Spartacus: Blood and Sand

If you haven't caught onto this show yet then you're mosdef missing out! I started watching the show after hearing some good things from some friends and I was definitely not left disappointed

As a sidenote, If you do not have premium cable (HBO, Showtime, Cinemax AKA Skinamax, Starz, etc.) then I highly suggest you subscribe. Well, what are you watiing for? Do it now! I'll wait... Ok, now that thats out of the way, I know that this might sound sad but honestly I think that getting premium cable has been the best thing to happen to me in awhile! I am never bored and with On Demand there is literally never a time that there is nothing to watch. If you know me then you know that I am a huge T.V. and movie buff and watching TV and movies is one of my favorite pastimes.

OK, now back to Spartacus; Blood and Sand. If you liked the movies 300 and Gladiator then you'll most likely get into this show as well. It's kind of in the same vain as those movies storyline wise and actually if you put the movies 300 and Gladiator into a blender I think Spartacus would be what would pour out into you glass in the end.

One of the best things about the show is how they seemingly blend the violence and sex together, but do it in a way that it doesn't seem like a snuff film or a porno. I was actually thinking that they should probably change the series title to: Spartacus: Blood and Sand and Sex because of how much sex and all the beautiful women they show. And there are ALOT of beautiful scantily clad and/or naked women roaming around on the show. Yes, That is Xena: Warrior Princess to the left in the bright red. That gets me to the next part. The casting and the acting of the show is actually really good. With the supporting cast of  Lucy Lawless, John Hannah and Viva Bianca being the actors who seem to stand out. Their portrayals of aristocrats during the series time period seem original and is seemingly what keeps the show afloat.

Probably the best and funniest parts of the show, even though it's not at all a comedy, are when they have battles in the gladiator arena. Being that the show is trying to portray the times accurately, I find it hilarious that while gladiators are fighting in the arena, there are also women in the crowd flashing or just standing around butt naked and also people just flat out having sexual relations in the stands in front of other arena goers. The other funny thing about the show is the writing. They use the word "cock" or a reference to it, in almost every other sentence for what reason I don't know, but it's always funny. lol.

Unfortunately, the show is currently on hiatus because the title actor Andy Whitfield, who plays Spartacus was battling cancer early this year. Thankfully though he is now healthy and ready to start filming:

Andy Whitfield is cancer-free -- and ready to get back to work on the Starz TV series. Whitfield, who was diagnosed with Stage 1 non-Hodgkin lymphoma right before filming for Season 2 was set to start, tells Deadline "I’m raring to go” -- and he's already training to get back into shape as the show's title Thracian. Starz shut down filming for the second season while Andy received treatment -- and instead filmed a prequel season focusing on Lucy Lawless and John Hannah 's characters. Whitfield will resume filming in October. -IMDB http://www.imdb.com/news/ni2779134/

I think the prequel with Lawless and Hannah helming the lead roles will do well to inform about the whole history before the arrival of Spartacus.

Overall the shows premise, storyline and acting are all superb and this show looks like it has a lot of staying power. So you might as well start watching it now. So you don't have to get into it like 3-4 seasons in and be weirded out about what's happening like I was when I started and never finished watching Lost. hahaha! Enjoy!