# Spartacus: Blood & Boobs - Who's still watching? Season 1 Discussion + Spoilers



## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

We're still watching. While it's obvious the show isn't going to evolve to greatness, it does occasionally surprise me with a direction or twist I didn't see coming.

I was really surprised that they killed off his wife this week, although I have no doubt she will live on in his crazy vivid dreams and flashbacks. They really had me believing that Bartiartus was going to put them back together and that Spartacus would make a big break for it. I guess in hindsight I should have known he wasn't going anywhere. Maybe he'll escape and lead a slave uprising in season 2.

Anyway, it's a pretty good guilty pleasure show. I'm still not crazy about the slo-mo-blood-flo effects, but other bits make up for it.


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## john4200 (Nov 1, 2009)

I agree with you on just about everything you wrote. I too wish they would lose the slow motion blood effects. I don't mind the blood, I just dislike all the slo-mo. Also, I was a bit bothered by how many times Barca got run clean through with swords before he finally stopped fighting, that was just silly. Other than that, this episode was quite entertaining.

Batiatus certainly took a turn to the dark side this episode. From previous behavior, I thought he was an honorable and mostly decent man (at least for a slave keeper), although he clearly has a temper. But now that he killed Barca and showed no remorse when he found out that Barca was innocent, Batiatus is looking a lot worse, especially since there was some hint that Barca was innocent even before Batiatus killed him. And it sure looks like Batiatus arranged for Sura's death (and even if not, he certainly was not sympathetic about it -- he had a big grin on his face).


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

heySkippy said:


> Anyway, it's a pretty good guilty pleasure show. I'm still not crazy about the slo-mo-blood-flo effects, but other bits make up for it.


Of course you are referring to the jiggly bits, no?


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

I have to say this was the best episode yet.

The woman Batiatus was "doing" in the tub...holy mackeral!!!


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

gossamer88 said:


> The woman Batiatus was "doing" in the tub...holy mackeral!!!


How about the party Spartacus bought for the other gladiators? Wowsers!


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

gossamer88 said:


> I have to say this was the best episode yet.
> 
> The woman Batiatus was "doing" in the tub...holy mackeral!!!


she was very good looking...although I would have thought the director and producers would have made sure all the boobs were natural...


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

Anubys said:


> she was very good looking...although I would have thought the director and producers would have made sure all the boobs were natural...


Especially considering how much trouble they've gone to to make sure the blood and fight effects look natural...


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

Still watching, still enjoying -- the jiggly bits more than the slo-mo blood splatters.

Apparently loyalty and honor will get you very dead very quickly in ancient Rome. Seems like Doctore is the only one left alive on the show.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

They certainly shed some major cast this week!

For a second there at the end it looked like Xena was going to have a human moment. But then she came to her senses.


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## john4200 (Nov 1, 2009)

Were the snakes on Spartacus' armor the same ones that Sura saw in her vision in the first episode?


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

getreal said:


> Of course you are referring to the jiggly bits, no?


There's jiggly bits? What channel is this on?


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## jjvarney (Feb 23, 2010)

Starz - starz.com/spartacus


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

jjvarney said:


> Starz - starz.com/spartacus


Shoot. We don't get Starz in our package. Too bad, it sounds fun.


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

^^ I think it's on Netflix too.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

I just watch the dirty parts on the internet.


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## ct1 (Jun 27, 2003)

heySkippy said:


> ^^ I think it's on Netflix too.


Netflix streaming FTW!


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## DUDE_NJX (Feb 12, 2003)

ct1 said:


> Netflix streaming FTW!


Isn't it SD only on NF?


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## Mikeyis4dcats (Oct 2, 2003)

gossamer88 said:


> I have to say this was the best episode yet.
> 
> The woman Batiatus was "doing" in the tub...holy mackeral!!!


yes, i would like to know her name for research purposes.


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## DUDE_NJX (Feb 12, 2003)

Mikeyis4dcats said:


> yes, i would like to know her name *and number* for research purposes.


fyp


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## JohnB1000 (Dec 6, 2004)

A, errrrr, "friend of mine" wants to know which episode(s) had the Lucy Lawless scenes where she best displays her "talents"


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

^^ This week's episode would be a contender.


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## DougF (Mar 18, 2003)

I watched for a few minutes during a DirecTV 101 airing. The obvious blue/green/whatever screen stuff was distracting and really took me out of the moment. Of course, I didn't make it to any of the boobage. That might have drawn me right back in. 

I found in on Netflix Instant Viewing the other day and added it to my queue. I may have to give it another look.


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## Peter000 (Apr 15, 2002)

DougF said:


> I watched for a few minutes during a DirecTV 101 airing.


I wasn't aware it was airing on 101. Is it the whole series or just the pilot?


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## phox_mulder (Feb 23, 2006)

Mikeyis4dcats said:


> yes, i would like to know her name for research purposes.


I would like to do the same for the girl that brought in the pot for drawing weapons in the pit of episode 4.

She appeared to only have one arm, wondering if it is green screen trickery.
(among other body parts that may be diminished or enhanced for onscreen)

I've googled till my fingers bled (ok, maybe not really) and can't find a thing.

Doesn't help that I couldn't understand the guy announcing the weapons, maybe he mentioned the characters name.

phox


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

not sure if I understand the logic...a famous actress like Lucy? sure...but a no-name extra with no lines (in one case) 

just rent a porn DVD and pretend it's her


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## dagojr (Jan 9, 2004)

Anubys said:


> not sure if I understand the logic...a famous actress like Lucy? sure...but a no-name extra with no lines (in one case)
> 
> just rent a porn DVD and pretend it's her


I wonder if lucy knows she is bringing happiness to all the zena fans.


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## DougF (Mar 18, 2003)

Peter000 said:


> I wasn't aware it was airing on 101. Is it the whole series or just the pilot?


Not sure. I just stumbled across it one night.

Just Googled and it looks like they showed the first two eps on 101.


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## hummingbird_206 (Aug 23, 2007)

ct1 said:


> Netflix streaming FTW!


:up:



DUDE_NJX said:


> Isn't it SD only on NF?


It's 16x9, but no idea if it's really HD. The firm parts look good to me, I don't care so much about the jiggly parts.


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

I've watched all the episodes to date via Netflix streaming. It is 16x9 as mentioned. It doesn't look as good as Blu-ray, or even 1080i or 720p, but maybe upconverted standard DVD?

This show is a fun guilty pleasure.


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

Next week on Spartacus: Blood & Boobs!



Spoiler



Batiatus' insurance company threatens to cancel his liability policy if he doesn't put a railing up along the edge of that cliff!


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

heySkippy said:


> Next week on Spartacus: Blood & Boobs!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


LOL!

How many generations has Batiatus' family owned that place? There have to have been more than a few people who have taken flight over the decades.


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

This is sheer speculation on my part, but I'm going to spoil it anyway:



Spoiler



Ilithiyah, the wife of Legatus Glaber, seems to loathe Spartacus intensely. So what are the odds that they'll wind up in bed together before the season's over? Fairly high, I think...


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

How hot was Sura (Erin Cummings) in this week's episode ("Great and Unfortunate Things")? I'm pretty sure those are scorch marks on my TV's bezel. 

And that was one heckuva closing line, eh?


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## philw1776 (Jan 19, 2002)

Don't get the channel, but somehow I'm interested. 

Is this the show where Xena is a Spylon?


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

No, that's Battlestar Galactica where she is a Cylon. In this show, she lounges around naked a lot. Wife of the owner of a gladiator house. The show is on Starz. I watch it via Netflix streaming. With all the violence and blood and boobs, this probably won't show up on Hulu. Only 7 episodes have aired so far.

I admit, I'm hooked on this show.


