Spartacus: Blood and sand - Page 2

yeah i'm still trying to figure out why i watch this show.

So it would seem that Spartacus' motivation now is to "follow the gods" whom he really doesn't believe in. He's doing it because his wife believed? Kind of thin, but oh well. I must admit this show has gotten better and the first episode is definitely NOT a good barometer of whether or not you would like it.

I cringed at the "I am Spartacus!" though.

For some reason I love this show..and that reason is definitely not all the naked men.

I think my favorite thing about this show so far is how during the gladiator fights when they show a close up of the crowd there is almost always one (or several) woman screaming her head off in some weird, animalistic insanity and pulling her tits out in the direction of the gladiators. It's like some bizarre combination of WWE fans and Girls Gone Wild. Never fails to get me to laugh...but I seriously wonder if that is their intent.

That's great Kate. Why don't you soak your panties in the ROME thread then? There's people in this thread who appreciate Spartacus for the entertaining blood drenched B-movie series that it is.

This show is not an accurate representation of daily life in ancient Rome? DAMN YOU, PRODUCERS. WHY LET US LAY IN A BED OF LIES?!

It got some accuracy, maybe even as much as Rome, Ben Hur, and I, Claudius. The problem about history is at some point it will always take a back seat to entertainment. I believe the arena stuff and other things are pretty are pretty accurate. The Spartacus story line is probably impossible to be accurate, no matter how hard you try. The man is pretty much a mythological Roman buggy man, besides being a real person.

It to bad about the star because I am really starting to like it. If I was a HBO I would do my own gladiator show, forget the slave rebellion. there are a lot of great Historic gladiator stories. I would by up the right to 'Those about to Die', and turn it and other history books about Gladiators in to a TV show. Make it about a Gladiator and a Charioteer rise from starting slaves to free, famous, and rich men. Throw in a Beast master for kicks. It would be a hit show.

No, it's not.

Should have bought stock in a merkin company before this latest episode was filmed.

Whatever, dude. I'm certainly not growing a more sophisticated and discerning taste in TV shows because a voice on the internet compares me to a shiteater.

Anyway, who liked 'Whore'? The plot certainly thickens with Xena and Paris Hilton now covering up the murder of a Roman celebrity. Me like. Although next ep will hopefully have more slaughter.

It was quit mean spirited, and I liked it.

Yeah! It's Gabrielle! Get your Xena right, PK! :P


This last episode for me was aces. I love the costumes, I love the twisted Ilithyia, and I dug the sex. I enjoyed watching this for what it was in the beginning, but I think it just keeps getting better.

What do you think of Mira? Convenient Sura lookalike, huh? How long do you think it'll take for Spartacus to warm up to her?

Not that I really care, but you're an idiot for saying Spartacus is better than Lost. Really. I can understand watching Spartacus, as a guilty pleasure, as the show is :

Spartacus slaying people like he's auditioning for the 300 sequel.

+

Having a rauchy scene where the creep from The Mummy is fucking a slave while Xena watch/or is fucking another slave (while watching).

That's the show. It's nothing more than that. And it's fine, but it's qualifying that as "better than Lost" that makes me call you an idiot. And mind you, Lost is flawed.

And I've warched a couple of episodes. It's not terrible, like Heroes, but it makes an hour go away. The rampant nudity helps I guess.

Then this last episode should be tops for the season for you.

This show is batshit crazy. If your definition of crazy is rampant sex and violence, sometimes all rolled up into one big ball of fucking and killing. That doesn't make it necessarily a great show, but it does appeal to our basest instincts.

Hey, here's a question--that guy that tried to attack Spartacus (forgive me as I'm an episode or so behind)...when they crucified him, did they cut his nuts off or something? His crotch looked like someone that was first learning how to use CGI was trying to fake a wound on someone. Not that my attention was fully focused on that area or anything. DON'T JUDGE ME!

Yes, Xena even made mention that he refused to talk about who had put him up to the attack even when his manhood was being separated from his body. Only she said it in much more eloquent Roman terms for the sake of historical accuracy. Eloquent 4 letter terms.

Ok, that's what she said. I thought that's what I heard, but I was transfixed on this below-SyFy-original level CGI work.

If you don't care, then why are you even bothering to call me an idiot? Will it somehow raise my IQ or improve my bad taste? What good would that do? I don't get it.

Yeah, Martin, the main girl who gave up the n00dz in this episode was the hot Ring agent who specialized in torture in "Chuck vs. the Beefcake".

THAT'S where I knew her from!

And this show should be called Spartacus: Blood and Semen.

This show is just getting crazier and crazier. Loving it.

I finally caught the last episode, but haven't watched the newest one yet. I watched the one with the 15 year old kid's birthday. I knew they'd have to kill off Spartacus' buddy but the way they did it was brutal. Actually some solid acting in the scene as well. I cringed when the guy drove the sword into his own shoulder. At this point is there any route the show can take other than Crixus and Spartacus forgetting their differences and working together?

Spartacus and Crixus joining forces is pretty much a given.

I like this show more and more. I'm not invested in the characters so far but it got really enjoyable. Like a male oriented soap opera with merkins.

Plus, they've made the arena scenes WAY more fun. They're relying less on stupid digital blood and more on cool ideas. The leaping off of the shield for a double beheading was great, and if you didn't laugh when they squeezed the big guys head off like a pimple using their chain then you're watching for all the wrong reasons.

Ilithia is turning out to be the one character who is pulling crazy shit week to week. She obviously told the boy to swap Crixus for Varo then to declare the ending. Cold hearted bitch will ruin Spartacus and the House of Battiatas in one fell swoop. I hope she gets killed ina glorious way, but at the same thime she's the most interesting character.

