REVIEW: ‘SPARTACUS BLOOD & SAND’ SEASON ONE BLU-RAY

The historic, real-life tale of Spartacus is not new to Hollywood. But neither history nor Hollywood have ever seen anything quite like Starz’ Spartacus: Blood & Sand. It is something wholly new, using bits of other well-known formulas in creative and clever new ways that adds up to something far greater than the sum of its parts. At times stubbornly beholden to history, and at others wildly veering from it,Spartacus nonetheless introduces us to the familiar slave who eventually rose to lead an incredible rebellion against the Roman Empire.

I was not able to watch the ending of season 1 when it first aired, so my experiences with the Blu-ray are reflective of back-to-back viewings over the course of several days (instead of the months that Starz fans had to wait for the story to unfold). I point this out because I believe it’s significant; the passage of time very much plays a part in how a TV series is received, particularly one with serialized storylines. Seen back-to-back in hours-long sittings, it’s entirely watchable and easy to connect the dots. But when stretched out over longer periods of time, the mind has greater expanses in which to digest and absorb a given week’s episode, and discuss it with friends. This sort of pondering and community interaction is entirely lost when watching the whole thing alone on a set of discs.

Spartacus: Blood & Sand casts Spartacus (a smoldering role that Andy Whitfield grows into every bit as much as his character) in his earliest days — even starting off before he became a slave at all — to show us a new side and new motivations for why he becomes the hero of the people. Spartacus is a married Thracian who wants to live in peace in the arms of his wife, Sura. But his world is altered when his people agree to a bargain with Roman soldiers to work together to defend both Rome and their own Thracian homes. When the Thracians are double-crossed by some very bad decision-making, Spartacus leads his men to slaughter their Roman masters so they can protect their own homes. But it isn’t long before more Romans come looking for Spartacus, and he’s soon carted off into slavery, where he eventually catches the eye of a cunning businessman and gladiator owner named Batiatus (John Hannah). Spartacus soon winds up as a member of Batiatus’ gladiator school — a harsh environment where he’s forced to fight against his will.

If some of this sounds familiar, it is. The description “Gladiator meets 300” has been tossed around many times, and for good reason. Spartacus uses major elements of both. Yet if you’re willing to stick with it, you will find that the show is so much more.

Some of the ingredients that go into making this intoxicating concoction? How about a perversion of the standard class-based society where life, sex, and everything in between are the exclusive play things of the rich and entitled. Batiatus’ ludus (gladiator school) is home to some of the most conniving, cutthroat characters you’ll ever meet, all of whom are interested in looking out for number one and not much else. The show strives to create a graphic novel-like feel, using color gradation and stylistic splashes of blood to convey the moods and mindsets of the characters. (This effect is used heavy-handedly in the early episodes, but wisely scaled back towards the end.) The characters speak in an almost Shakespearean dialect that has a beauty all its own. And then there’s the brilliant cast that also includes Lucy Lawless, Peter Mensah, Manu Bennett, Craig Parker (Haldir the Elf warrior from Lord of the Rings), and many more.

It’s ultimately the characters of Spartacus: Blood & Sand that make the show so worth watching, but by the end of this first season’s run, you’ll discover that it is, in fact, a plot-driven narrative, having been building up to a major turning point all along. The season tells a single, over-arcing storyline across 12 tightly-woven episodes filled with one twist after another, and while it starts on shaky ground, its quality grows stronger with each passing episode until it culminates in a shocking, cathartic finale that demandsconversation. The final episode, “Kill Them All,” is absolutely as good as television ever gets, brilliantly conceived and confidently executed.

Although it is not Erati’s purpose to provide content guidelines for viewers, I feel I must offer a warning: this Spartacus is most decidedly not for everyone. I wouldn’t offer it to anyone under the age of 21, and even many adults simply will not be compatible with it. It’s profane in the extreme, using both familiar words such as the F-bomb (which gets extremely frequent screentime), as well as made-up curses that fit with the show’s formal dialect. The show also has nudity and sexual content that at times borders on pornographic, and at others jumps over that border and never looks back. In addition, the fights in the arena are often filled with gushing blood and severed appendages, which the show never shies away from showing in all their gory glory. A few memorable instances even showed CGI organs spilling out of the deep cuts inflicted in the arena.

The Season One Blu-ray offers all 12 episodes in crystal clear quality, with a gorgeous transfer and tremendous sound. There are extras a-plenty, including extended running times for several episodes, a number of episode commentaries from cast and crew, and the standard making-of documentaries that show how the series is made.

Spartacus: Blood & Sand has been the recipient of a lot of hype in the last few years, and after watching Season One in its entirety, I completely understand why. It’s one of the most original TV shows to come along in years, and it’s brilliantly done.

Meet Peter Jackson’s Hobbit (and Dwarves)

It’s really happening, and here’s the proof: Peter Jackson has announced casting for his main Hobbit and eight of the Dwarves involved in Bilbo Baggins’ pre-Lord of the Ringsadventure.