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## Win Joy Jr (Oct 1, 2001)

Got caught up last night and I have to admit that the pit episode was over the top in blood and gore. It is an interesting approach, and I am awaiting each week's episodes now. When does this ting air? And I guess it will be available on Netflix the next day...


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## cmontyburns (Nov 14, 2001)

Win Joy Jr said:


> Got caught up last night and I have to admit that the pit episode was over the top in blood and gore. It is an interesting approach, and I am awaiting each week's episodes now. When does this ting air? And I guess it will be available on Netflix the next day...


First-run episodes air Fridays. It's also available on Netflix Fridays.


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## Tpfer (Mar 2, 2001)

Graymalkin said:


> This is sheer speculation on my part, but I'm going to spoil it anyway:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The next 2 episodes are on usenet.



Spoiler



Your wish is their command


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## pendragn (Jan 21, 2001)

Tpfer said:


> The next 2 episodes are on usenet.
> 
> 
> 
> ...





Spoiler



I can't believe she couldn't tell that was Spartacus even with the mask on. He and Crixus have very different bodies.



tk


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

Just watched this week's show.

Ouch.


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

heySkippy said:


> Just watched this week's show.
> 
> Ouch.


Yeah that looked real. OUCH is right!


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Man, Spartacus has turned into a dick.

Which, I suppose, beats turning dickless...


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

They're all dicks on that show. Even the women. 

Y'know how you can tell which women are going to die in a horror movie? They're the ones exposing their breasts. Apparently doing the full Monty is going to be the male equivalent of that on this show.


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

I like how the technology for keeping women's breasts concealed by their clothing hadn't been perfected in those days.


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## danielhart (Apr 27, 2004)

Ha! I strongly suspected that a lot of people have been quietly enjoying the heck out of this completely over the top, marvelously wonderful trainwreck of a show.

I look forward to it every week.


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## philw1776 (Jan 19, 2002)

Casual fan here...which episode should I watch to check out Xena's assets?


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## hughmcjr (Nov 27, 2006)

philw1776 said:


> Casual fan here...which episode should I watch to check out Xena's assets?


from recollection, any! They have to keep us interested right?


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

Lots of scheming, sex and fake bushery.

All kidding aside I'm glad I stuck with it. It's actually getting better.

Iliythia "trashing" that girl was pretty brutal.


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

gossamer88 said:


> Lots of scheming, sex and fake bushery.
> 
> All kidding aside I'm glad I stuck with it. It's actually getting better.
> 
> Iliythia "trashing" that girl was pretty brutal.


Yeah, she's a beast, Wow. Love that actress.


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## cmontyburns (Nov 14, 2001)

I'm a couple of episodes behind, having watched up through where (it's a spoiler thread, but I'll spoiler-protect anyway)



Spoiler



Batiatus killed Spartacus' wife.



I dunno why, but that kind of took the wind out of my sails for watching. Although I'm thinking I'll go ahead and get caught up eventually.

It will be interesting to see what becomes of the show with star Andy Whitfield having been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. His prognosis is apparently, and fortunately, excellent. Shooting on season 2 has been delayed, though, and I would imagine that the treatment will take a temporary toll on Whitfield's body.


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## pjenkins (Mar 8, 1999)

I love this show, the last episode was great, were there really that many naked people walking around a ludis?


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

It's amazing how Lucretia's plan against Ilithyia turned out so badly, and yet so well.


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## Legion (Aug 24, 2005)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> It's amazing how Lucretia's plan against Ilithyia turned out so badly, and yet so well.


They probably wrote it that way.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Legion said:


> They probably wrote it that way.


They must have. Because if her plan had worked, she would have been screwed, but this way she wins. And that just can't be a coincidence!


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## hughmcjr (Nov 27, 2006)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> They must have. Because if her plan had worked, she would have been screwed, but this way she wins. And that just can't be a coincidence!


She looked like she got screwed win or lose.


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

Whoa, this last episode ("Whore") was a bit intense. I had no clue about Lucretia's plan until the reveal near the end of the episode. Ilythia's a beast. Dang.

Lucretia's plan certainly took an unexpected turn, but looks like it ended ok. I can't imagine she had thought things would turn out as they did.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

justen_m said:


> Lucretia's plan certainly took an unexpected turn, but looks like it ended ok. I can't imagine she had thought things would turn out as they did.


I can't imagine she thought one tiny little bit about what would happen beyond Ilithyia being humiliated. To quote Ruthless People, "This could very well be the stupidest person on the face of the Earth."

And yet when her stupid plan fell apart, it worked out beautifully.


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

Just watched ep10, "Party Favors"

Dang, I didn't see that coming. This show keeps pulling surprises. I guess the willingness of the producers to kill ANYONE might attribute to this. This ep just reinforced how low Ilithyia is willing to go (no pun intended, hehe) to get what she wants - in this case, revenge on Spartacus.

I wouldn't have minded turning 15 in ancient Rome as the son of a rich and powerful politician. 

I hope Spartacus and that hot slave girl develop some sort of relationship. She is so gorgeous. And she seems empathetic too, not just into Sparty for what she can get out of it. And Sparty doesn't have anyone else to talk to, anymore. The last scene was really good, IMO.


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## pjenkins (Mar 8, 1999)

Great Episode again tonight, I love this show


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## caslu (Jun 24, 2003)

A lot of people tag this show as a fun, guilty pleasure with sub-standard writing but they keep pulling twists and turns that I really don't see coming... gotta keep watching!


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

Another good episode. 

If the series had started this way we probably would have taken it more serious. 

Glad I hanged on.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

I am still catching up. I enjoyed the full frontal male nudity in one of the episodes I recently watched. That is so rare.


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## Timbeau (May 31, 2002)

I just finished episode 9 "Whore". Wow was that brutal!! I'm liking this more and more each week.


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

Yo, catch up already Timbeau. LOL. This is about the only show I watch ASAP. Usually the day of the new releases. It is really good, IMO.


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## squint (Jun 15, 2008)

Their special effects people are a bit out of control. Soon, it's going to be like Itchy and Scratchy.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

caslu said:


> A lot of people tag this show as a fun, guilty pleasure with sub-standard writing but they keep pulling twists and turns that I really don't see coming... gotta keep watching!


Yeah, it's a fun, guilty pleasure with pretty good writing.

Not much job security for the cast, though... "The good news is, the show has been renewed even before it aired. The bad news is..."


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## philw1776 (Jan 19, 2002)

sieglinde said:


> I am still catching up. I enjoyed the full frontal male nudity in one of the episodes I recently watched. That is so rare.


Women like you and my wife are disgusting. Try to think of us as people.


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## Ekims (Oct 18, 2002)

Special effects are getting a little silly now... They start out each episode with a paragraph about how they try to stay historically accurate and then later in the episode they show two men pulling a chain hard enough to decapitate someone. I still enjoy this show, I just wish they would stop trying to be 300.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Ekims said:


> They start out each episode with a paragraph about how they try to stay historically accurate and then later in the episode they show two men pulling a chain hard enough to decapitate someone.


Ah, but that was a Roman chain, built before they had all those silly safety features that make it so hard to decapitate somebody with American chains.


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## tlc (May 30, 2002)

Ekims said:


> Special effects are getting a little silly now... They start out each episode with a paragraph about how they try to stay historically accurate and then later in the episode they show two men pulling a chain hard enough to decapitate someone.


The fighting at practice is pretty bearable. Only in the arena (well, and flashbacks and dreams) do you get the leaping double decapitation with short swords...


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

LOL!!!!! I just wanted to see both your heads. 



philw1776 said:


> Women like you and my wife are disgusting. Try to think of us as people.


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## net114 (Dec 29, 2000)

sieglinde said:


> LOL!!!!! I just wanted to see both your heads.


