If you don't have Starz (or Netflix streaming, for that matter), you've missed out on one of the best new shows of the season. You'll have to wait until September 21st to take it home, but trust me, the wait for Spartacus: Blood and Sand will be worth it.
Serving as a sort of Spartacus Begins, the series explores the backstory of the legendary rebel slave, from his days as a reluctant cog in the Roman military machine up through his capture and rise to fame as a gladiator. The show takes a page from 300 and Sin City, giving the story a hyper-stylized look where almost nobody dies without a beautifully choreographed, slow-motion blood fountain. The show is gritty, insanely violent, and chockablock with all the coarse language and gratuitous naughty bits you'd expect from the Roman setting.
Based on the pilot alone, you might think the show is nothing but style over substance. Thankfully, there's more to it than that, and Spartacus proved to be like Supernatural, one of those rare shows that seems to get better with every episode. The machinations and double-crosses as the season progresses reach truly Machiavellian levels, most exquisitely in the characters of Batiatus (John Hannah) and Lucretia (Lucy Lawless), the owners of the gladiatorial school to which Spartacus is enslaved. I haven't had this much fun watching two characters scheme since the days of Londo and G'Kar on Babylon 5, so the announcement of the prequel series focusing on the school's pre-Spartacus days is welcome indeed. Plus, the September release date for this set will give you plenty of time to catch up before the prequel launches and before, Andy Whitfield's health permitting, the eventual second season.
This show is gorgeous in high-definition, so I highly recommend splurging for the Blu-ray. In addition to the optimum presentation, going Blu will also get you "Director's Cuts" of four episodes. And given what actually makes it into this show, if these include any "edited for content" material, I can't wait to see what was deemed too scandalous for broadcast.
DVD and Blu-Ray Bonus Features
- Gladiator Camp
- History Rewritten
- Make-Up Effects
- The Hole
- And More!
- Audio Commentaries
- Episodes With Enhanced Digital Effects
- Behind-the-Scenes Footage
- Bloopers
- Trailers
Exclusive to Blu-Ray
- Four "Director's Cut Extended Episodes" personally selected by Executive Producer Rob Tapert
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