Spartacus

This series rocks! It is full of action packed historical fiction plots. As well as plenty of gratuitous nudity! Hehe

I watched the whole Spartacus series back when it first came up and now I'm revisiting it. Still, it does stand it's ground. I had no recollection of Jai Courteney being in the series and I don't like him as an actor but as Varro he is just great. All the acting is great, even when it's over the top, it all just fits together so nicely. Yeah, the GCI is a bit funny now and then but after just a few episodes, I really started to enjoy it. This show is sad, exciting and just pure fun to watch. To Andy: you made such an impression on younger me and you still do. You are a legend.

If you want a series about Roman history, one can watch HBO's Rome (a very fine TV show). If you want to see a trashy and outrageously entertaining TV show with nonstop gore and nudity (both male and female) as well as graphic sex, Spartacus (very loosely based on the history of Ancient Rome's slave gladiator turned rebel leader) should be the choice.

Supposedly, TV shows are by necessity tamer than movies, yet I haven't seen any movie as consistently graphic about sex and violence as Spartacus. Suffice to say that almost everybody in the large cast of mostly muscular men and gorgeous women, gets naked in the series at some point. Episode 9 in particular – subtly called "Whore" – is a highlight in that regard.

A bit slow to start (I struggled with episode 1, but get hooked after episode 2), this admittedly not for all tastes series, was filmed in New Zealand with a mostly Australian and Kiwi cast. Its striking visual style can be compared with 300 (the gladiator's trainer, the great Peter Mensah, had a small role in that movie). The show is finely led in the titular role by Andy Whitfield (unfortunately he died of cancer after the first season, and was replaced by another actor in the following season). Yet, even if most of the cast is great, the best performance to me is by John Hannah as the devious Batiatus, the owner of the Gladiator's school. Hannah, whose background has been mostly on British comedies, excels here. While he initially seems to lack the toughness one supposes a master of a gladiator's school should have, he is eventually seen as a charming yet also very cruel and cunning man. Also remarkable are the performances of Manu Bennett as the knucklehead (but eventually noble) gladiator Crixus, Viva Bianca as the gorgeous but scheming Ilythia, and Nick Tarabay as Batiatus slimy aide, Ashur.

I don't even know how to describe how much I love Spartacus, both the original and the prequel. I've watched the entire series all the way through at least four or five times because it's just that good. All you have to is read through the reviews to see how beloved this series is. The entire cast is just incredible. I think most people thought when Andy Whitfield tragically died and they had to recast the role of Spartacus that it would drop in quality. It didn't! As good as Whitfield was, Liam McIntyre stepped in and was just as good. It will grab your attention from the first episode and hold it throughout the series. If you haven't seen this amazing show yet stop what you're doing right now and go watch it!

This is not a series for everyone and many people will find a lot in it offensive. They will have good cause. If you are under 16 you should not watch it. Why am i so excited by it then: For the ones that want to see fights, blood, brutality, sex, men looking like gods, blood, erotica, excitement, blood, swearing, allot of skulls being bashed, sweat, savagery, arena fights, honor, friendships intrigues, assassinations, and lets not forget some more blood, this is a show for you.

It is brutal and it is one of the best shows out there. It is not a soup opera and if you are one of those people that got excited by a show like CAPRICA skip this one.

This show makes your hart race. The first episode is the weakest, but by episode 4 which i just saw i am swearing by all the Roman Gods that this is what i was born to watch. It is raw bloody entertainment!

This show is so unique, it is in a category with THE WIRE, thought they have noting in common and their uniqueness lies in completely different places, they are bot light years away of what is being made.

For a low budget with computer graphics, after the first weaker episode, the show becomes so realistic, by episode 4 it has griped me in its razor sharp clutches and the downward spiral of darkness is leaving bloody marks on my soul!

If you like it you will love it, if you don't like it you will hate it.