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Airdate: Spartacus: Blood and Sand

Spartacus: Blood and Sand will comprise part of a week of Gladiator-themed entertainment on GO! including the movies 300, Troy and Alexander.

US Pay Television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand will premiere on GO! at 9:30pm Wednesday August 18th.

The drama, featuring Australian Andy Whitfield plus Lucy Lawless and John Hannah, will comprise part of a week of Gladiator-themed entertainment including the movies 300, Troy and Alexander.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand is rated MAV for its Strong Violence and Sex Scenes. It has proven to be a hit for the Pay TV network Starz in the US, which is also producing a prequel, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.

GO! will kick off with a double episode.

Betrayed by the Romans. Forced into slavery. Reborn as a Gladiator. The classic tale of the Republic’s most infamous rebel comes alive in the graphic and visceral new series. Torn from his homeland and the woman he loves, Spartacus is condemned to the brutal world of the arena where blood and death are primetime entertainment. But not all battles are fought upon the sands as treachery, corruption, and the allure of sensual pleasures will constantly test Spartacus. To survive, he must become more than a man. More than a gladiator. He must become a legend.

16 Responses

  1. I have to admit, i turned off the first episode half way through. So corny, so cheap and so un-inspired. However after reading good things i made the effort to watch the rest after many months and am so glad I did. The second episode was an improvement on the first and several more episodes in, when I was accustomed to the often horribly bad dialogue, and the stylised word I was quite invested and involved in the characters and story.
    It suffers as all these shows do, where the plot unfolds over episodes at an uneven pace. When it suffers it tends to rely more on the sexual aspects of the plot which are the least interesting.
    When the show is bad, it’s is laughably so, but once watching there’s a cheap charming and humour to it all. When it’s good, it’s truly excellent as good as anything on tv!

    There are some really brilliant moments and plots and stories of top quality through out, that if you can bear the flaws, especially heavily loaded the earlier in the show it gets, then it’s well worth the wait.

    I eagerly await the second season. I watched the final 4 episodes over two nights and honestly, I really wanted it to keep continuing right a way.

    I would say, if the show seems like something you’d like, don’t be put off intially by it. I was, and by the end I really was invested in the characters and story not wanting to wait for the second season. Which is still a long way away.

  2. Re: Early Reviews

    I think most of the US watchers who stuck with the series for the full 13 episodes remarked upon the tremendous improvement over the course of the series, notably from episodes 4/5 onwards.

    I found the first episode to be very disappointing – no story, just lots of blood, CGI everything and breasts (which appeared to be just as fake as the CGI). But the second episode was an improvment on the first and the third episode improved on the second, etc, etc until I found myself on the edge of the sofa while watching episode 13 (and collapsed in a heap on the floor as soon as it finished).

  3. I can’t wait to see the six pack, blood, gore, debauchery. men in skirts and women in white bed sheets. Pick me some grapes and peel them while I watch this woman! Oh dear my gf just read this. I’ll just emply the dishwasher and fold the clothes and hope I get back into the bedroom in one piece.

    I didn’t mean it honeeeeeee!!!!

  4. Squirrel, you have to watch. It may seem as just all about gladiator fights etc, but Lucy Lawless and John Hannah really make this show something special – not going to spoil it by saying why. Great Aussie and NZ cast too. The way the story (yes, story) arcs twist and turn throughout the 12/13 episodes is just amazing. Puts a lot of other big budgeted shows to shame, to be honest. The series ‘Rome’ covered some aspects of the lifestyle in Rome with the major political points, such as Caesar and Cleopatra, checked off very nicely. This show slots in perfectly as is focusses on the ‘Ludus’ (Gladiator training home) and the people who make the gladiators for the arena. This show is very violent, sexy and gritty, but it needed to be like this to transport you to this time and place. It is purposely exaggerated (Sam Raimi from Spiderman has put a comic book slant on it), and at the same time very honest – what were the gladiators feeling in semi-confinement? What did they do in their spare time? etc.
    Anyways, as you can tell I love the show and cannot wait for the Bluray/DVD release, hopefully before the end of the year. Enjoy!

  5. Is this really any good? It got mostly average reviews with a common thread being that it was a bit thin on story with the cracks being plastered over with sex and violence. I guess this might appeal if you liked Underbelly 2?

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