Hate to throw cold water on this issue, but Lucy Lawless said in an interview that all "parts" shown below the waist are glued on "appendages" and "carpets."


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

net114 said:


> Hate to throw cold water on this issue, but Lucy Lawless said in an interview that all "parts" shown below the waist are glued on "appendages" and "carpets."


So instead of being filmed with your real junk in view, you're being filmed with your fake junk? How is that more modest?


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

Graymalkin said:


> How is that more modest?


I doubt it's got anything to do with modesty and everything to do with the junk/carpet looking like the director wants it to look.


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## zordude (Sep 23, 2003)

Graymalkin said:


> So instead of being filmed with your real junk in view, you're being filmed with your fake junk? How is that more modest?


It makes a huge difference when they get to the part of the movie where they want to cut it off


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

zordude said:


> It makes a huge difference when they get to the part of the movie where they want to cut it off


LOL! :up:


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## DougF (Mar 18, 2003)

I gave this another try on Netflix instant viewing the other night. I made it about 20 minutes into the first episode and got really bored and switched to something else. Reading some of these comments, it looks like I should maybe keep watching. Maybe I'll just skip to the second or third ep and try again.


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

zordude said:


> It makes a huge difference when they get to the part of the movie where they want to cut it off


I walked right into that one. I tip my cap to you, sirrah!


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

LOL!!! What if there was something not attractive about an actor's nether regions, that would call for a dildo or another appliance.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

DougF said:


> I gave this another try on Netflix instant viewing the other night. I made it about 20 minutes into the first episode and got really bored and switched to something else. Reading some of these comments, it looks like I should maybe keep watching. Maybe I'll just skip to the second or third ep and try again.


It's one of those shows that takes some time. I almost quit in episode one also, I thought the blood & gore was a joke, with the slo-mo and all. But it got better every week, and now is actually a top-notch show. Well-written, interesting story, actors keep it fun. Other than the occasional slo-mo gore (come on, lose that already), it's one of my A shows.


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

Wow I did not see Batiatus/Ashur's plan at all. I was hoping to see the kid get his in front of his father though. Oh well. 

And oh yeah think Crixus will be a dad soon?


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## pjenkins (Mar 8, 1999)

gossamer88 said:


> Wow I did not see Batiatus/Ashur's plan at all. I was hoping to see the kid get his in front of his father though. Oh well.
> 
> And oh yeah think Crixus will be a dad soon?


i think they hit us over the head with that, yes 

great show, so fun!


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## stinkbomb1020 (Jul 18, 2004)

I have watched every episode aired so far and thought all were good...but hey...I'm a huge fan of the medieval/gladiator genre so I'm a little bias on that front.
I have to admit, I didn't pickup on Lucy Lawless 'till the fourth episode. I kept thinking she looked familiar...and then it hit me, Xena Warrior Princess! Like you've never seen her before! I have never found any episode to be boring.
And Rob's comment about the chain, I just about fell out of my chair! Them Roman chains can cut like razors! LOL!


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## voripteth (Apr 9, 2003)

I'm shocked and pleased by the quality of the episodes. This is one of the best series on pay TV right now, IMHO. I find myself going "Wow" at the end of every episode.

Then again the slow-mo blood effects and decapitations are a bit laughable at times. I thought the dual head chopping in the last episode looked particularly fake. :/

It is the drama and plotting that gets me. The loss on the latest episode had me yelling NO!


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

gossamer88 said:


> Wow I did not see Batiatus/Ashur's plan at all. I was hoping to see the kid get his in front of his father though. Oh well.


The moment Ashur led Solonius off to"rescue" the Magistrate alone, I figured out what was going on. I wonder, though, whether Ashtur was leading Solonius on all along, or if he was playing both sides and only then decided which to jump to? Either way, he played it well...


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

One thing about this show, just because you get killed doesn't mean you're gone.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

heySkippy said:


> One thing about this show, just because you get killed doesn't mean you're gone.


Nothings like dreams and hallucinations to keep an actor employed!


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## balboa dave (Jan 19, 2004)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Nothings like dreams and hallucinations to keep an actor employed!


or whatever it is that _Lost_ does.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Death, where is thy sting?


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

Ain't nobody going gently into that good night on _this_ show.

I see that Katrina Law (who plays Mira) is now a series regular in the credits.


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## cmontyburns (Nov 14, 2001)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> The moment Ashur led Solonius off to"rescue" the Magistrate alone, I figured out what was going on. I wonder, though, whether Ashtur was leading Solonius on all along, or if he was playing both sides and only then decided which to jump to? Either way, he played it well...


I wondered, too, but eventually decided it was a ruse the whole time. Which is just a little annoying, because it means the whole bit with Batiatus denying Ashur another chance in the arena was a plot device simply to fool the viewer.


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

Graymalkin said:


> I see that Katrina Law (who plays Mira) is now a series regular in the credits.


Cool. Mira. I didn't recall her name. I just called her sexy slave girl #2, and mentioned she and Sparty should develop some sort of relationship, since Sparty has nobody else anymore, after wife and only friend die. After the last ep, they now share a fairly intimate secret, so this should help things along.

This show is about the only show I know consider, "must see tv" that I watch the same day it airs. Seeing as I watch vie Netflix streaming, and this show is available Friday mornings on Netflix, I watch while I eat breakfast. LOL. That's not ranchero sauce on my huevos rancheros, that's gladiator blood.


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## stinkbomb1020 (Jul 18, 2004)

With each episode the show gets better and better. The title of this thread should have been: "Spartacus: Blood & Boobs - Why aren't you watching?!!!"


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## dtle (Dec 12, 2001)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> I wonder, though, whether Ashtur was leading Solonius on all along, or if he was playing both sides and only then decided which to jump to? Either way, he played it well...


I think he's playing both sides. Batiatus was pissed when the plan to murder Solonius during his visit with his favorite whore didn't work. Solonius was tipped off by Ashtur, and sent another man instead.


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## TBDigital (Mar 14, 2002)

"Kill 'em all!"

Oh my, the season finale' should be pretty interesting...


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## pjenkins (Mar 8, 1999)

love how quickly they move this story along - next week should be awesome


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## cmontyburns (Nov 14, 2001)

How many episodes are there in this season? 13? (Which would make the next one the finale.)


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

Yes, next week is the season finale.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

TBDigital said:


> "Kill 'em all!"
> 
> Oh my, the season finale' should be pretty interesting...


It almost sounds like he's planning some kind of revolt.

But obviously, they couldn't do that...it would change the status quo too much.


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## cmontyburns (Nov 14, 2001)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> It almost sounds like he's planning some kind of revolt.
> 
> But obviously, they couldn't do that...it would change the status quo too much.


Some nice plotting in this episode to have had it start with absolutely everyone having no reason to help Spartacus in his plans, but end with almost everyone who would have opposed him at least having reason to re-think that position.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

cmontyburns said:


> Some nice plotting in this episode to have had it start with absolutely everyone having no reason to help Spartacus in his plans, but end with almost everyone who would have opposed him at least having reason to re-think that position.


It's impressive how sneakily good the writing on this show has been...hidden amongst all the blood and boobs has been some very careful plot and character work.


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

I'm sorry to see the season coming to an end, particularly since I suspect it'll be the end of Batiatus and Xena (except in flashbacks and dreams). Next season will probably feel like an entirely new show.

FWIW, the Spartacus page at Wikipedia is fascinating reading with lots of references to names we've come to know on this show. I suppose it could contain spoilers for upcoming episodes, so read at your own risk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartacus


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## Peter000 (Apr 15, 2002)

Good lord, a lot happened in this episode. Like every frickin' secret was revealed to everyone at once. 

