If you've ever said to yourself, "I wish somebody would make a show that was like a mash-up of Rome and 300"...have you met Spartacus? The show that put Starz on the map when it comes to original programming, Spartacus: Blood and Sand gives the iconic gladiator the Batman Begins treatment by chronicling his origins as a captured slave and rise to eventual rebel leader. If you don't have Starz, haven't caught it on Netflix streaming, or just haven't given the show a chance, stop making excuses and check the show out when it hits Blu-ray and DVD September 21st.
With one proviso: don't judge the show based on the pilot episode. It's by far the worst of the season, with showrunner Steven S. DeKnight and his writers struggling at first to find the right balance between gritty historical drama and graphic-novel style action and gore. It didn't take them long to find their stride, however, and Spartacus soon evolved into one of those rare shows that seemed to get better with every single episode. By the time the bloody season finale rolled around, the word "Shakespearean" was not off the mark. Plus, grabbing a copy of the show on September 21st should give you plenty of time to catch up before Starz airs the prequel series this coming January (Spartacus star Andy Whitfield is undergoing treatment for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, which put the show's second season on hold).
You can check out the specs for the Season One set here in our previous story, and you can get the flavor of the series below with the rather kick-ass DVD trailer.
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