HBO's Rome was far superior in every aspect. The whole slow motion blood thing is way overdone. :down
NightRyder
NightRyder
Starz - Spartacus:Blood and Sand - Anyone else looking forward to this?
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Agreed, if you're interested in a cheaper looking version of 300, tune in. If you want to watch something that at least gives the slightest feeling that it might be authentic(scenery, etc.), no.
Actually not.
At least not in this story which is the "Spartacus" story.
Review:
Think "Conan the Barbarian" but instead of the realistic cinematography of that movie (which was directed by John Milius who also was a creator of "Rome"), substitute the 300 style (slo-mo, drawn blood splattering).
The writing by Steven De Knight was not too bad, but he is clearly writing for the average viewer - nothing too challenging.
In a way, some of it was reminiscent of Lord of the Rings more than anything else - for example, the portrayal of the Barbarians was very similar to the Orcs of LotR.
Most of the acting - especially the bit parts - is unfortunately poor. This is reminscent of the producers' previous series - "Hercules" and "Xena" - which were similarly "sword and sandal" shows that were disposable entertainment.
The basic outline of the story is historical, and if you are interested in the story, then a must-see is the 1960 Stanley Kubrick movie "Spartacus" (which IIRC is shown on HDNet-Movies every so often).
By the way, the events in this story take place about 25 years before the events in "Rome", and over 400 years after the events in "300".
Okay, I read the review online of this show and it is supposed to like "The 300" + a lot of frontal shot nudity of both male and females . Throw in some Homosexual sex scenes as well as traditional opposite sex scenes, a few orgies and you have the basis for the new show.
SEX & VIOLENCE sells again folks.
SEX & VIOLENCE sells again folks.
Pretty much.
It's your basic 'I'm a slave and now I have to be a gladiator to see my wife again before I die and there's a whole lot of other stuff going on that I'm not involved in' story. Could be worse, but I thought the writing was decent. If we start getting some more interesting plot twists down the road it may keep my attention for more than a few episodes.
WAY overdone with the blood. I know the word blood is in the title of the show, but they're overdoing it to a degree that turns a decent fight scene into something almost comical.
And up until now I never thought you could have too many boobs in a show. Unless you're watching C-Span of course.
The show has grown on me. I'm finding myself hooked on the basic storyline and starting to root for the supporting characters almost as much as I am for Spartacus. The "blood" problem I had from the pilot has been toned down to where it's at an acceptable level for me.
Might be a keeper.
Might be a keeper.
I have been enjoying it myself. Yes i loved Rome but this is no Rome! That is not a bad thing it is just different.
The different episodes have different qualities. Some are a lot like 300, some are simply soft core porn with "gladiator" substituted for "pizza delivery guy".
But some have been more like Rome, particularly the last couple - a lot of intrigue and complicated scheming and plotting. In those episodes, the main differences from Rome are:
- The photography is intentionally desaturated, soft focus and grainy to hide all the computer graphics and cheap sets. Rome had very expensive realistic sets (in Italy), mixed with very high quality graphics (like the movie Gladiator), and as a result , anyone can pop the first couple of episodes of Rome into their Blu-Ray player and take a trip in the time machine back to the historically accurate streets of Rome as they really were (based on years of excavation and research). I doubt anyone will ever spend that kind of money again, but we now have that to visit any time we want.
- The characters of Spartacus are all "insignificant" - lower and middle class average people, while the characters of the Rome series were some of the most important people who ever lived. It is hard to find a person more pivotal in the whole of human civilization than Julius Caesar, and some of the other characters - Octavian, Mark Anthony, Cleopatra and Cicero - come close in their importance. In contrast, only Spartacus himself in this series has any effect on history, and even that is mostly indirect.
PS This show will start to have the same quality as the first season of "Prison Break" - namely, that viewers will start complaining " So when is the f-ing Prison Break already ? "
The guy who plays Spartacus has cancer, but they caught it early and expect him to be fine. Has slightly delayed filming on 2nd season 
How many orgies have ya'll seen on this show? Is it still sex ridden episodes each week ,full with Violence and Blood thrown in?
There is sex in every show, and usually at least a fight. I'm enjoying the story. Reminds me of the Tudors, Gladiator and 300 all rolled into one.
Uh, sex is part of all history.
In fact, that is the one thing you can be 100% certain about.
Thousands of years ago, those people who were not interested in sex did not reproduce, and so it is only possible to be descended from people interested in sex.
Outside of a few people with medical problems, there are only two types of people - those who admit to being interested in sex, and those who lie and say they are not.
So, HBO, Showtime and Starz actually show the sex that was part of every era, and other channels do not show it...
