Spartacus: Blood and Sand
DVD | Blu-ray
CREATED BY: Steven S. DeKnight
DIRECTED BY: Rick Jacobson, Jesse Warn, Michael Hurst
STARRING: Andy Whitfield, John Hannah, Erin Cummings, Jai Courtney, Lucy Lawless, Manu Bennett, Katrina Law, Peter Mensah, Nick Tarabay, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Viva Bianca
Starz/Anchor Bay
RELEASE DATE: September 21, 2010

All men fall. It is but time and method that differ.

I’ll start things of with a personal admission of guilt: when it comes to anything set far, far back in time, especially those that involve swords and shields and horses and bloody chaotic battles, I’m usually a fan. Movies like Gladiator and Braveheart or TV shows like HBO’s Rome have all left me gleefully satisfied upon watching, and I’m always hungry for more of the same.

Because of this, you could say I might be a little biased towards a show like Starz’s Spartacus: Blood and Sand, and you could be right. The moment I saw that this new show was coming, I was filled with excitement and couldn’t wait to get my eyes on it.

But to be perfectly honest, things did not start off too well for me and this show. The pilot episode was a bit of a rocky start; it crossed me as a combination of Gladiator and 300, but the overpowering stylistic effects — though the intent was pure, and the plan was to give a real graphic novel feel to the show — didn’t feel nearly as fitting as they did with Zack Snyder’s ultra-fun tale of the 300 Spartans, and it all came off as a bit too cheesy at times. Even so, with my undying love of such things, I decided to solider on and see what happens.