SPARTACUS

Last night I finished viewing the three-season SPARTACUS series. Although at times it seemed little more than a vehicle to present soft porn and sling globs of blood about, as beautiful in-shape actors brawled with ancient weapons and acrobatic UFC moves, not to mention saucy language designed to give any censor pause, it was still an interesting show. Ok, I'll admit it. . .I did like seeing all the gorgeous women. Beyond that, however, I also liked many of the characters. The first year was awesome, and I missed Andy Whitfield (and mourned his passing), although Liam McIntyre did a credible job replacing him in the title roll. I loved Lucy Lawless as the scheming Lucretia, enjoyed the manic gladiator Crixus (Manu Bennett) and pretty-boy fighter Gannicus (Dustin Clare). A whole host of good actors participated (many for only short arcs): Daniel Feuerriegel as Agron, Peter Mensah as Doctore, Ellen Hollman as the fiesty bisexual warrior Saxa, Pana Hema Taylor as Nasir, and the whole Benneton of characters. Even the scheming bad guys were a joy to follow: John Hannah as Batiatus, Nick Tarabay as Ashur, and Christian Antidormi as Tiberius. A fanciful and entertaining retelling of the slave revolt against Rome, I enjoyed the fighting, the costumes, the story. It did seem silly to me how often they portrayed Roman soldiers as inept and clumsy. And the producers reveled in the slow-motion fight scene, the never-ending pools and spools of blood. They would do anything to titillate, that was certain. I will miss this lusty, violent gang. I think ROME was more stylishly done, but in many ways, SPARTACUS was more fun.