When I saw the first episode my thoughts were that they had been inspired by the success of Rome. Rome is rather violent and has plenty of sex. So they decided to increase the amounts of both it seems.
I rather like it. Yes, the blood and the slow motion is a bit over the top but is an entertaining series.
Okay, good, so I wasn’t the only confused one. Now it seems clear that our Spartacus is supposed to be the historical Spartacus of slave revolt fame.
My followup question to that possibility remains: Was the reall life Spartacus who led the slave revolt named Spartacus at birth, or was that name given to him by his Roman masters?
Much, much more appealing nudity in Episode 9. 
And Xena lets her claws out too.
The resolution/proportions were off again though. 
They did it right for 7 episodes. I don’t get it.
Did they really take milk baths like that? I can’t imagine the ordeal of filling a tub of that size, or even a small one, in the middle of a city let alone up on a remote cliff-top.
Yeah, no kidding on the nudity. This episode kicked ass.
They had slaves. Menial and manual labor was thoroughly covered. As they say in Year Zero. “We should get together. When do you get off work?” “I’m a slave. Never!”
But we’re talking about milk here. Unrefrigerated raw milk. Over 180 cubic feet worth by the look of that pool. It would be going bad fast.
I watched the episode “Whores” today. OMFG, the pure sociopathic evil sent chills up my spine. This series is catching up to level of Rome in a hurry now.
I couldn’t disagree more, though I did very much like this episode. Rome isn’t just out of Spartacus’ league, they aren’t even the same sport.
TRUE STORY (at least according to the Bulgarians): Spartacus was born in what is now Sandanski, Bulgaria, close to the Greek border. Many, many years later I bought some cute tops at the Zara outlet there.
Thrace (or Trakya) is still a commonly used name for the region that covers northeastern Greece, the European part of Turkey, and the whole southern part of Bulgaria. They’re very proud of their Thracian history.
I just caught up on the past 2 episodes. Aw man I really liked Varo! Some nice intrigue and political maneuvering in last night’s episode. I wasn’t sure how that plot line was going to resolve but I like what they did. Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. So how many episodes do they have this season? Yesterday was #11.
There are two left, so 13.
I figured the slave for a traitor, so they pulled one over on me. I like how the tempo is increasing. So much more at stake now that Dominus has made his big play, and now Spartacus’ eyes are open and he is honing the blade with which to go about destroying what is being built.
I don’t get STARZ. Is there any way I can watch this without subscribing and without waiting for the DVD?
If you have a Netflix subscription, the episodes are available for streaming.
I just saw the Varro episode. Man, was that dark. That episode actually disturbed me. I had a dream about it the night I watched it. I guess it just drove home the absolute disdain with which the lives of slaves were treated. The helplessness of knowing your life could be taken from you for the casual amusement of a child. Hideous.
This series started off as a poor-man’s ‘gladiator’, but with the past few episodes it’s really become very good. The dialog is a little stilted in places, but the exploration of slavery and the gladiator culture has been excellent.
I agree – Crixus in particular struggles with some of the lines he’s fed – but man, I love the way the guy from The Mummy is handling his character, Batiatus. Seems like he’s a reincarnated Roman, the way he spits out his lines about getting assfisted by Jupiter.
This show is just getting better and better - and they aren’t afraid to kill off some main characters along the way. Makes me wonder if there will be enough cast left to do a season 2!
Thirded. I missed the first few and will have to catch up but the last three episodes have hooked me. They have captured some of the slave/master dynamic better than any other Roman drama I can remember. All this is clearly leading to Sparticus not being able to take it anymore. Decent Gladiator fights, great nudity and actual devious plot twists … the latter was totally unexpected and raises the show above the likes of “300” and “Gladiator”
IIRC, the real life Spartacus was named after some king (who no one remembers) by the Romans.
Yes…he is himself again.
Perhaps…however unlike Rome, this sport is actually being played right now.
For those who don’t know, “Dominus” was the Roman title for “Master” or “Owner” - not the specific name of anyone.
I don’t really think ‘Rome’ was better or worse than this show. Bigger budget, certainly. Better acting, in some cases. The big difference is that Rome had a grander scope to it. This show is more about the dark petty politics of local minor officials, rather than grand schemes of the Senate and the rise and fall of emperors. The ‘local’ theme allows the show to work with a smaller budget. But plotwise, I think this show is every bit as good as Rome was. The twists are generally truly surprising and the plot arcs are internally consistent and interesting. I think I’m enjoying this show as much as I enjoyed “Rome”.