Spartacus Blood and Sand Season 1, Episode 1 Review NO SPOILERS in Spartacus Chat Forum

Spartacus Blood and Sand Season 1, Episode 1 Review NO SPOILERS

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MaryD	Spartacus Blood and Sand Season 1, Episode 1 Review NO SPOILERS	Lead	[-]
Posts: 1120 (11/20/09 08:11 AM) *AUSXIP TX Owner* Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : spartacus review, episode 1 Spartacus Blood and Sand: Season 1 Episode 1 The Red Serpent Review by MaryD I'm writing this review (without spoilers) after watching the first Spartacus: Blood and Sand episode via Starz. Many thanks to Starz for giving me the opportunity. Betrayed by his country. Beaten into slavery. Reborn as a warrior. Spartacus: Blood and Sand is a graphic and visceral account of Rome's most famous gladiator. When he's separated from the love of his life, Spartacus is forced into the gruesome and bloodthirsty arena, where a grisly death is primetime entertainment. Spartacus must fight for survival, befriend his enemies and play politics in this new world of corruption, violence, sex and fame. He'll be seduced by power and tormented by vengeance. But his passion will give him the strength to prevail over every obstacle, in this modern and uninhibited tale of death, honor and endurance. Starring Australian actor, Andy Whitfield (McLeod's Daughters) as Spartacus, Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess) as Lucretia, John Hannah (The Mummy, Four Weddings and A Funeral) as Batiatus and Peter Mensah (300, The Incredible Hulk) as Doctore, this unique mix of live action, graphic novel effects and brutal battle sequences is set to make Spartacus: Blood & Sand an epic television event. Read Review on AUSXIP Spartacus Blood and Sand MaryD AUSXIP Talking Xena Owner Australian Xena Information Page (AUSXIP Mothership) AUSXIP Lucy Lawless News & Multimedia AUSXIP Renee O'Connor News & Multimedia AUSXIP Spartacus News & Multimedia AUSXIP Network of Sites
xenawp7706		#1	[-]
Xenite Posts: 9016 (11/20/09 12:32 PM) Italian IX Hostess Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks for the review Mary, I can't wait to watch it. Now I am more curious than ever.
mariana		#2	[-]
Lost Mariner Posts: 238 (11/20/09 03:46 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I can't wait to watch it.
Velinho Burns		#3	[-]
Dreamworker Posts: 330 (11/20/09 09:07 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thank you, Mary D. I was very curious, now i am much more. Velinho Burns SOOOOO Beautiful.....................
SanLnRfan		#4	[-]
Warlord Posts: 953 (11/21/09 08:13 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	thanks for the review Mary. I'm really looking foward to see this, even if I may have to close my eyes during the more violent scenes.
BlackWolf		#5	[-]
Poteidaian Posts: 178 (11/21/09 02:00 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks for the review! I can't wait!
rs503		#6	[-]
Warlord Posts: 243 (11/21/09 08:06 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	You are very lucky indeed Mary D! Great reviews. I too cannot wait to watch this series. rs
xebecatt.xena		#7	[-]
TX New Member Posts: 1 (01/10/10 03:04 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Hi all, I heard from someone that they had seen the first episodes of Spartacus: BLood and Sand. Not wanting to be out done (as they have a tendancy to spolier me) I tracked down the first two episodes and have watched them in fall. No spoliers here, I just wanted to say that it is going to blow you all away! Not only am I interested in this series form a Xena point of view but I am a huge fan of the series Rome and films like 300. THey have promised that this is ten times better and I was not dissapointed. The writing is brilliant and the acting is amazing. In particular Manu Bennet- Mark Antony from Season 5- is one to watch. Andy is great as Spartacus. Oh and Lucy fans are NOT going to be dissipointed as we found out watching episode two this morning. John Hannah is a great match to her, they make a very interesting pair. I whole heartedly agree with Mary D's reviews posted on AUSXIP. Yes there is nudity, blood and swearing (They are not shy from using the C Word) but it is fitting for the story, the characters and the historical context. (If you don't beleive me just read any of the comedies by Aristophanes or Juvenal's Satires) I just can't wait till it is aired to see the polished version.
smutterly1		#8	[-]
Gladiator Posts: 730 (01/10/10 06:55 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	BRING IT ON!! Can't wait for this to start. I think it'll be another winner!!
