Spartacus. Just Spartacus.

I mentioned last week that I have recently started watching Spartacus. Well, we finished it yesterday. I am in pieces. I can't think of another show that has hit me as hard as this one has. Even Buffy. Spartacus has completely blown me away. It is supreme television - the kind of series that doesn't come along very often.

But, I'll admit, I didn't really want to watch it at first. The main reason I did watch it was because MANY twitter friends were heaping Olympus sized praise on the show. I also wanted to watch because of the creator, Steven S DeKnight. He has written and produced many of my favourite shows, including Buffy and Angel, and I like to support writers/producers from these favourite shows. But when the programme began airing in the UK, we missed it starting and decided that we would wait until it had finished completely and watch it in one hit - which is what we did.

But why am I blogging about it? BECAUSE I WANT EVERYONE IN THE WORLD TO WATCH THIS SHOW! And I will tell you why (no spoilers in this post but some of the links I've included may contain spoilers).

image from: http://spartacus.wikia.com/wiki/File:Spartacus-blood-sand-kill-them-all.jpg

1. Let's get the obvious out of the way. This is a show for adults. There is glorious, technicolour violence. There are sensual and bawdy sex scenes. There is a full vocabulary of language from the sublime to the vulgar (By Jupiter's Cock!). This is one of the reasons I love it. It has not been distilled down for teenagers, as so much is nowadays. 

It is for adults.


2. The sex scenes. I know this was mentioned already but the sex scenes in the show serve more than the obvious purpose. As with the demons in Buffy representing Buffy's real life issues, the sex in Spartacus symbolises other aspects of the storyline.

3. The cast. The cast is perfect. From Andy Whitfield and Liam Mcintyre as Spartacus; to Manu Bennett as Crixus; Peter Mensah as Oenomaus: John Hannah as Batiatus; Dustin Clare as Gannicus; and on and on and on. For me, there is not a single mis-step in any of the casting.

4. The baddies. From Batiatus to Glaber to Crassus, the baddies are each different and driven by their individual motives, with none falling to the moustache twirling baddie tropes. My particular favourite is Ashur, played by the wonderful Nick Tarabay. What a bastard!

Image from: http://images.wikia.com/spartacus/images/1/13/Bscap0011.jpg

5. The friendships. The Brotherhood of the Gladiators has some of the most interesting and layered friendships on TV, but the standout has to be Spartacus and Crixus (although my personal favourite is between Spartacus and Varro).


6. The sexuality. Honestly, I'm not obsessed! In the show, all types of relationships are shown, but one of the most loving is between 2 of the rebels. They are both men. And it doesn't matter a jot. Where the new Battlestar Galactica created roles that could be played by either men or women (they wrote people not genders), Spartacus has characters that have relationships. Not GAY relationships, or STRAIGHT relationships. Just relationships. No fuss, no muss. So refreshing.

7.  The central idea of what Spartacus stands for. Freedom. Freedom to choose. Even if that choice leads to pain, it is still a choice.

"I have done this thing because it is just. Blood demands blood. We have lived and lost at the whims of our masters for too long. I would not have it so. I would not see the passing of a brother, for the purpose of sport. I would not see another heart ripped from chest, or breath forfeit for no cause. I know not all of you wish this, yet it is done. It is done. Your lives are your own. Forge your own path, or join with us, and together 

WE SHALL SEE ROME TREMBLE."

And there we have it. I'm sure that as soon as I publish this I will think of another lost of reasons that will wish I had included. The trouble is, how do you define what makes something as good as this and not miss something out? If you would like to comment, please do so but PLEASE no spoilers.

If you do watch the show please come back and let me know what you think.