And Crixis CRIED! There's no crying in gladiatoring!

Should be a great finale!


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## TBDigital (Mar 14, 2002)

Wow. Can't wait for next season, although it does sound like Andy's medical treatments will postpone the start of shooting for season 2. The wiki page for the show says that they are going to film a 6 show prequel while they wait for Andy. Could be interesting...

And the finale's title is misleading, because they didn't...not yet, anyway


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> It's impressive how sneakily good the writing on this show has been...hidden amongst all the blood and boobs has been some very careful plot and character work.


:up:


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## pjenkins (Mar 8, 1999)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> It's impressive how sneakily good the writing on this show has been...hidden amongst all the blood and boobs has been some very careful plot and character work.


it helps that the historical material is there, of course


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

I think this show is going to win some sort of award, "Best writing we are too embarrassed to admit."

Oh, and thanks for all the boobs.


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

Wow, just watched the finale. Wow. Best show on TV since the Shield.


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## jschuur (Nov 27, 2002)

It hadn't occurred to me to check for the new episode this early. I, for one, welcome our new Netflix streaming overlords.

Boy, their Blood Guy really worked overtime in this episode.

I like this Spartacus guy, he's got guts (unlike some of the guests at the end of this episode). He's going to teach Rome a lesson, I have a good feeling about this.

Wait... what?


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## ct1 (Jun 27, 2003)

jschuur said:


> I like this Spartacus guy, he's got guts ...


Some of those soldiers *had* guts...


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## packerfan (Jan 8, 2002)

justen_m said:


> Wow, just watched the finale. Wow. Best show on TV since the Shield.


I liked the series as a whole, but was a bit disappointed with the finale.


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

I wonder how closely next season will follow the actual history of the Third Servile War. But there's a lot of contradictory accounts and huge gaps in the history that the producers pretty much have a free hand.

Next season will be the _Inglourious Basterds_ phase of the story.


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## cmontyburns (Nov 14, 2001)

Wow, that was... overwrought. But fun! Nice narrative bookends to this first season. In the first episode, Sura tells Spartacus to "kill them all", and in the last episode, in her memory, he does just that.

Boy, Numerius sure got his, huh? He obviously never has seen any of the Halloween or Friday the 13th movies... teenagers who have sex always get killed.

Among the non-gladiator characters, who's left alive? Ilithya (yay!), Lucretia (barely), and Ashur. Is that it?


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## thudtrain (Sep 29, 2005)

Now THAT is a season finale! How great was that scene between Doctore and Ashur, two of my favorite characters. So glad they both lived. I was giggling to myself when Doctore joined the cause. 

Only bad part was Battiatus dying, he was the best part of the show. But he so had it coming. Thankfully Spartacus was the one who killed him, that almost makes up for the sobering thought that season two will have no Battiatus. Maybe Haldir will be enough of an ******* to fill the void.


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## danielhart (Apr 27, 2004)

That was awesome. Perhaps next season the God's will grace this show with it's deserv-ed honor of having specific threads for each episode? Make it so or suffer the wrath of Jupiter's c***!!!


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## jschuur (Nov 27, 2002)

cmontyburns said:


> Among the non-gladiator characters, who's left alive? Ilithya (yay!), Lucretia (barely), and Ashur. Is that it?


I get the feeling Lucretia was dying a slower death than Batiatus and she won't be back. Mira, Naevia (the two brunette female slaves) and Aurelia (Varro's wife) are all still alive, although Naevia was carted off in last week's episode, so who knows if we'll see her again.

And I expect Glaber will play a critical role in the next season, probably with Ashur weaseling his way on his side.


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

Glaber and Ashur are great "characters" so they'll be returning for sure. Not sure about Lucretia. Her demise was pretty surprising. I doubt she'll survive. Will mis her.

Great season!!


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## tlc (May 30, 2002)

Wow. That's a cast overhaul. I can't think of any show where I've seen so many (non red shirt) characters die in the whole life of the show, let alone one episode.

I was surprised that they got Doctore to join. He seemed impossible. 

I agree about the writing being a hidden gem. Was it last week someone had reason to tell Doctore that Bacca was killed? Then the poisoning of Crixus helps turn Crixus and Doctore!

Everyone got to kill their specific nemesis. Sparty & Domy. Crixus and Lucy. Varro's wife and the boy. Ilithya played a big part in lots of deaths!

I assume Lucretia is as good as dead. It'll be unrealistic if she lives.

Ilithya and Ashur are the surviving bad guys. I'm guessing Il's hubby returns to play a larger bad guy part. Where will Ashur run?

Was the only non-red-shirt gladiator to die the brother?


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## danielhart (Apr 27, 2004)

tlc said:


> Where will Ashur run?


Straight to the Legatus.


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## Bryanmc (Sep 5, 2000)

tlc said:


> It'll be unrealistic if she lives.


At that would be totally out of character for this show.


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## Langree (Apr 29, 2004)

Lucretia was stabbed in the gut, slow, painful way to bleed out. I'd be truly shocked if she is alive next season.

I don't see Ilithya sending aid up to help the wounded.


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## thudtrain (Sep 29, 2005)

I think it'll definitely be Glaber who is tasked with tracking down the escaped slaves and the eventual war against them. I imagine Rome will consider it his mess to clean up, what with his history with Spartacus and the fact that he was sponsoring the ludus where it happened, however briefly.


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## Rickvz (Sep 5, 2000)

An article in the Zap2It blog today discusses the postponement of the second season while Andy Whitfield is under treatment for non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. The article can be seen here. They link to a NY Magazine article that discusses the possibility of a six episode prequel that could be filmed without Whitfield but utilize the set, actors, and writers of season 1.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

pjenkins said:


> it helps that the historical material is there, of course


I used a variant of that argument on my Mom, telling her that chocolate is a vegetable because it's made from beans.

She bought it exactly as much as I buy yours. 

It's very cool the way the first season was a complete story, with beginning, middle, and (bloody) end. And next season will necessarily be a very different kind of story (where will they find the budget to do more than one set? ). I wonder how long they can keep it up?


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

Next year the set will be some caverns on Mount Vesuvius. You wait and see.


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## balboa dave (Jan 19, 2004)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> It's amazing how Lucretia's plan against Ilithyia turned out so badly, and yet so well.





Legion said:


> They probably wrote it that way.





Rob Helmerichs said:


> They must have. Because if her plan had worked, she would have been screwed, but this way she wins. And that just can't be a coincidence!





caslu said:


> A lot of people tag this show as a fun, guilty pleasure with sub-standard writing but they keep pulling twists and turns that I really don't see coming... gotta keep watching!





Rob Helmerichs said:


> Yeah, it's a fun, guilty pleasure with pretty good writing.
> 
> Not much job security for the cast, though... "The good news is, the show has been renewed even before it aired. The bad news is..."





astrohip said:


> It's one of those shows that takes some time. I almost quit in episode one also, I thought the blood & gore was a joke, with the slo-mo and all. But it got better every week, and now is actually a top-notch show. Well-written, interesting story, actors keep it fun. Other than the occasional slo-mo gore (come on, lose that already), it's one of my A shows.





Rob Helmerichs said:


> It's impressive how sneakily good the writing on this show has been...hidden amongst all the blood and boobs has been some very careful plot and character work.





justen_m said:


> I think this show is going to win some sort of award, "Best writing we are too embarrassed to admit."
> 
> Oh, and thanks for all the boobs.


I think praise should be given to where it belongs. Joss Whedon. Actually, to Steven S. DeKnight, who was a writer on Buffy, Angel, and Dollhouse, and clearly has learned from the best. He's the show's creator and show runner, and deserves all the credit for the characters, plots, twists and turns. I'm willing to bet Sam Raimi had a hand in this too, beyond just owning the production company. If nothing else, he gave DeKnight free reign to realize his vision.

