Cool News
What Make The Critics Of Starz’ SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND??
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
A new low-budget look at the Thracian soldier turned slave gladiator who eventually led a revolt against the Roman Republic (when Gaius Julius Caesar was maybe only 27 years old), “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” is one of two new series launching tonight overseen by a former “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” writer-producer. Syfy has “Caprica” from Jane Espenson (though Espenson’s oversight of the show didn’t begin until next week’s second episode). And Starz has “Spartacus,” from Steven S. DeKnight, whose post-“Buffy” career includes stints on “Angel,” “Smallville” and “Dollhouse.”
“Spartacus” marks DeKnight’s debut as a showrunner. Big-screen director Sam Raimi is an executive producer, as he was on “Hercules” and “Xena” and is on “Legend of the Seeker.”
Obscure Welsh/Australian actor Andy Whitfield plays the title role. Bigger names like John Hannah (“The Mummy”) and Lucy Lawless (“Xena”) are among the supporting cast. There are loads of pay-cable nudity and “300”-style gore, and Lawless was good enough to bare her nipples for the first time anywhere.
Starz ordered a second season of the series a month before audiences saw its first episode – demonstrating perhaps how irrelevant ratings are to pay cable programmers.
Variety says:
… dreadful … What ensues, alas, is the gladiator's life as filtered through the gauzy lens of a Calvin Klein ad. Sure, there's some graphic sex and modest court intrigue among the haughty Romans, but nothing to approach the worst moments in HBO's "Rome." … earns a big, very bloody thumbs down.
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… With such thin stories each week, it's small wonder that sex and violence are used to take up the slack. … Andy Whitfield has the requisite physicality for the title role. Beyond that, it's hard to assess his performance because his character is so consistently two-dimensional. …
USA Today says:
… proof of TV's ever-expanding boundaries and ever-plummeting tastes. You've never seen anything quite like it on TV and, with luck, will never again anytime soon … Still, there's no denying that Spartacus does what it sets out to do fairly well — and in a way that doesn't duplicate anything else now on TV. …
Entertainment Weekly says:
… might prove to be the not-at-all-guilty pleasure of the season. …
The Los Angeles Times says:
… If the show's concerns do not rise far above the level of pulp -- and there is nothing wrong with that -- it does what it does with a sure hand. … Given that "Spartacus" does not stumble in what it sets out to do, one's objections to the show, if objections one has, will be moral, or simple matters of taste, to the extent that those two concerns can actually be separated. It is a little bloody for my taste, personally. …
The Chicago Tribune says:
… The quick way to describe "Spartacus" would be to call it an attempt to re-make the movie "300" as a TV show with a (much) smaller budget. That description is especially apt in the first episode, which is somewhat clunky, derivative and humorless. There's lots of slo-mo blood and gore, lots of sex, a washed-out color palette and some groan-inducing acting from the supporting cast. But the poetic and evocative dialogue works, amazingly enough (it's almost Shakespearean at times), and as the world of Spartacus is fleshed out (in more ways than one), the show develops momentum and the intrigues become more interesting. …
The Washington Post says:
… It's deliciously, marvelously bad, and I was helpless in its grip. … you can't help but laugh at the dialogue. Of course, with all these sweaty gladiators in loincloths, the whole thing can be viewed through a homoerotic prism, and "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" works extra hard to deflect that -- too hard, judging from the fact that all the men in it derisively refer to one another in epithets for a certain female body part. We get it guys, we get it. You are men and you kill. You slay me, Spartacus, that's for sure.
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
… An early - and leading - candidate for worst series of the decade … spectacularly awful - and not in a way that you'll want to rubberneck at for laughs or drinking-game derision. … 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. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… There's not much room for character development in [Friday’s] battle-filled premiere. Next week's episode offers slightly more promise on that front, and episodes three and four show marked improvement. It's no "Rome," but at least it appears headed more in that direction. …
The Boston Herald says:
… How many times can you watch blood and teeth spew from a man’s mouth? How long do you want to linger on a man getting his throat sliced, his blood erupting in a shower of red that nearly covers the camera lens? Don’t get me thinking about what happens to one gladiator’s face in the fourth episode.
The Boston Globe says:
… either a fabulous spoof whose expert actors have perfected the art of amateur line delivery or employment for an epic cast of shockingly wooden thespians. It was written either by master satirists hoping to inspire viewer drinking games each time blood drops sail in slo-mo or by teen boys. My vote is for the latter in each case, especially the one where the writers are teen boys. …
10 p.m. Friday. Starz.
CHEAPEST LOST EVER!!
$16.99 Season One!!
$16.99 Season Two!!
