I really didn't know what to expect from
Spartacus and what sort of budget the show would get since it was an original series from the house of
Starz. I do know of the cable channel, but I don't know much in the way of what they have produced in the past. I do have some issues with what ends up on screen and will address that a bit later. As for the series itself, if you are a fan of
Gladiator and
300, you will find yourself at home with
Spartacus.
The series itself ends on a very strong note, but it's tempered because it took me a few episodes to really get into it, well...get over a couple of things that I absolutely did not like and that of course were some pretty shoddy special effects. In this day and age, there is no excuse for some of the FX shots that ended up on screen. Whenever they show any disembowel scenes or decapitations or the simple act of skewering, you can seen how awful the FX shots are, so much so that they draw attention to it because of poor tracking with wounds constantly shifting on the body.
The other thing that took me a long time to get over and was still an issue with me up to the Season Finale was the cartoon look of the blood squirts. It's ridiculously over the top and it doesn't look good at all. My only guess as to why they (series creator) made the blood squirts so comical was to "lessen" the shock and sight of so much blood throughout all of
Season 1. And there is plenty of blood to be found. The other thing that I didn't care for was the d o n g . One was one too many. I'm surprised that
Hostess didn't get Executive Producing credit on the series. The show at least exceeded that with a lot of T&A, which is in abundance and adds to the mature nature of the show. Very nice.
So, you would think that the negatives in
Season 1 would cripple it right? In most cases, yes. But the story and the characters and more specifically the actors portraying their characters, more than make up for the shows faults. One person in particular stands out higher than the rest and that of course is
Andy Whitfield as
Spartacus. It's kinda of strange for me to watch a series for the first time, knowing full well of a stars passing beforehand. I thought he did a fantastic job and left a legacy to be remembered for years to come. Other actors of note on the show can turn their eyes to
John Hannah, who played the annoying f*ck
Dominus and
Lucy Lawless, who was great as
Lucretia. But the biggest trip for me was seeing
Manu Bennett, who plays
Crixus. My introduction to the actor came by way of
Arrow. So, now I'm going to view him differently once
Arrow returns for
Season 2.
Peter Mensah as
Doctore was also another standout character and performer and brought a lot of depth to his role.
If you like blood and guts and a nice helping of T&A, I highly recommend this as a
Rent. The series really does get better as the season movies along. By the time you come to the
Season Finale, you absolutely don't want to see it come to end and will be begging for more, which was a surprise, even for me. Thanks goes to
Mac for steering me toward this series. I can't wait to see what the following seasons bring forth.