As I think about it, if you substitute the criticism of the blood and gore with those of empty-headed teenagers, I find them similar to what _Buffy the Vampire Slayer _faced in it's early years. It took a lot of people some time to get past the seemingly absurd premise to get to the heart of the show.

I had no problem with the over the top violence and gore, but I've also become a fan of anime like _Afro Samurai_, so this seemed tame in comparison. I think it's time violence is portrayed in a hyper-realistic manner. It's the bloodless play-acting in every other series or movie that's truly unrealistic.


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## Ekims (Oct 18, 2002)

LOVED this episode!! I fully expected them to leave it with a huge cliffhanger and am glad they didn't!!!


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## dtle (Dec 12, 2001)

With the deaths of Batiatus and Lucretia, I'm sadden.....



...that we won't see any more master/slave sex orgies next season.


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## Peter000 (Apr 15, 2002)

Awesome ending to the season. If it hadn't been renewed, I would have been happy with that ending. Extremely satisfying to see almost everyone get their due. Aside from Asher.

It'll certainly be interesting to see where it goes from here.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Ekims said:


> LOVED this episode!! I fully expected them to leave it with a huge cliffhanger and am glad they didn't!!!


Well, they kind of did.

Will the slaves conquer Rome?

(No historical spoilers, anybody! )


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

so where did Illythia hide that they could not get to her and kill her?


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## Ekims (Oct 18, 2002)

Anubys said:


> so where did Illythia hide that they could not get to her and kill her?


She left, I would guess that she headed to Rome to be with husband...


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## Win Joy Jr (Oct 1, 2001)

Anubys said:


> so where did Illythia hide that they could not get to her and kill her?


And had the bodyguard bar the door to assure no one else escaped...

The question is how can Ashur survive Roman law that should any slave kill his master, all slaves owned by that master would be put to death?

Lucretia, I believe, did die after reaching out to her husband...


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## Legion (Aug 24, 2005)

I really liked seeing Spartacus and Crixis coming together at the end. After being adversaries for so long it took a lot for Crixis to see the light, but in the end he did (as did Doctore). Watching him process everything that was happening and then making the decision to join the gladiators was great TV.

I also like how they implied that Illythia was also escaping captivity in a way. The last couple of episodes her "hosts" were blackmailing her to get what they wanted. In the beginning they hid it or tried to disguise it, by by the final episode Lucretia pretty much was telling her what to do or else. As things came apart, she also recognized her opportunity to be free and took it.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Legion said:


> I really liked seeing Spartacus and Crixis coming together at the end. After being adversaries for so long it took a lot for Crixis to see the light, but in the end he did (as did Doctore).


It's interesting to know the eventual fate of the historical Crixus...look him up on Wikipedia if you don't mind knowing. Oenomaus (Doctore) as well, although not quite as interesting.


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## Peter000 (Apr 15, 2002)

Legion said:


> I really liked seeing Spartacus and Crixis coming together at the end.


Loved the scene where Crixis regretfully (not quite the right word. Respectfully?) turns down Spartacus's plan, and saying he and Spartacus could have been like brothers under other circumstances. I actually got a lump in my throat there.


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## cmontyburns (Nov 14, 2001)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> It's interesting to know the eventual fate of the historical Crixus...look him up on Wikipedia if you don't mind knowing. Oenomaus (Doctore) as well, although not quite as interesting.


It's funny, but other than Spartacus himself, I never think of any of these characters as people with some basis in historical fact. It didn't occur to me that Crixus might have been an actual person.



Peter000 said:


> Loved the scene where Crixis regretfully (not quite the right word. Respectfully?) turns down Spartacus's plan, and saying he and Spartacus could have been like brothers under other circumstances. I actually got a lump in my throat there.


No lump here, but I agree with you about the scene, and I re-watched it a couple of times. It was a nice moment for the two of them, once hated rivals but now respectful rivals, realizing that they had more in common than they might have once thought.

We've talked about the writing on the show before, and this was another good example of its cleverness. (Or maybe _plotting_ would be a better term... the show is rather floridly written.) The emotions of the scene and the characters' motivations were honestly earned by both over the course of many episodes, and when Crixus ultimately casts his lot with Spartacus, we know exactly why he is doing it, and we have seen the seeds of that decision taking root for several weeks before. It's organic, rather than just a plot device to make the end work out. I really respect that.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

cmontyburns said:


> It's funny, but other than Spartacus himself, I never think of any of these characters as people with some basis in historical fact. It didn't occur to me that Crixus might have been an actual person.


Apart from the three main rebels, the only largely historical figure on the show is Glaber (Ilithyia's husband, the guy who enslaved Spartacus on the show, although nobody knows how he became a slave in real life; his historical importance comes later in the story). Batiatus was real, but all we know is he was Spartacus's owner.


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## pendragn (Jan 21, 2001)

Win Joy Jr said:


> The question is how can Ashur survive Roman law that should any slave kill his master, all slaves owned by that master would be put to death?


Didn't Batiatus free him? He got a promotion of some sort. Maybe that will be enough to save him.

tk


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## Win Joy Jr (Oct 1, 2001)

pendragn said:


> Didn't Batiatus free him? He got a promotion of some sort. Maybe that will be enough to save him.
> 
> tk


I do not think Ashur was freed. He was promoted to serving in the villa, but I think he was still a slave. The only other slave to have had freedom dangled in front of him was Doctore (sp?).


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## voripteth (Apr 9, 2003)

I really enjoyed this series and watch the finale with bittersweet enjoyment. Pretty much everyone who got betrayed had their chance at revenge. Not much left to continue another season. I don't think a series based on Sparty and his merry band of men would work. I really enjoyed all the plotting and scheming in this series.

I hope to see more series like this!


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

voripteth said:


> Not much left to continue another season. I don't think a series based on Sparty and his merry band of men would work.


And yet not only was it renewed, it was renewed before the series even premiered!

Since delayed for the star's cancer treatment, but still, both the producers and the network obviously had confidence in their ability to move forward.


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## jschuur (Nov 27, 2002)

Historically, there are at least one or two character developments with the people we already know that are interesting to see play out. My main concern though is how the series is going to portrait the scope of what happens when Spartacus leaves the small ludus and moves towards his bigger destiny in history (purposefully being vague here).

We know the show operates on a smaller budget and likes to use a lot of green screen and cheap CGI. It's going to be harder to convincingly display the kind of grandeur needed for Spartacus' later years.

Side note, I highly recommend the History of Rome podcast (http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-history-of-rome/id261654474 if you want to catch up on all the episodes) by Mike Duncan. It's a rapid fire history of Rome from the early days of the foundation of the city in 753 BC, to the end of the empire in 476 AD. It's speeds through the events, but he focuses on the big events and does some detours when he talks about Roman legion fighting styles e.g.. If you've listened to Lars Brownworth's 12 Byzantine Rulers (or his latest, Norman Centuries), it's a similar style.


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

OMG. Are there only 12 actresses down under? Sexy Slave Girl #2 from this show just appeared as a Mord-Sith in Legend of the Seeker. (another Sam Raimi production)

Interesting costume change. Pretty much nothing in Spartacus, to toe-to-neck red leather bustier in LotS.

I almost didn't recognize here, but those freckles are a dead giveaway.


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## jschuur (Nov 27, 2002)

Looks like we'll be seeing more of Lawless and Hannah. Starz is doing a 6 episode prequel, to accomodate Andy Whitfield's cancer treatment:


> The prequel will focus on the rise of the House of Batiatus and its gladiators before there ever was a Spartacus around to cause all that trouble. Hannah and Lawless will reprise their roles as Batiatus, the owner of the gladiator school, and his wife, Lucretia.