Now as a geek and a storyteller, I worship the ground Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy walks on. It was the most perfect book-to-film cinematic production ever, in my estimation. But Jackson’s record since LotR has been less than stellar. King Kong was a bloated love letter to a favorite film from Jackson’s youth — which no one enjoyed nearly as much as he did. And while I have yet to see The Lovely Bones, it was universally panned by critics for soft-serving the pedophiliac crime that was at the core of the novel. So call me cautiously excited that the twoHobbit films will return Jackson to proper form.

One thing that he’s always excelled at is casting. Every one of his choices for LotR was spot-on; even the actors we fans had reservations about are now so deeply entrenched in our minds that they’re inseparable from their LotR characters, a full decade later. (Seriously, what else has Elijah Wood even been done in the last 10 years?)

Deadline Hollywood nailed the exclusive announcement from Peter Jackson and Warner Bros. (which swallowed its LotR-releasing sibling New Line Cinema a few years ago) on The Hobbit‘s initial cast. And at the top of the list, as Bilbo Baggins himself, is a name that’s a surprise to no one: Martin Freeman.

A former star of the original British version of The Office, Freeman is known to geeks as the bumbling Arthur Dent from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Declan in Shaun of the Dead, and his current co-starring gig on the BBC’s modern Sherlock as Dr. Watson. Freeman’s name has been bounced around for ages as Jackson’s top choice for the younger Bilbo Baggins that stars in The Hobbit. It turns out those rumors were true, as Jackson says of Freeman: “there has only ever been one Hobbit for us.” Personally, I think he’s perfect for the role, able to pull off a younger version of Ian Holm’s Bilbo (pictured to the right of Freeman above) while putting his own spin on the character.

The other cast members revealed today include:

Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, leader of the Company of Dwarves that join Bilbo on his adventure. In case you are the last remaining human on Earth who knows nothing of The Hobbit‘s plot… well, let’s just say that the story is Dwarf-heavy. Armitage is mostly known for his British television roles on shows like MI-5 and Robin Hood. The Hobbit describes Thorin as “very haughty, stern, and officious. He has a talent for singing and playing the harp, wears a gold chain, and has a very long beard.”

Aidan Turner as Kili. Turner is best known for his starring role on the BBC’s Being Human as Mitchell the vampire. Kili and his brother Fili are younger than the rest of the Dwarves on the story’s mission by at least 50 years. As such, they have the best eyesight of the group and are frequently sent scouting ahead. They’re also described as being very cheerful.

Rob Kazinsky as Fili. Kazinsky is known for British soaps and dramas like Eastenders andDream Team.

Graham McTavish as Dwalin. A popular character actor, McTavish has guested on everything from 24 to Red Dwarf, and done a ton of voice work for animated shows and video games. Dwalin is the first Dwarf to arrive at Bag End, at Gandalf’s behest, to begin the quest central to the storyline. Not much information is shared about the character’s personality, so Jackson & Co. have a pretty blank slate from which to work with this one.

John Callen as Oin. Oin is brother to Gloin, and the only detail we have about the two of them is that they often started fires for the group. Mr. Jackson, we hereby present Oin and Gloin as presents to you to do with as you will. Callen is mostly known for roles on kids shows and games like Power Rangers and Star Wars: KOTOR II. (Callen appears to be camera shy, as it’s seemingly impossible to turn up a single photograph of him.)

Peter Hambleton as Gloin. Hambleton is a Kiwi actor known primarily for roles down under. Gloin is the father of LotR’s Gimli, and appeared briefly alongside his son in the “Council of Elrond” scene in Fellowship of the Ring.

Stephen Hunter as Bombur. Hunter’s an Australian actor. Bombur’s a fat, drum-playing clutz who spends a lot of The Hobbit asleep. So, Bombur = comic relief.

Mark Hadlow as Dori. Another Kiwi actor, Hadlow actually had a small role in Jackson’s King Kong. Brother to Nori and Ori, Dori is a grumbling brute, the strongest of Thorin’s Dwarves who often winds up carrying Bilbo in situations where Bilbo is unconscious or unable to traverse difficult pathways.

Those are the only actors cast so far, but there are plenty of roles remaining. Ian McKellan is expected to return as Gandalf the Grey, and Andy Serkis is expected to don his motion-capture tights once more for Gollum, though deals are still being worked out for both. (There would be a fan revolt the size of D-Day if anyone else attempted to fill those roles.) Hugo Weaving will probably put in a brief appearance as Elrond as well.

Bill Nighy is being considered for the voice of Smaug the Dragon, which strikes me as an inspired choice; no one else in the world puts words together with quite the unique diction and inflections of Nighy. Bill Nighy is known for any number of genre works, including Davy Jones in the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean films, Slartybartfast in Hitchhiker’s Guide(alongside Bilbo Baggins himself, Martin Freeman), and Rufus Scrimgeuor in the upcomingHarry Potter finale, among dozens of other roles.

There are still four more Dwarves to be named, as well as Beorn the shapeshifter, Bard the Bowman, the Elf King (father of Legolas), and more. Others rumored to be under consideration for various parts include James Nesbitt, David Tennant, Stephen Fry, and Saoirse Ronan. How awesome would Tennant be as the Elf King?