$16.99 Season Three!!
$19.99 Season Four!!
$19.99 Season Five!!
In Orbit Now!!
CHEAPEST LOST EVER!!
$16.99 Season One!!
$16.99 Season Two!!
$16.99 Season Three!!
$19.99 Season Four!!
$19.99 Season Five!!
-
+ Expand All
-
It looks ok.I'll give it a try.
-
I'm there.
-
in a life performance, where she was singing the national anthem, and her dress fell off. You can probably find the video online, but pics are easier to come by.
That said, she does some fairly explicit scenes in episode 2 here. (Nothing in episode 1.) -
that Americans tend to be more prudish when it comes to sex/nudity (though not violence) and the word "cunt" still has incredible potency.
-
http://img19.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=90482_Lucy_Lawless_Spartacus_123_140lo.jpg
fix the space issue..u know what to do, some nice topless pics of Mrs Lawless. -
http://img19.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc140&image=90482_Lucy_Lawless_Spartacus_123_140lo.jpg
-
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/2976/90482lucylawlessspartac.jpg
100 PERCENT WORKS LOL -
The above pic is in HD
-
those are some epic tits, worthy of what I imagined for so long. A little more of that action in Xena and the show mightve been watchable.
-
I kind of figured it would stink, even saw the preair torrents but didn't bother. It's too bad though, would be nice to fill even a small part of my "Rome" void.
-
HBO is amazingly dumb, how you stop production on Rome and Deadwood and replace them with crap is beyond me.
-
And yes, ROME was amazingly good, but too expensive to make for HBO.
I was hoping they'd take it at least as far as Augustus' rise to power, which is an epic tale worthy of being seen by the masses.
It also would have made a nice companion piece to the BBC mini-series "I Claudius", which had low production values (typical of the BBC in the 70's) but some of the best actors of the age. Treat it like the video of a stage play, and it's brilliant to watch. -
Getting ready to watch season 2 of "Rome" this weekend so I'm already feeling the pain of knowing there is no more to come. Outstanding series. It gets talked up but if you haven't seen it yet I highly recommend it. Really beautiful in HD. I'll be buying it when the price comes down.
Will have to tune into Spartacus just for Lawless eventually. Never watched Xena but her run on BSG was excellent and she is insanely hot. -
be fucking our television eye balls?
-
2010 and still no editing feature on the talkbacks!
Thanks Harry. -
LULZ!
-
Lucy must be rolling in his grave.Jack, I envy you. Enjoy.
-
would be like comparing 300 to Ben-Hur
-
2010 and you still can't spell ;-)
-
Season 2 of Rome knocked my socks off. They knew they were going to be canceled, so they stuffed four seasons worth of show into twelve episodes. I really liked the first season but the second is mind-boggling balls-out amazing. I still hold out hope for the film. I would have loved the series to get to Jesus. I think that was their intent, and where the movie might go if it ever happens.As for this show, I'll give it a shot. But I really wish it was more homo. These were a homoish people, I'm tired of the heteronorming of these histories. 300 was a fun film but wasn't the Spartan army filled with lovers? So they would fight harder for each other?
-
Often stated, but no.
-
were the kings of man/boy sex. Always found it funny in 300 how they were making fun of the Athenians for gay sex, when really the Spartans were masters of it.
-
Prove it.Seriously, I'm now researching this stuff via internet and am genuinely curious about different schools of thought.
-
I love the character of Spartacus and I'm a huge nerd for digital back lot cinema. Ever since Sky Captain I've been hooked and Sanctuary's season is over.
-
"The importance of these relationships in military formation was not without controversy. According to Xenophon, the Spartans abhorred the thought of using the relationships as the basis of unit formation for placing too much significance on sexuality rather than talent."
-
Because I'm surrounded by naysayers.
Wordplay! -
Why can I hear the late/great Phil Hartman narrating that?
-
Jan 22, 2010 10:22:13 AM CST
Bullshit. Spartan Women were the finest women in the world.
by spacezilla
Strong, beautiful, intelligent, sexual. The stories of spartans coming home from battle to have sex with there women are tales to be told. Spartan boys were just told about the birds and bees by the older Spartans. Jealous Greeks who only had boy lovers and there skanky wives were jealous of the fine Spartan pussy so they twisted the shit trying to make the Spartans look like they did gay shit too. Spartans loved the pussy.
In fact there are 3 things Spartans knew best. Killing, numbers, and fucking Spartan pussy. They fucked the shit out of there women. Just ask Joan of Arc who was originally a Spartan bitch. She loved Spartan cock. Spartan cock was dropping fucking loads everywhere. -
AWESOME!