lux15		#9	[-]
Sidekick Posts: 835 (01/11/10 01:16 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	xebecatt wrote: Hi all, I heard from someone that they had seen the first episodes of Spartacus: BLood and Sand. Not wanting to be out done (as they have a tendancy to spolier me) I tracked down the first two episodes and have watched them in fall. No spoliers here, I just wanted to say that it is going to blow you all away! Not only am I interested in this series form a Xena point of view but I am a huge fan of the series Rome and films like 300. THey have promised that this is ten times better and I was not dissapointed. The writing is brilliant and the acting is amazing. In particular Manu Bennet- Mark Antony from Season 5- is one to watch. Andy is great as Spartacus. Oh and Lucy fans are NOT going to be dissipointed as we found out watching episode two this morning. John Hannah is a great match to her, they make a very interesting pair. I whole heartedly agree with Mary D's reviews posted on AUSXIP. Yes there is nudity, blood and swearing (They are not shy from using the C Word) but it is fitting for the story, the characters and the historical context. (If you don't beleive me just read any of the comedies by Aristophanes or Juvenal's Satires) I just can't wait till it is aired to see the polished version. Thank you very much for this review. I have read others as well and most of them are very much in agreement with what you say. Would be interesting to know what you mean when you say that you are "interested in this series from a Xena point of you". That sounds great. Is that because of the actors and TPTB? Thanks again. Can't wait to watch the show. . Banner created by Dark'n'Light
xebecatt.xena		#10	[-]
TX New Member Posts: 2 (01/11/10 10:10 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	lux15 wrote: Thank you very much for this review. I have read others as well and most of them are very much in agreement with what you say. Would be interesting to know what you mean when you say that you are "interested in this series from a Xena point of you". That sounds great. Is that because of the actors and TPTB? Thanks again. Can't wait to watch the show. Yup, interested for both the Actors and TPTB. Though also as I'm a nut for anything Ancient History based lol.
ifaith		#11	[-]
Dreamworker Posts: 25 (01/12/10 09:42 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	hi guys! i have to say i'm very VERY excited for Spartacus. Like a few of you have written, i'm a fan of Ancient Greek/Roman settings, so Rome, 300, Troy, Alexander and Xena all line my dvd stands. the show [from the videos] looks AWESOME and its great that its on a premium channel, just so that they dont have to hold back on certain things in the story due to cable censorship. the actors look great - of course Ms. LL looks stunning as usual. I'm also glad that they've put Andy Whitfield on the show - i had seen him in a movie a while back called "Gabriel" and he was great in that film! and now, since Starz is having a special on Direct TV, we've ordered it already, so i'm good to go! i can't wait!
xenawp7706		#12	[-]
Xenite Posts: 9432 (01/13/10 08:06 AM) Italian IX Hostess Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yeah I can't wait either!!
wizardbard		#13	[-]
Lost Mariner Posts: 1432 (01/23/10 02:41 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Just as a counterpoint, here's the review from the San Francisco Chronicle On the other hand: An early - and leading - candidate for worst series of the decade is "Spartacus: Blood and Sand," on pay cable channel Starz, also premiering tonight. That may be an audacious claim given we're only in the first month of this decade, but "Spartacus" is spectacularly awful - and not in a way that you'll want to rubberneck at for laughs or drinking-game derision. How the creators managed to mess up three known winners - gladiators, full-frontal nudity (both sexes) and stylized violence - is almost incomprehensible. If you were thinking this might be a cousin to "Rome" on HBO, think again. "Spartacus" even makes the vapid but visually intriguing "300" seem like Shakespeare. Honestly, this series might appeal to teenage boys strangely attracted to Venice Beach, steroids and blood porn, but anyone else past the sophomore year of high school should steer very clear. Starring the bodies of a mostly unknown cast, plus Lucy Lawless ("BSG," "Xena") and ubiquitous Brit actor John Hannah, "Spartacus" is an exercise in some of the worst writing, acting and directing you'll ever see (or not). Imagine watching a boring porn movie with swords, sandals, CGI, buckets and buckets of blood, and excessive slow-motion "action" scenes, all while Satan pulls your soul out of your backside. That's "Spartacus: Blood and Sand."
