Spartacus: Blood and Sand TV Review

We here at U News are proud to present the first review of the new Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

When: January 22, 2010 10:00 PM Starz
Who: Andy Whitfield as Spartacus
Lucy Lawless as Lucretia
John Hannah as Batiatus
Peter Mensah as Doctore
Manu Bennett as Crixus
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The Tudors, you are not. The latest series from Starz, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, is high on blood and gore, but low on historical basis, reasonable plots and just entertainment in general. The show is a decent counterpart to the current lineup the pay cabler boasts (Party Down, Crash, Head Cases) but Starz is clearly not on the level of HBO or Showtime and this will not be their golden ticket toward reaching that plateau.

If you feel the need to watch that, I would advise you not to do so after eating lunch as this is one of the goriest shows you will ever seen. Even Jason Vorhees would cringe at the amount of blood on Spartacus: Blood and Sand. For the action freak, for the twentysomething male with the maturity level of a desk lamp, this show will appeal to them as I do not think there was a minute without a sword being drawn. For those who want more from a television series, those with high IQs and those who laud well-done story arcs, this may not be your show.

Every series can be traced and compared to something else and there is a bit of The Tudors in Spartacus. There is the corrupt leader, the good-intentioned sidekick and the peasant who becomes a martyr whether that is their intention or not; but the comparisons end there.

Creator Sam Raimi has the Spiderman movies and Xena: Warrior Princess to his credit, but he failed to cast anybody noteworthy or really all that talented in this show. Andy Whitfield plays the title character, but he is a relative unknown with very little experience stateside. An unknown is not necessarily the wrong way to go for the role, but Whitfield fails to achieve the desired quintessential hero admiration that is certain for this part.

You should watch Spartacus: Blood and Sand if you are fan of special effects. You will be blown away by them; they are that good. You should not watch Spartacus: Blood and Sand if you like programs like Damages and Fringe and want strong acting, directing and writing.