-
You read pretty much any history book and the Spartans were known boyshaggers. At the time It was considered the manly thing to do. Besdies the Spartans only beat the Athenians when they teamed up with the Persians and a few years later were themselves beaten badly at Lecutra.###############################################################
As for this show my hart sank when they said there were unlike Rome going to use CGI for locations. Hollywood really does not get good storytelling anymore. Bring back Rome I say. They could do a prequel with the social wars, The first civil war with Marius and Sulla, The rise of Pompey and the birth of the gangster in the form of the gang wars between Clodius and Milo. There is so much untapped stuff they can do with Romen history. -
There are plenty of well researched references you can use, and wikipedia isn't one of them.
I think the spartans get this reputation because the greeks were notoriously into anal. But there is a distinct difference when it comes to men in the spartan army.
The spartans believed that you had to love the men you served and fought with (not physically) because philos (love) was the opposite of phobos (fear). In other words, the best way to overcome fear on the battlefield, was through love.
Note that there was a big difference between philos (love) and eros (love which is physical, sex). That's why there's a difference between love of knowledge (philos-sophos, philosophy) and say erotica. The two types of love are two different words in Greek.
If a person speaks only English, and reads some translations of Greek texts, they could easily get confused when it talks about the love one Spartan soldier might have for the man next to him in combat. But in the original Greek, there's no confusion.
You can confirm all of this, by doing some research yourself. I've given you more than enough to go on. Any more, and there's a danger this might turn into a productive lecture or something. -
there's this reference :
The Sacred Band of Thebes, a separate military unit reserved only for men and their beloved youths, is usually considered as the prime example of how the ancient Greeks used love between soldiers in a troop to boost their fighting spirit.
The Thebans attributed to the Sacred Band the power of Thebes for the generation before its fall to Philip II of Macedon, who was so impressed with their bravery during battle, he erected a monument that still stands today on their gravesite.
He also gave a harsh criticism of the Spartan views of the band
In other words, the gay "Sacred Band" in Thebes, was beaten by Philip of Macedon. And Philip was so impressed by them, he criticised the Spartans because of the Spartans opinions on that sort of coupling in the army. -
totally gay.Thanks. I generally use Wikipedia to orient myself to curiosities but am currently going further afield. I didn't know anything about the language. Cheers.
-
Lots, actually. Fucking LOTS, thank you very much.
-
They just didn't put the lovers in the same unit, you know?
Again, using Wikipedia (since you have easy access to that):
According to Xenophon, the Spartans abhorred the thought of using the relationships as the basis of unit formation for placing too much significance on sexuality rather than talent. This was due to their founder Lycurgus who attacked lusts on physical beauty regarding it as shameful. Xenophon asserted that in some city-states the lovers would not even have conversations with one another. He said this type of behavior was horrible because it was entirely based on physical attractions:
"If as was evident it was not an attachment to the soul, but a yearning solely towards the body, Lycurgus stamped this thing as foul."
So there you go. -
Just providing some wider context. :)
-
Welcome to Talkback, Zack Snyder. I assume these mighty Spartan loads flew through the air in super slo-mo as the camera panned around them, and they're all like BOOSH! and P-KOW!
-
Spartacus wasn't a Thracian. He was a Roman. In the late republic one gladiator was always a "Thracian" and the other was a "Gaul". In this context they were simply different types of armor.
-
I liked it... when Spartacus finally ends up in the arena in episode 1... good stuff. People whining about how bloody the show is... wtf did they expect with a show dealing with gladiators? Roses, lavender and cupids? Also, the nudity... finally, Starz has the balls to show the hedonism of Rome.
-
From viewing the first episode... sharpen the dialogue a bit... you could have cut the second sex scene between Spartacus and his wife... that's about it. Future episodes... would like to see the politics of Rome more... keep the gladiator fights just as gory... keep true to just how hedonistic Rome was.
-
"a Thracian of Nomadic stock" Plutarch in regard to Spartacus.
http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/slavesandslavery/a/spartacus.htm
http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_plutarch_crassus_spartacus.htm -
If you guys don't have Starz... the first episode is online right now...
http://www.starz.com/originals/spartacus/screeningroom/Pages/screeningRoom.aspx#/episode-101 -
Is not a contemporary source and his errors are legion. Keep looking, you'll get there.
-
Thracian just means what type of gladiator he was, and nomadic stock means he didn't know where the fuck he was from. The only thing I'll concede is that he may not have been a "Roman" from Latinum but he served in the legions, that much is obvious.
-
Jan 22, 2010 1:57:59 PM CST
These talkback is veering into the intelligent and infromative
by johnnyangel
Wow boys back off that cliff!
