So I just finished watching the entire first season of Spartacus.
Yeah, I watched 6 episode yesterday, watched the other 7 today. That's pretty much all I did today. But it's done.
What did I think? I dont know, really. I enjoyed it, but I can't rave about it. Had way too much of the look of the movie 300...which I suppose was it's intent. I tired quickly of nearly every fight Spartacus was in going the same way: he fights, he's beaten down to almost nothing, to almost defeat, then he sees something, or hears something or thinks something and suddenly, ba-da-BING, he's back on his feet and defeating or killing his opponent. Despite being pretty well roughed up himself.
I tired quickly of all the gratuitous nudity. yeah, yeah, I can hear you all out there gasping with disbelief, but come on, every single episode we got boobs: boobs of main characters boobs of random chicks in the stands, boobs, boobs and more boobs. I understand, in Roman times, the exposed breast was not a...taboo like it is today But really, did we need ALL those boobs, for no other apparent reason than the directors saying, "HEY, we can show boobs, so let's show boobs!"
By my recollection, we got three full frontal female shots, of two separate women, and we got three full frontal shots of two separate men (one of which was really rather freakin impressive...I know I gasped). We got so many ass shots of both men and women that I totally lost count. There WAS plenty of mail eye candy, I mean almost every scene had at least some really built guy wearing little but a loin cloth. And that was all good to me. But I still the nudity is gratuitous, unnecessary and distracting.
There weren't many characters to like in the show, but again, I think that was intended. I liked Pietros, the cute little Egyptian who was the lover of Barco, cause he was indeed cute and seemed like a nice guy. Of course he'd end of dead. And I liked Varro, again, he was cute and seemed like a nice guy, so again, he too ended up dead. Both of those angered me. I also like Doctore, cause he was one of the few honorable men shown, and strangely, he ended up alive at the end.
I really didnt care much for or about Spartacus himself. Too proud. Too stupid. Too headstrong. Too given to extensive planning that never works out as planned. Too prone to flash backs. Although he did look MUCH better with his long Thracian hair than he did with the short Roman hair (but that's probably just my hairthing fetish coming into play).
I'd say the violence was too gratuitous as well, and on one hand, I kinda think it is, but on the other, I realize the shows about a bunch of gladiators during the Roman Republic, so, yeah, maybe its NOT gratuitous after all.
After the ending, I really dont know where the show has to go from there, although I know there are two seasons after this one (and a prequel miniseries), so I know it goes somewhere. And I do plan on seeing all of that, the show kept my interest that much at any rate.
So, I give it a sold B. Was entertaining, if a smidge disappointing, melodramatic, pretentious, and overplayed. But something that I want to see the remaining seasons of.
POLT
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I can see what you mean, but as a European the first thing that struck me about Spartacus was not the bare chested ladies but the graphic violence which went beyond what was necessary and was not justified either by the script or the context.
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