Verdict:
Blood and Sand was released in the golden age of TV shows, when they were starting to get good and not just some cheap filler for your Wednesday evening. Netflix had recently started its streaming service, but people are still watching TV every now and then and Spartacus would show up late at night.
Spartacus has everything that today’s public truly desires: violence, sex and a good story, mirroring the wishes of the Romans in the gladiatorial age. And Spartacus excels at all of it. The show starts with the warning that the graphic violence is there due to the historical portrayal of ancient Roman society. Yes, that’s totally the reason for your boobs and violence: historical accuracy.
If you’d just look at some of the screenshots from this show, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it is utter trash, as you behold a bunch of half-naked bodybuilders and fake blood effects. And while Spartacus is no Citizen Kane and you won’t be using it as study material for your history major, it is a surprisingly high-quality show. It’s just very stylized and this stylisation can come off as cheap.
Spartacus Blood and Sand as well as its prequel, Spartacus Gods of the Arena, concentrate on the time leading up to the Third Servile War, rather than the rebellion itself. This is an interesting place in time to focus on. The story is mostly that of revenge, but there are a number of other clear-to-understand themes present: corruption in pursuit of power, spectacle, betrayal, identity, social class and of course, bromance. Lots and lots of bromance.
The primary brain behind the show is Steven DeKnight, who’s worked on shows like Smallville, which is exactly the kind of show I would name as an example of why I used to hate television shows. It was therefore surprising that the same person who wrote for Smallville also wrote for Spartacus. Apart from a few issues in the first few episodes, Spartacus is comprised of intricate plotlines and has a distinctive dialogue that is generally well thought out. Although the dialogue is theatrical in nature, it is still natural and clear enough to be understood, without being pretentious. The pacing is good throughout the show. The episodes do not drag on and so the material is not stretched beyond its worth, like in so many other shows of the time. The intensity is maintained throughout.
Andy Whitfield’s portrayal of Spartacus has surprising depth and intensity for a previously unknown actor, God rest his soul. The classically trained John Hannah was an excellent choice for the ambitious dominus of the gladiatorial school. Jonah gives a deep performance, which in combination with the writing for this character, makes his character far more interesting than Spartacus, who only wants vengeance. Lucy Lawless, as the wife of the dominus, makes the complex relationship with her husband work. It is really cool that the show made the antagonists such believable people with complicated backgrounds and motivations. They did go a bit too far with Craig Parker’s Roman legate, but he is not in the first season that much.
Of course, the acting and the dialogue are not without flaws. Sometimes, the character development is hard to buy and the naked warriors in the snow make you wonder if the show let go of its senses for the sake of style, but those flaws are quickly outshined.
With regard to the visuals, the obvious question comes to mind: is Spartacus ripping off the style of 300 (2006)? Yes. Yes, it does. The naked bodybuilders, the intense CGI skies, the excessive blood, the macho culture, and the slow-motion fights. It’s all here. The fake blood and the CGI do make it look a bit cheap, but the fakeness becomes a part of the theatrical theme that runs throughout the show, along with the style of dialogue, and frankly, Spartacus overshadows the movie 300 and makes it look like a rip-off from Spartacus rather than the other way around. Even though Spartacus uses a lot of computer effects for its backgrounds, there are also quite a number of detailed sets, that sell this show on a physical level.
Once the rebellion starts, with the 2nd season (technically 3rd, if you could the prequel), called Vengeance, the show lost me. With a different lead actor, due to the death of Andy Whitfield, and following the departure of John Hannah, as the primary antagonist, the show had nothing but CGI and naked models left to prop it up. The rumour is that the other seasons are not bad, once you get used to the new cast. However, what I really like about both Blood and Sand and Gods of the Arena is that they have a satisfying end without any major cliffhangers designed to make you watch the next season. So, if you decide to step out at season 1, you can do so without any penalties.
I conclusion, Spartacus is less like a complex wine and more like big juicy steak – great for some, but can be a bit much for others. The grotesque violence and sexual filler make it seems like teenagers are the target audience, but the show proved popular not only with my testosterone filled male friends, but with the ladies as well.