So, I finally finished season 1 of Spartacus: Blood and Sand. I have to say that when the show premiered on Starz, I was skeptical. It looked to be capitalizing on the spectacular series that Rome had been on HBO, coupled poorly with the art aesthetic of 300 complete with CGI everything and a lot of gratuitous sex and violence.
But I finally gave it a chance and I'm here to say it was damn fine. The stylistic stuff never really did it for me, although they toned it down considerably as the series progressed. And, amazingly enough, the writing and acting ended up really impressing me. For all the 360 pans and buckets of blood thrown about, for all the "scandalous" sex scenes and "strange customs" of the Romans on display, behind it all there was a real show about characters who were played realistically and relatably, if not always sympathetically.
For those on the fence about this show, I -- Mr. Complainer About Everything -- highly recommend it. If you can get past the goofier elements of the show and look beyond it, there's good stuff waiting. Looking forward to starting Gods of the Arena and, hopefully, season 2 soon.