-
Historians know very little about Spartacus... it's really all speculation.
-
Thanks for the link SunTzu77. If they tone down the wall of blood it would make a good R rated Hercules type show. Acting is on that level. Lucy is always great in this kind of show. She should not do anything modern though. She is real bad in those.
The end was interesting. He is not Spartacus but named that after "the" Spartacus of legend. Nice out they gave themselves there. -
Sure it was campy-stupid but it was fun watching her want to fuck Gabrielle in almost every episode.
-
Go from Lucy Lawless' sweet tits to gay Spartan sex? I watched episode 2 and I have to say those were some amazing boobs. I think that episode fulfilled the dreams of many an internet geek, both male and female.
-
When?
-
Because I liked this show. Sure it is over-the-top, but it was fun. We Americans need to stop being such freakin prudes. This show isn't pretending to be the next ER, its a freakin action shop with lots of blood, and some great T&A. Bring it on.
-
Wish I could edit my post. :(
-
If anything we're not prudish enough, making box office successes of bullshit like Transformers 2. We don't exactly have a reputation for being prudes.
-
This seems like a fun, but maybe slightly tasteless show. I can probably dig it on that level.
-
You clearly have "Lack of Imagination" confused with sexual "Prudishness." In that case I would agree with you. So many good books out there, and yet we get Scary Movie 1000, Disaster Movie, and other crap. Hollywood doesn't have a creative soul left it seems. Anyone see that movie Ink? Now that was imaginative. If they gave that the budget of Transformers 2 just think of what we would have received?
-
We can't look at a naked body without freaking out, but we can watch people get cut into tiny pieces in Saw 15.
-
Watching people get cut in half doesn't give you a hard-on unless you're a psycho. This is why people are prudish about sex in the media.. Sex is something we already want to do, so any encouragement is just putting gasoline on the fire. Violence is something that only truly insane people actually enjoy, so there is no danger in letting people see it.
-
I misunderstood. Yes, cant argue with that.
-
If it were real violence, it might. But not Hollywood violence. When you're watching a movie, you know it's not real, and therefore it's not perverse or insane to enjoy watching someone get their head lopped off. Unless you have trouble distinguishing fiction from reality. Then you're probably insane.
-
Yeah I understand what you're saying, and I also enjoy movie violence, but what I'm saying is that in real life, only crazy people actually enjoy committing violence, while everybody enjoys real-life sex. This is why society is more concerned about sex in movies than violence, because it is more likely to influence a persons behavior.
Like if I see an attractive naked woman in a movie, I might have an actual physical reaction to that, but I don't actually get horny when I see a head get lopped off. I enjoy it in a totally different way.. It's funny,or exciting, or scary or whatever.
It's actually very easy to use film to stir up real life sexual appetites, but only disturbed individuals can even fathom a craving for hurting people. On a basic level, we all understand this, and it's why many parents are more concerned with letting their children see sexual things on screen, than violence. Whether or not this is justified will depend on your particular value set, but there some logic to the double standard. -
But it will become my new obsession. Because: abs, Xena alum, abs, Mutant Enemy alum & abs.
My tweets with Mo Ryan:
@moryan > Here in Canada, I don't get to see #Spartacus until Monday but I too am looking forward to a new abs. DRAMA! New drama.
@buffywrestling: I can tell you, it's ABSolutely worth the wait ;) hehehe. Early eps are rough but it gets better. Plus, abs!!
She's like my sister :) -
My God, when Janet jackson had her Super-Bowl "revelation", the whole country had a collective coronary!!! And censorship now reigns supreme.
-
is it good?
It's cool to see Lucy Lawless occasionally, but what about Rene O'Connor? she hasn't been on anything since Xena I think. I even saw the chick who played Callisto once on CSI. -
It was so cool how Xena started her on the road to Insaneville but she just kept riding that horse past her stop and depot of Sanity was all, "Hey, wait for me!" and she was all, "You snooze; you lose, fuckface!"
-
Not bad. Not bad at all.Definitely channeling "300" more than anything, though Lucy Lawless bears more than a passing resemblance to Attia from "Rome". But after the second episode ended I wished I had the third. Nicely done so far and recommended.
-
It's fun. I saw the first two episodes and it's just silly, over the top fun. There's lots of action, lots of ridiculous slow-mo and slow-mo blood and gore, lots of naked people and lots of laughable dialogue. It's not the fucking opera. It's not Shakespeare. It's just fun.
-
Sometimes the human race really frightens me. Oh, and please learn how to use tiny url. Thanks.I said a couple weeks ago that I thought this looked really REALLY bad. Glad to see my eyeballs aren't yet failing me.
