The new show chronicles the life of the famous Thracian Spartacus, a gladiator who led one of the most daring and successful slave revolts in Roman history. But despite its serious subject matter, "Spartacus" is all shtick. Overuse of slow motion? Check. Hokey and overly formal dialogue? It's there. Gratuitous amounts of computer-generated fake blood? More please.
The formal dialogue and extreme violence that run rampant in "Spartacus" are Starz's professed attempt to represent Roman history authentically, but I simply don't buy its pretensions to historical accuracy. I'm sure there was sex and intrigue in the politics of Ancient Rome, but seriously, Starz was there really that much of it? And always in slow motion?
Contrary to expectations, however, all of these cheesy elements combine to make "Spartacus" one of the most entertaining shows on television. The whole atmosphere, the knowledge that something epic is about to happen just as soon our protagonist gets wise to the machinations of his oh-so-devious slave master, was enough to keep me on the edge of my seat. As long as Spartacus ends up lopping off the heads of a few Romans on his way to starting one of the largest slave revolts in history, this viewer is happy.
The show started out strong with its January premiere, in which Spartacus convinces his fellow Thracians to fight alongside the Roman general Claudius Glaber to defeat their common enemy. This Thracian-Roman collaboration does not last long, however Spartacus is betrayed later in the episode, his wife taken from him and his countrymen enslaved and forced to become gladiators. This whirlwind of bloody betrayal and intrigue create the perfect foundation for the rest of the season, which was filled with engaging drama, action and romance.
While the core episodes of the first season piqued my interest, it was the season finale in which our beloved gladiators rise up against their cruel and manipulative Roman taskmasters in an orgy of blood and revenge that made me a devoted follower of the series. The final hour masterfully sets the stage for the second season, the episode coming to a close as Spartacus promises his fellow gladiators will make "Rome tremble" as the Thracians escape their prison, weapons and torches in hand.
This scene alone has made me check my Netflix account every Friday since the show's April 16 finale in the vain hope that more episodes have been added. Sure, I can stream reruns of "Arrested Development" and "Weeds," but nothing starts my weekend off quite like ancient gladiatorial combat.
The gladiator theme of "Spartacus" is so well executed and engaging mainly because the series has clearly drawn from the successful elements of other legendary gladiator movies. The producers of the show combined the epic gladiatorial fights featured in "Gladiator" with the stylized slow motion and violence of "300" to create an effectively riveting hybrid of the two popular films.
Granted, the show's gladiator fights don't quite capture the roar of the crowd and clash of swords as well as Ridley Scott did in "Gladiator," but they are still extremely satisfying and replete with tense action. Similarly, although slow motion was overused early in the series, it has since become an integral and beneficial characteristic of the show.
Having just finished its first season of 13 episodes, "Spartacus" promises to be an epic and engaging series. Starz has already started production on a six-episode prequel and the second season of the series (although this has been delayed, because Andy Whitfield, who plays Spartacus, was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma). If the show lives up to its first season finale, it even has the potential to be a worthy successor to the now-defunct HBO series "Rome."