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## pendragn (Jan 21, 2001)

jschuur said:


> Looks like we'll be seeing more of Lawless and Hannah. Starz is doing a 6 episode prequel, to accomodate Andy Whitfield's cancer treatment:


That's good news. I might actually be more interested in that than I am in Season 2 of Spartacus. I thought the gladiator school was a great backdrop for stories.

tk


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## pjenkins (Mar 8, 1999)

pendragn said:


> That's good news. I might actually be more interested in that than I am in Season 2 of Spartacus. I thought the gladiator school was a great backdrop for stories.
> 
> tk


i agree, looking forward to seeing the new episodes.


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## Timbeau (May 31, 2002)

pendragn said:


> That's good news. I might actually be more interested in that than I am in Season 2 of Spartacus. I thought the gladiator school was a great backdrop for stories.
> 
> tk


Yeah, so will I. As long as they focus on their uhmm... personal lives that is.


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## speaker city (Sep 28, 2005)

Just marathoned the season in about 10 days. Great show. Looking forward to the prequel episodes.

May the gods bless Whitfield with a speedy recovery.


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## Peter000 (Apr 15, 2002)

jhausmann said:


> Ashur was no longer a slave, having been freed a few episodes back.


I don't remember Asher getting freed. When was that exactly?

I remember them discussing it, that he was gong to be freed after a time, but it wasn't immediately.


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## jhausmann (Aug 21, 2002)

Peter000 said:


> I don't remember Asher getting freed. When was that exactly?
> 
> I remember them discussing it, that he was gong to be freed after a time, but it wasn't immediately.


Went back after posting and viewed "revelations" again. The conversation between ash and Battiartus is vague enough where it suggests he is (as well as a later conversation between Crixus and Ashur where Ashur states he is to be Batiartus' "right hand"). The new clothes, the gift of Nevia and taking residence in th villa all suggest a non-slave status as well. But,sadly, there is nothing concrete. As such, I maybe wrong and Ashur may stIll be enslaved. Howerver, that may be the means by which Ashur lives in season two.


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## speaker city (Sep 28, 2005)

jhausmann said:


> Went back after posting and viewed "revelations" again. The conversation between ash and Battiartus is vague enough where it suggests he is (as well as a later conversation between Crixus and Ashur where Ashur states he is to be Batiartus' "right hand"). The new clothes, the gift of Nevia and taking residence in th villa all suggest a non-slave status as well. But,sadly, there is nothing concrete. As such, I maybe wrong and Ashur may stIll be enslaved. Howerver, that may be the means by which Ashur lives in season two.


He's still a slave. Battiartus just promoted him to a higher level of slavery.


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## Jeeters (Feb 25, 2003)

So, I've been doing a slow 'marathon' of this show and finally finished the last episode about half an hour ago. I put 'marathon' in quotes since it's been on and off over about three weeks.

I completely ignored this show when it first started airing. I figured it was just some cheesy bad-FX show not even worthy of SyFy. I don't even remember why, but I decided to check out some of the first episode on Netflix a few weeks ago and was intrigued and kept watching.

In the beginning, I was just watching for the bloody action and the boobs. The story was not coming across as all that interesting.

But around, oh, episode 4 or so, I was completely hooked! And, as others have said, the show just kept getting better and better all the way to the end - it had not just bloody action and boobs, but also a great story to boot!


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## hummingbird_206 (Aug 23, 2007)

I was viewing via Netflix Watch Instantly, but didn't finish the season yet. Now it's been pulled from WI. Ugh. I'm so bummed. Any way to tell if it will be back on WI? Guess I'll have to rent the DVDs for the remaining eps when they come out next month.


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

I'm sure they can be downloaded somewhere.


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## Weezoh (May 9, 2002)

hummingbird_206 said:


> I was viewing via Netflix Watch Instantly, but didn't finish the season yet. Now it's been pulled from WI. Ugh. I'm so bummed. Any way to tell if it will be back on WI? Guess I'll have to rent the DVDs for the remaining eps when they come out next month.


I'm Betting (just a WAG) that when it comes close to season 2 or the prequel airing they'll make them available again in like manner to the network broadcasts. I hope so at least.

It would be nice if in addition to the pull date that they show there was a way to alert you that shows you have in your queue are going to be pulled in x days. And while i'm wishing, how about alerts when saved videos go into the queue, and. . . a PONY!


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

In Netflix's defense they were probably told to pull it from the Instant Watch to help the sales of the upcoming DVDs/BDs.


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## dcheesi (Apr 6, 2001)

gossamer88 said:


> In Netflix's defense they were probably told to pull it from the Instant Watch to help the sales of the upcoming DVDs/BDs.


...which would make more sense if the DVDs were actually out, or if Netflix even listed a release date for them...


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## dcheesi (Apr 6, 2001)

Weezoh said:


> I'm Betting (just a WAG) that when it comes close to season 2 or the prequel airing they'll make them available again in like manner to the network broadcasts. I hope so at least.
> 
> It would be nice if in addition to the pull date that they show there was a way to alert you that shows you have in your queue are going to be pulled in x days. And while i'm wishing, how about alerts when saved videos go into the queue, and. . . a PONY!


This site at least gives a concise list of titles expiring soon. But even though it will let you add titles directly to your queue, there doesn't seem to be any way to integrate your queue list with this data... perhaps a privacy limitation?

http://instantwatcher.com/titles/expiring/1


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## pjenkins (Mar 8, 1999)

nothing really to add, except that the thread title always makes me laugh


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

dcheesi said:


> ...which would make more sense if the DVDs were actually out, *or if Netflix even listed a release date for them...*


They do: 9/21.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

pjenkins said:


> nothing really to add, except that the thread title always makes me laugh


this


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## dcheesi (Apr 6, 2001)

gossamer88 said:


> They do: 9/21.


They do now. When I first noticed it had dropped off (a few days ago) the DVD availability was "undetermined"...


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

FYI, Amazon has the Blu-ray of season 1 on sale (pre-order) for $35, which is a LOT cheaper than it's been anywhere else.


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## TBDigital (Mar 14, 2002)

Saw this update about Andy Whitfield and thought it would be of interest here. Looks like he's cancer free and ready to start shooting the prequels. He apparently makes an appearance in 2 episodes. Then on to season 2!


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## Peter000 (Apr 15, 2002)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> FYI, Amazon has the Blu-ray of season 1 on sale (pre-order) for $35, which is a LOT cheaper than it's been anywhere else.


There's far too little blood on the cover of the set to represent the series fairly. I'll PASS.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Peter000 said:


> There's far too little blood on the cover of the set to represent the series fairly. I'll PASS.


And _no _boobs!


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

Damn, Andy Whitfield's cancer has recurred, and season 2 has been postponed again.

http://www.thewrap.com/television/c...s-recurrence-cancer-spartacus-postponed-20969

Andy has left the show. Showtime hasn't decided yet whether to continue production. I hope they will.

I hope Andy's second round of treatment has a better long-term result than the first round, and that he gets to continue acting. I thought he was going to be a great action star. Maybe he still will.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Too bad for us, because the second season promised to be extremely interesting, with the slave revolt getting into full swing.

But of course, I'd rather lose the show and have Whitfield beat the cancer.


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## Fl_Gulfer (May 27, 2005)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Too bad for us, because the second season promised to be extremely interesting, with the slave revolt getting into full swing.
> 
> But of course, I'd rather lose the show and have Whitfield beat the cancer.


I agree whole heartedly. I hope the show returns sometime in the future.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

I concur. Sounds like he's intent on not returning at all to the series regardless of what happens with his treatment. I can certainly understand.