SanLnRfan		#14	[-]
Warlord Posts: 954 (01/23/10 08:11 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	don't tell us what you really felt!! could that review be more negative!
prosto		#15	[-]
TX Member Posts: 43 (01/23/10 08:22 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	LOL well apart from the bits about Satan, Rome and 300 (which I haven't seen), it does more or less mirror my response to the first episode...but a show often needs up to half a season to find its feet, and it's not really fair to write it off after one or two episodes. I will keep watching, but I no longer have high hopes. I want story and plot and proper characters, I'm not one for something that "looks good" if it doesn't have the substance to back it up (though having said that, I thought it looked bloody awful). We'll see, I suppose. Bob got his hand caught in the lift. The repairman freed Bob's hand. The repairman took Bob's arm as payment. We're all fine here, thank you.
wizardbard		#16	[-]
Lost Mariner Posts: 1435 (01/23/10 07:44 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	To be frank, the two scenes that I saw Friday night (I turned the show off after about 20 minutes cause it was mind numbing) were what I'd consider to be totally gratuatous and unnecessary. They added nothing to the story and only catered to the purient interest. I could understand showing sex and nudity in an orgy scene that's part of the story line but not just to get 18 year old boys all excited. Not sure if I really want to watch any more of this show if that's how it's going to be.
Horseredhead		#17	[-]
Posts: 3130 (01/23/10 09:22 PM) *TX Moderator* Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I think the blood spattering is quite over-the-top and distasteful to the point it doesn't look real which is too bad since the story line is intriguing. I will continue to watch for Lucy's sake if nothing else. Hopefully they'll read the reviews and tone it down a little. I want it to look real when I'm watching. What I saw looked like an obviously computer generated video game. Except for that, though, it was okay. If there is something in this life that you want to do, grab hold of the reins and take yourself for a ride, because if you don't you may miss out on some of the best experiences life has to offer!
Porscha29		#18	[-]
Poteidaian Posts: 272 (01/23/10 09:33 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	AWESOME! "Be generous with your love, it all comes back." Lucy making sense again :)
Deev82		#19	[-]
Lost Mariner Posts: 1841 (01/24/10 05:58 AM) Rabid Militant Horsetexter Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Horseredhead wrote: I think the blood spattering is quite over-the-top and distasteful to the point it doesn't look real which is too bad since the story line is intriguing. I will continue to watch for Lucy's sake if nothing else. Hopefully they'll read the reviews and tone it down a little. I want it to look real when I'm watching. What I saw looked like an obviously computer generated video game. Except for that, though, it was okay. Well, the thing is it's not meant to be real. It's highly stylised and intentionally so - of course this kind of stylisation isn't appealing to everyone... Personally I loved the show, it's the kind of thing that I would watch irrespective of having Lucy in it (and John Hannah...) I didn't find the gore to be OTT, nor the violence or the nudity. The sex scenes were required - and while I may have wanted one to be shorter I can understand why they drew it out. The moment was simply stunning. This show has fantastic production values, the best production values I have seen in any Tapert television production. It's tight and fun. The being said, it's also due to the subject manner and the way it's presented, it isn't going to offend, upset and likely gross put people. This is an understandable reaction... but for me, I'm really looking forward to episode 2. Bring it on baby! Last Edited By: Deev82 01/24/10 06:04 AM. Edited 1 times.
Boba71		#20	[-]
Warlord Posts: 517 (01/24/10 02:16 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, the way it was displayed on screen I now know that a human being has at least 20 liters of blood inside them... But I have to say that I found that gigantic blood splattering quite annoying and ridiculous and I'm also not a fan of extreme slo-mos. The fight scenes are incredibly well choreographed, they don't need that "enhancement". I can't really say why, but the constant swearing and use of the c-word kinda got on my nerves. However I don't have a problem with the nudity. You can see this much skin in afternoon commercials, so no big deal. The use of the CG backgrounds and such were fantastic! It gives the show quite a unique feel. The story was quite good. Can't wait how that intrigue inside and outside the Ludus develops. And Lucy and John Hannah make such a great couple. Hope they have lots more scenes together.

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Spartacus Blood and Sand Season 1, Episode 1 Review NO SPOILERS

Spartacus Blood and Sand Season 1, Episode 1 Review NO SPOILERS