-
It's really an okay time on the boob tube. Critics are pandering ninnies who wouldn't know an original thought until it showed up in a textbook ten years later.
-
Oh for sure. Some of the critics actually said they still liked it even though it's being really bad (and they all seem to think it's bad for the same reason, consensus opinions are bit harder to argue against). It just looks like a cheap rip off of 300 and a failed attempt to do something as interesting as Rome. I guess Starz has to start somewhere.
-
...the thought will warm us both" "I'll fuck your women!!!!" .... uhhh... and the production value is absolute shit! Fuck this show. lol
-
"He speaks out of turn yet truth falls from his mouth." Inserting "fuck" "cock" and "cunt" doesn't make the dialogue raw or interesting unless you're as brilliant as Milch, it just comes off as cheap, though "cheap" is a pretty good description of the entire show. And I'm surprised to see no one really bothered at how shameless a rip off of 300 this is. Though I don't find it particularly bothersome, it just seems shallow, which is another good word for this show.
-
Didn't Snyder's ' Watchmen ' teach you a damn thing ?!?
-
. . . "I have sand in my subligaculum!"
-
Jan 23, 2010 1:04:27 PM CST
Do they actually say "fuck", "cock", and "cunt" on this show?!
by royston lodge
I do believe those are originate from germanic/old english words, not latin.
How ironic... -
For what it's worth...
-
Guess what? The Romans didn't speak English either. Oh no! The show isn't a Time Machine!
Trying to fault the show because they used English swear words with a germanic origin, is INSANE.
The Romans had uncouth words for genetalia. Would you prefer they used those, and confused the audience, rather than offend them? -
I reluctantly watched it ON Demand this morning and didnt think it was all that bad. The reviews above had me scared. Obviously it doesnt have the production value of Rome, but I can live with that as long as the story/dialogue is there. My only complaint (Dear lord, please don't strike me down) was the silcone. I realize continuity isn't a big issue for some, but I really would rather see natural chests as opposed to the obviously fake silicone variety. That was my biggest gripe. I guess I'm a purist at heart. I will be watching the next episode.
-
I don't think Xena was 'campy/stupid' as people seem to make it out to be at all. (In fact, neither was Hercules, when it first started as the 5 telemovies and the first season or two).
Save for the filler episodes I rather not acknowledge, Xena had a lot great storytelling (the continuing Xena character's past and redemption storyline, the Callisto arc, the Amazons along Gabrielle finally becoming a warrior at the end of the show, the Dahak arc, etc) most of the acting and setting props than people give it credit for (or maybe remember, anyway).
The same crew (and much of the cast) who worked on Xena went on to do 'The Lord of the Rings'. The costumer designer won an Oscar for her work.
With that said, I don't really like the red hair on Lucy Lawless (very nice boobs though). I wonder if they're avoiding her having black hair on purpose. -
You'll be sorry when I'm dead.
-
If the tv show Xena was bad I would like to know the reasons exactly and what makes for a good tv show.
jonsnow -
hell the pilot is also said to be HBO's most expensive ever since Rome. So it's going the same direction. Let's hope they don't cancel it though.
-
you need to get out more or get some pubes
-
They may as well call it this, since that's what it is.
-
Accept no substitutes.
-
Did you watch it?
-
Jan 24, 2010 5:45:46 AM CST
Speaking of Spartacus, where the fuck's the Jean Simmons...
by burnhollywood
...Obituary?!
-
the day you learn how to use "How ironic..." properly. ;)
-
Jan 24, 2010 6:39:05 PM CST
Whattayamean? Clearly, it's like rain on your wedding day.
by royston lodge
-
Pure shit is what it was. All the spot fast cranking crap kind of worked with 300.When the entire screen exploded with Blood when he killed that dude, I laughed so hard, I ended up with stomach cramps. This show is the fucking worst.
-
And Rome S2 was fucking amazing. S1 for me had some issues, It got better as the show went along. S2 was IMHO quite a bit better than S1. As said the worst of Rome made this show look ridiculous stupid, juvenile and retarded.
-
Trust me. It's much more entertaining.
-
I saw about a minute of this on some program big upping the release. Looks well shot but the 30 seconds I saw put me off completely. Cheesy, bad acting and not a patch on Rome. Sorry but I cant help but compare it to Rome which I thought was really good.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 273 total posts 271 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 92 total posts 92 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 160 total posts 69 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 151 total posts 63 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 67 total posts 59 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 60 total posts 57 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 484 total posts 49 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 69 total posts 42 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 120 total posts 32 posts
- SPACE 2099!! -- 183 total posts 24 posts