SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND - season 1 (a review)

SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND - season 1 (a review)

This is a new series on Starz (possibly their first original scripted series). It is basically a tv version of the movie GLADIATOR, only this time it is TV-MA with much more sex and violence.

The story: the Thracians are convinced to stand with Rome against the Getae, but then the Romans screw them by diverting their forces elsewhere. The Thracian convinces his forces to mutiny against Rome, but he is captured, his wife taken into slavery and he is sentenced to die in the gladiator arenas. Except he doesn't die -- he kills four gladiators and his life is spared. Seeing his skill, he is bought by Batiatus and taken to his ludus where Batiatus trains gladiators. Except Batiatus isn't wealthy and has debts. The rest of the series is about the Thracian's (who they call Spartacus even though that's not his name) rise in the arena and Batiatus' attemps to rise socially. Eventually though, the Thracian's wife is killed and he decides to throw off his role as gladiator to avenge her death.

First, yes, there is a lot of sex and violence. The series is TV-MA for good reason. But even beyond that (because I'm all for sex and violence on tv), this is a very good series. The first couple episodes are actually the most awkward, getting the characters to where they need to be -- i.e. the Thracian to the ludus where he begins to rise as a gladiator, and Batiatus and his wife scheming to use him and his success for their own advancement. Once they get rolling there is a lot of good stuff -- intrigue and double dealing with doses of action. In fact, my biggest complaint is that the season was too short AND that the finale is a big action bloodbath which killed off several characters I liked a lot. I felt like there was a lot more story that could have happened in the ludus with those character -- the backstabbing had only just begun! -- and after that finale there just won't be a chance to do that.

So why very good and not great? Hmmm, hard to say. One is that there aren't too many unexpected emotional moments. In terms of the intrigue and action the show works very well, but it doesn't have those little moments of depth that great shows have. And while the intrigue and double dealing is fun, they never seem to get to that other level -- the level where it isn't just fun to watch, but where it says something about us (the way season 3 of Buffy uses the Buffy/Faith storyline to examine choices and good vs evil).

Still, this is an easy recommend. I'd say it's the best new series I've seen since BURN NOTICE.

**** RECOMMEND ****

NOTE: sadly, after the first season was shot, the star of the series, Andy Whitfield, was diagnoses with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, so the seaosn season is delayed while he gets treatment. Luckily, it is early stage (much like the star of DEXTER had) and I hope he will make a fast and complete recovery.