagine, are watchable, but not particularly great. There is just way too much blood, the acting is a bit shit and you shake your head wondering if the next 40-minutes are worth the effort. Somewhere near episode 4, the series takes a turn for the glorious! The acting suddenly becomes very real, the blood is less a torrent and more a drizzle, the characters seem more lifelike, the story falls into place, the atmosphere reeks of ancient Rome’s decadence and you can almost feel the crowd’s lust for violence as the arena resonates with chants of “Kill!Kill!Kill!”
2. Story-first. A lot of TV series try to “protect” the main leads. These special characters build up a strong bond with the audience, and it makes commercial sense for the writers to somehow make sure that they survive. No matter what the odds, the storyline will be twisted in such a way as to ensure their survival for seasons 2, 3 and 4. Not with Spartacus, oh no! Everything is secondary to the story – the last episode is titled “Kill Them All“, and I was (pleasantly) surprised to see two major characters killed. These two characters were probably the best and most believable actors in the entire season, and here in the season finale, they lie in a pool of their own blood, with a sword sticking out their backs! Brilliant! This hammers in the message that “story is king” and the characters merely pawns. Plus, the story is actually pretty good. A lot of little sub-plots intertwine and make you exclaim “Holy hell! This is going to have an epic finale!“
3. Equality. A lot of series along such lines tend to show just the standard heterosexual male standpoint. In Spartacus, you almost pity the men, as they are objectified more than the women, and irrespective of sex, characters are shown to have a nasty, decadent side.
4. Well-done action sequences. Despite the blood flying around, all the major battles are well done – adrenalin pumping music, artful use of slow-motion ala Time Warp, helmet-cams, etc.

Final Verdict : Definitely watch it, if you can stomach it. The story is engrossing enough to make you forward through some of the pointless nudity. This series might well have been called “Spartacus : A level of depravity never seen before“, but for better or worse, this is one TV series you wont be forgetting anytime soon.