"Spartacus" Complete Series Review

* Note: I've yet to watch Season 2 (Gods of the Arena) as it is a prequel, made between Season 1 and Season 3.


As you saw from my note above, I've finished the complete series of Starz' Spartacus - but only the content about Spartacus himself at this point. There are four seasons total. In the order in which they were made, they were: Blood and Sand (Season 1), Gods of the Arena (Season 2), Vengeance (Season 3) and War of the Damned (Season 4). Season 2 serves as a prequel and additional backstory, leading up to Season 1. Andy Whitfield, the original actor in Spartacus' role, passed away due to cancer. Before Liam McIntryre was cast in his stead, Starz continued the show, but opted to do a prequel, which did not focus on Spartacus. Because of this, I opted to skip the prequel (for now) and follow Spartacus' story.

Now that is out of the way, I may begin (commence?) my review.

There are a bevy of 'swords' shows out there - Vikings, Game of Thrones, Camelot... that were on close together. I must say that Spartacus was the most entertaining - it had the most of,...well, everything (sex, violence / blood, swearing...) on a testostorne level. Is it the best show of the bunch because of that? No.

Spartacus knows exactly what type of show it is, and it delivers on that. I like to think that if the films Gladiator and 300 had a baby, the offspring would be Spartacus. If you like either of those, especially 300, you will most likely enjoy Spartacus. 


The acting from the main characters is prety decent - they fit their roles well. To me, Andy Whitfield was Spartacus. Of the two actors who played him, Andy was the best of the two. That being said, I could not think of anybody suitable enough than Liam McIntyre to step into his sandals. Lucy Lawless was great (although I wished she was only in Season 1 for story purposes). A great nod worth of mention goes to the actor who played Crassus.


The action scenes are a wonder to behold, especially once Spartacus et all go beyond the arena. It's clear that Starz wanted to do '300 the TV series' and that's almost what you et. The sex scenes are plentiful and steamy. They are mostly man/woman, but on occasion you will get man/man. I haven't seen much woman/woman that I can recall. And for the nude scenes that aren't sex ones, like brothels for example, actual nudists were hired as extras.


A big shout-out also has to go out to the composer for giving the show such excellent music. There are times where great films/shows may get not so great music, and vice versa, but I am glad that Spartacus got such great treatment in the music department, and though it is typical, it is not bland nor generic.


So the bottom line - is Spartacus a good show, and is it worth watching? Yes and yes. Though it's not perfect. There are better shows out there (Vikings, Game of Thrones....), but Spartacus is worth your time if you want to enjoy some action for the sake of action.


I give the series, on the whole (excluding Season 2 due to me not seeing it yet) a well rounded


7 / 10

Next on the TV list? Turn: Season 1.