Yeah, when the pilot episode featured her going full nude (with a spectacular merkin) I never would have guessed she would turn into one of the more intriguing characters. That actress has done a nice job.

I don't know how many episodes are left, but I'm assuming this season is going to conclude with Spartacus killing both Domina and Dominus and inciting the rest of the gladiators to revolt. With Crixus at his side, of course.

You're assuming we get a full season. With Spartacus getting sick I'll be surprised if we're lucky enough to have 2 more episodes in the can.

Huh? Season 1 was always set at 13 episodes.

I beleive they already signed for a 2nd season.

I do agree that the show has gotten less cheezy and the acting has gotten better, but it just seems like it is moving a bit too quick.

It was a nice set-up that they pulled on Solonius.

On a side note, this series is keeping Mr. Skin very busy.

Yeah, I read that filming for season 2 was being held up by Whitfield's cancer treatment. I think season 1 is "in the can." And the producers have explained that the pilot was pretty experimental in nature due to Starz' unusual commitment to the entire season before filming began. They didn't have time between the pilot and the second episode to reevaluate and adjust the violence, so they were tweaking it as the season went along. They say they look back at the pilot (particularly the blood effects) and realize it was waaay over the top. This is good to hear as the season has definitely been getting better.

Dumb question, are these fights held in the Coliseum in Rome?

Shot on a Green Screen set in Auckland, New Zealand. As for in the narrative, I don't think they've had any Coliseum battles yet. They've been almost exclusively in Capua, SE of Rome.

The Coliseum was not built tell the first century AD. It does not look as big as Coliseum was. As far as the story line goes I just believe the battle are being fought in the local theater. The local circus would be more oval in Shape.

Good episode this week but I really dont get why you'd reduce the champion of Capua to the executioner of old man Solonius. Surely this would have been a more entertaining fight for the people if one of Batiatus' new guys took him on instead. From a story standpoint it didnt contribute much to have them together so anyone could have killed him.

The later fight against Glaber's troops was fun though, especially the end where he bludgeons the last two of them into submission with the broken off hilt of his practice sword. And speaking of Glaber, it took me this long to realize he was the guy in Lord of the Rings as well as the bad guy in Legend of the Seeker. He looks alot different with short hair.

/arthistorynerd on

Actually, these fights are in Capua, which is in southern Italy. Almost all Roman cities, even Paris and London back in the day, had coliseums/amphitheaters, as well as bathing complexes. If you were a 'civilized' town/city in antiquity, you had a coliseum in which games were held.

http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/into...282f4142cf.jpg

This is in Lucca in Tuscany, and the houses were actually built on the remains of the coliseum there.

Whenever someone wanted to build something new where something already existed, it would be too expensive to completely demolish the existing building. Instead, they more or less buried it. It's an archeologist's wet dream, and Italy is currently in a very unique situation regarding all its unexplored ruins. (About maybe 30% of all known areas have been excavated, if even that.)

See the Golden Palace of Nero, on which the current Coliseum is built over, as well as the Baths of Trajan and Titus.

/nerd off


Anyways. OMG, OMG OMG. Love this show. Even if the unpainted statue of Batiatus bugs the hell out of me (All roman statues, as well as Greek, were completely painted.) I think I'm a fan of Craig Parker now as well...This show may not be too deep, but it sure as hell is fun.

Tomorrow marks the last episode of the season. I'm really surprised at some of the emotional moments they've been able to pull off, and those so inclined I'm sure could argue that the series may be shallow, but offers a very compelling look at slavery. It's been discussed with a few friends that the gratuitous nudity and objectification of men is something we don't see much in any television, so it's representing the evils of slavery in a way that discomforts and bothers the audience more than usual.

Maybe?

Ah well, at least I get to leer at Andy Whitfield, Manu Bennett, and Craig Parker.

Perhaps it's because I watched Xena as a kid, but I can't help but feel the show's creators and this cast (with all the former actors for Hercules and Xena) has sort of matured from the pulpy pseudo comic action fest of the 90's to a more mature if gratuitous drama.

And for those of you that don't know, Director Micheal Hurst was Iolas, Hercule's sidekick back in the day. He's directed a few episodes, some really killer ones.

"Kill them all!"

Indeed.

Fucking Ashur!

That was a good season ending. And Ilythia changing from annoying twit into such a delicious villain was awesome.

Agreed. Mixed feelings about some of the deaths, but that's what's been great about the evolution of the show, characters drawn in shades of gray that you love one moment and despise the next. Loved the pace of the finale too, definitely the most action-packed of the season, and the over-the-top violence was a perfect fit within the narrative of this ep. Some surprisingly good acting all around too.

I actually wanted to cheer when Crixus tapped his shield. Best use of slo mo all season as Spartacus went hurtling to the balcony. Interesting to have season 1 go this far, it looks like season 2 will be a VERY different show.

I was okay with all the deaths (and not-deaths) in the season finale. Most of them had to die in order for the show to move on, and the ones kept alive were the best characters. I know it was inevitable that the show would cease being so focused on the ludus after a certain point, but to see it all unfold was quite the bloody satisfying spectacle. Looking forward to whatever carnage they have lined up for next season.

I'm curious about how they will handle the rebellion. Rome managed to dance around the giant fucking battles that took place but then, Rome was never an action show. I don't know if a show like Spartacus can get away with just showing the strategizing and the aftermath. Of course I had also given up hopes on it after the first episodes. Maybe they have a few tricks up their sleeves for their second season.

I doubt that the production method will change much, even if the setting and character sheet evolves dramatically. That means we're still gonna get lots o' greenscreen and digital blood. Which I don't necessarily mind. The writers did a good job of making all the various battles have their own flavor and dramatic punch.