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## Bryanmc (Sep 5, 2000)

I never loved Andy Whitfield as Spartacus. Don't get me wrong, he did great and I loved the show, but if they replaced him for season 2 I'd be 100% ok with that.

The darn show just got _really_ interesting, I'd hate for it to stop now!


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Too bad for us, because the second season promised to be extremely interesting, with the slave revolt getting into full swing.


I thought the second season was a prequel.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

gossamer88 said:


> I thought the second season was a prequel.


No, there was going to be a prequel miniseries between the first and second seasons.

Now, I guess there will just be a prequel miniseries period.


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## Peter000 (Apr 15, 2002)

Bryanmc said:


> I never loved Andy Whitfield as Spartacus. Don't get me wrong, he did great and I loved the show, but if they replaced him for season 2 I'd be 100% ok with that.
> 
> The darn show just got _really_ interesting, I'd hate for it to stop now!


I don't know how I'd feel if they replaced AW. I guess I'd rather see them try than not.

But even if he never comes back to the show, I hope AW beats the cancer.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Bryanmc said:


> I never loved Andy Whitfield as Spartacus. Don't get me wrong, he did great and I loved the show, but if they replaced him for season 2 I'd be 100% ok with that.


The weird thing is, when Spartacus started turning into a dick as he grew ever more successful in the ring, I started liking Whitfield a lot more. There was just something about his (portrayed) dickishness that worked for me, that made me believe that he was turning into the kind of leader that could get these people to pass up glory in the ring for almost certain horrible death on an anonymous battlefield or the cross. Before that, I just couldn't buy Spartacus as that kind of leader.


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## pjenkins (Mar 8, 1999)

that's really too bad for Whitfield, I wish him luck with his treatments. that said, i hope they replace him, the show/writing/other characters were great and i wuld think that given the ratings, they'd at least try to replace him and continue on.


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

PSA: The series is re-showing, staring tonight. Looks like 3 episodes each Friday, probably leading right in to the premier if the prequel season upcoming.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

Thanks for the reminder.


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

hummingbird_206 said:


> I was viewing via Netflix Watch Instantly, but didn't finish the season yet. Now it's been pulled from WI. Ugh. I'm so bummed. Any way to tell if it will be back on WI? Guess I'll have to rent the DVDs for the remaining eps when they come out next month.


FYI, Netflix has it streaming again. Now I can finish it. 

Greg


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

Bump to alert. Next Friday, the 21st the new season starts.

Lucy Lawless was on The Soup last night. She was pretty hilarious.


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## Amnesia (Jan 30, 2005)

The "new season" is really a different (but related) show isn't it?


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## nexter (Aug 25, 2010)

It's supposed to be a prequel to the show, as in what it was like before Spartacus arrived, I think he makes a brief appearance at some point near the end of the prequel.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

gossamer88 said:


> Bump to alert. Next Friday, the 21st the new season starts.
> 
> Lucy Lawless was on The Soup last night. She was pretty hilarious.


jeez...thanks for the bump...I forgot to set the SP...whew! :up:


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## jschuur (Nov 27, 2002)

nexter said:


> It's supposed to be a prequel to the show, as in what it was like before Spartacus arrived, I think he makes a brief appearance at some point near the end of the prequel.


Does he? He's a brand new gladiator in the first series, and the prequel is set far enough back, that Batiatus is just taking over the ludus (from his father?)

It would seem a stretch to have him turn up, even if the show does carry his name.

In fact, the start of the first season even predates Spartacus at the ludus.


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## Langree (Apr 29, 2004)

Good News!

Netflix shows a Streaming start date of 1/22/2011!

So they are continuing what they did with season 1.


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## Langree (Apr 29, 2004)

jschuur said:


> Does he? He's a brand new gladiator in the first series, and the prequel is set far enough back, that Batiatus is just taking over the ludus (from his father?)
> 
> *It would seem a stretch to have him turn up, even if the show does carry his name.*
> 
> In fact, the start of the first season even predates Spartacus at the ludus.


Since we never learned his real name, even if mentioned in passing there is no good way to bring it or him in.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

jschuur said:


> Does he? He's a brand new gladiator in the first series, and the prequel is set far enough back, that Batiatus is just taking over the ludus (from his father?)
> 
> It would seem a stretch to have him turn up, even if the show does carry his name.
> 
> In fact, the start of the first season even predates Spartacus at the ludus.


But he was a soldier in the service of Rome.

And I'm pretty sure they never specifically said in the first series that he'd never been there (Rome) before...


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## jschuur (Nov 27, 2002)

Langree said:


> Since we never learned his real name, even if mentioned in passing there is no good way to bring it or him in.


Maybe they'll pull a Jimmy Olson/Young Adama on us.

Wait, was that a spoiler?


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

jschuur said:


> Maybe they'll pull a Jimmy Olson/Young Adama on us.


Or they could just show him on leave, hangin' out at the Coliseum, chillin' at the Games...

It would be kind of amusing if after all this, it turns out Batiatus is walking down the street, bumps into somebody, and when the guy turns around it ends up being Spartacus. Kind of like the Stallone cameo in Staying Alive...


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> It would be kind of amusing if after all this, it turns out Batiatus is walking down the street, bumps into somebody, and when the guy turns around it ends up being Spartacus. Kind of like the Stallone cameo in Staying Alive...


Or Bruce Campbell in Darkman. 

Greg


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

I have two episodes left to watch of the first season. I'm very surprised how good this show is. I thought it would just be blood, gore and naked boobs but the Batiatus family, their household and their contemporarys are such conniving bastards, it's like I'm watching a good soap opera.


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

cheesesteak said:


> I have two episodes left to watch of the first season. I'm very surprised how good this show is. I thought it would just be blood, gore and naked boobs but the Batiatus family, their household and their contemporarys are such conniving bastards, it's like I'm watching a good soap opera.


Season 2 was just as good IMO. I wasn't sure not having Spartacus (Whitfield) in the second season would work, but Crixus, Gannicus and of course Batiatus bring it on!!


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## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

gossamer88 said:


> Season 2 was just as good IMO. I wasn't sure not having Spartacus (Whitfield) in the second season would work, but Crixus, Gannicus and of course Batiatus bring it on!!


I thought season 2 was starting next week?


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

Gods of the Arena has already aired six episodes (premiered almost exactly a year ago). Perhaps that is what he is referring to. I haven't seen it, as I don't have starz and it isn't on netflix.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

MikeMar said:


> I thought season 2 was starting next week?


You are correct (except it's this week, Friday). Gods of the Arena was a miniseries that they made to fill the gap when Season 2 was delayed because of the star's illness (which ultimately led to him leaving the show anyway and his part being recast).


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## danterner (Mar 4, 2005)

Though Gods of the Arena was a miniseries and a prequel and didn't have Spartacus in it, IMHO it was every bit as good and as enjoyable as Season 1. And I believe aspects of it will tie back in to Season 2. It is definitely worth tracking down and watching.


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

danterner said:


> Though Gods of the Arena was a miniseries and a prequel and didn't have Spartacus in it, IMHO it was every bit as good and as enjoyable as Season 1. And I believe aspects of it will tie back in to Season 2. It is definitely worth tracking down and watching.


All the reviews I've seen say it is excellent. I might have to bite the bullet and get the Blu-ray. It's only $23.49 @ amazon. A bit pricey for six episodes, but probably worth it.


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## Ment (Mar 27, 2008)

MikeMar said:


> I thought season 2 was starting next week?


yep S2 this friday 1/27 although Starz has already officially leaked ep1 via their website last friday and of course its made it way thru the interwebs.


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

justen_m said:


> All the reviews I've seen say it is excellent. I might have to bite the bullet and get the Blu-ray. It's only $23.49 @ amazon. A bit pricey for six episodes, but probably worth it.


Yeah it was great. As good as S1. Looking forward to S2.


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## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

Tracking down Gods of the Arena now. Thanks!!!

The only stupid question is the one you don't ask


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> You are correct (except it's this week, Friday). Gods of the Arena was a miniseries that they made to fill the gap when Season 2 was delayed because of the star's illness (which ultimately led to him leaving the show anyway and his part being recast).


Didn't realize Season 2 _is_ this Friday. My bad. Guess I should fix my post to read Season 0.


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

I know I'm ready for more Blood & Boobs!


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## jeepair (Apr 22, 2004)

I thought I missed the start of the next season as I saw it on direct tv a few days ago. Waiting till it runs this Friday before discussing.


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

heySkippy said:


> I know I'm ready for more Blood & Boobs!


Is there ever enough Blood & Boobs? :up:


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## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

fmowry said:


> Is there ever enough Blood & Boobs? :up:


The answer is NO


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

There was speculation during Torchwood that the reason it was mostly a messy turd was because Starz had interfered with Russell T. Davies' brainchild. After watching Spartacus, I wish Starz had interfered a lot more. If Starz didn't interfere, it should have.


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## Timbeau (May 31, 2002)

Anyone know if this will be on Netflix like season 1 and the mini-series?

Edit: After a google search, it looks like it will be on Netfilx -- after a 90 day delay.


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

Timbeau said:


> Anyone know if this will be on Netflix like season 1 and the mini-series?


Yes, but it will be delayed by 90 days.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/business/media/25starz.html

Greg


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## Maui (Apr 22, 2000)

Curse the 90 day delay!

And the others are correct that Gods of the Arena was equally good. Plus you got a lot of background on many of the characters from season 1.


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

I'm REALLY hoping Crixus has a large role in S2. He was one of my favorite characters, him, Ashur (who plays heavily in the trailer), and of course, Oenamaus. Looking at the cast list on the Starz site

http://www.starz.com/originals/spartacus/cast

They have Crixus next to Spartacus, so that's a good sign. I wasn't too impressed with Gannicus in the prequel, but maybe he'll do better here.

I'm REALLY looking forward to this. I wish my wife would watch, but she just can't take the gore. I didn't show her the scene with the guy getting his face cut off. 

Greg


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

I just finished the last two episodes. That was frickin' awesome. I'll probably watch Gods Of The Arena over the weekend.


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## JoBeth66 (Feb 15, 2002)

gchance said:


> I'm REALLY looking forward to this. I wish my wife would watch, but she just can't take the gore. I didn't show her the scene with the guy getting his face cut off.
> 
> Greg


I'm not a big fan of gore at all, but this is just SO over-the-top and ridiculous (I mean, it appears that back in the days of the Romans, the human body had about 5 gallons of blood in it) that it's almost campy instead of gory.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

This. I thought the series premiere(s) of Alcatraz had some unusually graphic (for network TV) bloodshed. Spartacus is almost cartoon-like with the gore...


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

I don't mind the gore, but I could do without the slo-mo blood splatters. Reminds me too much of 300, which I really hated.


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## JoBeth66 (Feb 15, 2002)

heySkippy said:


> I don't mind the gore, but I could do without the slo-mo blood splatters. Reminds me too much of 300, which I really hated.


Absolutely agree on all counts.


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

gchance said:


> I'm REALLY hoping Crixus has a large role in S2. He was one of my favorite characters, him, Ashur (who plays heavily in the trailer), and of course, Oenamaus. Looking at the cast list on the Starz site
> 
> http://www.starz.com/originals/spartacus/cast
> 
> ...


They switched Naevias on us. 

New









Old


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

fmowry said:


> They switched Naevias on us.
> 
> New
> 
> Old


Yup, I'd have to look, but I think the actress quit. They announced it quite a while ago. Real shame, too.

Greg


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## Peter000 (Apr 15, 2002)

I watched the first ep of Vengeance, and though I WANT to like it, it just didn't grab me the way the original did, or even GOTA did. Maybe it's just that I miss Andy Whitfield as Spartacus, or they tried to cram too much in. I'll still watch, maybe it'll get better.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

fmowry said:


> They switched Naevias on us.


Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

cheesesteak said:


> Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!


And we weren't consulted.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Maybe they can bring the original back for a side-by-side comparison?


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Maybe they can bring the original back for a side-by-side comparison?


I was thinking an on top, on bottom comparison personally!:up:


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## Timbeau (May 31, 2002)

Timbeau said:


> Anyone know if this will be on Netflix like season 1 and the mini-series?
> 
> Edit: After a google search, it looks like it will be on Netfilx -- after a 90 day delay.


I didn't search well enough. Starz won't renew the Netflix agreement and it runs out Feb 28th 2012. With the 90 day delay and then the expiration of the agreement, it looks like Netflix won't have any of the new season of Spartacus. 

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/starz-to-end-streaming-deal-with-netflix/


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## Win Joy Jr (Oct 1, 2001)

Timbeau said:


> I didn't search well enough. Starz won't renew the Netflix agreement and it runs out Feb 28th 2012. With the 90 day delay and then the expiration of the agreement, it looks like Netflix won't have any of the new season of Spartacus.
> 
> http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/starz-to-end-streaming-deal-with-netflix/


Oh well, I guess I'll have to order Starz then...


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

Good thing I checked the schedule... I set my DVR to record New episodes. Starz didn't tag any of them as New, then set the OAD as 1-20-12. My Dish DVR looked at it as a previously aired episode and didn't record on either Starz or Starz-W. It's 8:45, and is on Starz right now... but was able to set it to record at 10 on Starz-W. It looks like the rest of them will record properly.

Equally annoying is the fact that the old recording that was set won't work because each season has the little subtitle after. It's not Spartacus, it's Spartacus: Vengeance.

Greg


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## sburnside1 (Jan 28, 2009)

The new Actor playing Spartacus doesn't command the screen as well as Andy did. I have heard that after a couple episodes that fades though.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> You are correct (except it's this week, Friday). Gods of the Arena was a miniseries that they made to fill the gap when Season 2 was delayed because of the star's illness (which ultimately led to him leaving the show anyway and his part being recast).


not sure if it's been mentioned, but the original actor died in real life.


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## Langree (Apr 29, 2004)

Spamicus!


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

*I* am Spamacus!


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## jschuur (Nov 27, 2002)

Damn it. I hoped an update to this thread would bring news of the new season.

Guess I'll have to do that then. Season 3 teaser trailer:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qXoC-DykyM[/media]

Due January 2013.


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

I was going to give up on this series 'til that trailer pulled me right back in!!


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## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

gossamer88 said:


> I was going to give up on this series 'til that trailer pulled me right back in!!


Give up on the show?!?!?!?! It's the perfect guy show


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

MikeMar said:


> Give up on the show?!?!?!?! It's the perfect guy show


Yeah, it's kinda sneaky how they pour all that sex and violence over an actually compelling storyline. Like they're trying to disguise quality television as sleaze.


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## Maui (Apr 22, 2000)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Yeah, it's kinda sneaky how they pour all that sex and violence over an actually compelling storyline. Like they're trying to disguise quality television as sleaze.


And I love them for it.


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## john4200 (Nov 1, 2009)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Yeah, it's kinda sneaky how they pour all that sex and violence over an actually compelling storyline. Like they're trying to disguise quality television as sleaze.


I thought it was more like them trying to provide something for everyone to like.


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## danterner (Mar 4, 2005)

Not sure how it escaped my radar, but it looks like the new season premieres tonight! New season pass is needed - this season is called "Spartacus: War of the Damned"


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

w00t! Starts in 35 minutes!


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## mdougie (Mar 9, 2009)

Haven't watched since Season one. I liked it.


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