Spartacus: Blood and Sand

Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Genre	Historical drama Sword-and-sandal
Created by	Steven S. DeKnight
Written by	Aaron Helbing Todd Helbing Miranda Kwok Steven S. DeKnight Brent Fletcher Tracy Bellomo Andrew Chambliss Daniel Knauf
Directed by	Michael Hurst Rick Jacobson Jesse Warn
Starring	Andy Whitfield Lucy Lawless John Hannah Peter Mensah Manu Bennett Viva Bianca Erin Cummings Nick E. Tarabay
Composer(s)	Joseph LoDuca
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Steven S. DeKnight Robert Tapert Sam Raimi Joshua Donen
Producer(s)	Chloe Smith Charles Knight Aaron Lam
Editor(s)	Gary Hunt Jonathan Woodford-Robinson
Location(s)	New Zealand
Cinematography	Aaron Morton
Running time	53 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Starz
Picture format	1080i (HDTV)
Original run	January 22, 2010 (2010-01-22) – April 16, 2010 (2010-04-16)
Chronology
Followed by	Spartacus: Vengeance
Related shows	Spartacus: Gods of the Arena Spartacus: Vengeance
External links
Website

Spartacus: Blood and Sand is an American television series that premiered on Starz on January 22, 2010. The series was inspired by the historical figure of Spartacus (played by Andy Whitfield), a Thracian gladiator who from 73 to 71 BC led a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Executive producers Steven S. DeKnight and Robert Tapert focused on structuring the events of Spartacus' obscure early life leading up to the beginning of historical records. The show has been rated TV-MA for graphic violence, strong sexual content, and coarse language.

The show was initially renewed for a second season, but production was delayed because Whitfield was diagnosed with early-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Because of the delay, Starz produced a six-episode prequel series, entitled Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. Pre-production of season 2 began after the announcement that Whitfield was cancer-free. However, his cancer recurred, so Starz replaced Whitfield (with his consent) with actor Liam McIntyre, who will play Spartacus for season two, to be titled Spartacus: Vengeance. Andy Whitfield died on September 11, 2011.

Plot

See also: List of Spartacus: Blood and Sand episodes

The story begins with an unnamed Thracian's involvement in a unit of Roman auxiliary in a campaign against the Getae (Dacian tribes that occupied the regions of the Lower Danube, in what today is Romania) under the command of the legatus, Claudius Glaber. In 72-71 BC, Roman general Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus, proconsul of the Roman province of Macedonia, marched against the Getae, who were allies of Rome's enemy, Mithridates VI of Pontus. The Getae frequently raid the Thracians' lands, so the Thracians are persuaded by Glaber to enlist in the Romans' service as auxiliaries. Glaber is persuaded by his wife Ilithyia to seek greater glory, decides to break off attacking the Getae and directly confront the forces of Mithridates in Asia Minor. The Thracian, feeling betrayed, leads a mutiny against Glaber, and returns to find his village destroyed. The Thracian and his wife Sura, are captured by Glaber the next day; the Thracian is condemned to die in the gladiator arena for his crime, while Sura is taken away, condemned to slavery. The Thracian is shipped to Capua in Italy, a center of gladiator training. Against all odds in the arena he slays the four gladiators appointed to execute him and becomes an instant sensation with the crowd. Senator Albinius commutes the punishment from death to slavery. The prisoner's true name unknown, Lentulus Batiatus, the owner of a ludus in Capua, suggests to name him "Spartacus", because he fought like the ferocious Thracian king of that name.

Noting well the Thracian's fierce raw talent and popularity with the masses, Batiatus purchases him for training within the walls of his ludus under the tutelage of Doctore, a former gladiator and fellow slave. He is befriended by Varro, a Roman who sold himself into slavery in order to pay his debts and support his family. He is harassed by more senior gladiators, notably Crixus, an undefeated Gaul, and Barca, a Carthaginian. Spartacus soon learns that Sura was sold to a Syrian slave trader. Batiatus, who has been unable to control Spartacus during his first days of training, promises to find Sura and reunite them in exchange for the promising neophyte's cooperation in the arena.

After many near-fatal ordeals and much further training Spartacus attains the status of a living legend and is named the "Champion of Capua". Batiatus arranges the purchase of Sura, but she is delivered mortally wounded, supposedly having been waylaid by bandits en route. Her murder was secretly ordered by Batiatus to keep Spartacus loyal and focused. Spartacus casts off his heritage as a Thracian and forgets his dream of freedom, becoming content with life as champion.

The turning point comes when Spartacus is set to fight his only friend in the ludus, Varro, in an exhibition match celebrating the coming to manhood of the Capuan magistrate's son, Numerius. Ilithyia, who has hated Spartacus since he embarrassed her husband Glaber by his mutiny, seduces the young man and convinces him to demand death for the loser of the match. Spartacus wins (as expected), and when the young man gives the "thumbs down", Batiatus, wishing to ingratiate himself with the boy's powerful father, forces Spartacus to comply and kill Varro. While suffering from both his wound in this match and his remorse and sorrow over having to kill his friend, Spartacus has fever dreams that lead him to discover that Batiatus arranged Sura's death. Knowing that it is all or nothing when it comes to resistance of his enslavement, he resolves to "kill them all" and lead a revolt against the ruling house he once fought for.

In order to get his revenge, Spartacus enlists the help of Crixus and the rest of the gladiators to defeat the house of Batiatus once and for all. A battle to the death between Crixus and Spartacus is arranged for the Capuan elite at the ludus. Doctore (who Batiatus refers to by his real name, Oenomaus) confronts Batiatus about Barca's death and Ashur's hand in it. Spartacus gains support from Mira who is tasked with opening the gate to the villa from the training area. Crixus resists aiding Spartacus in hopes of reuniting with Naevia; however, after learning he was weakened to ensure Spartacus' victory, at the last moment he joins with Spartacus. Doctore initially stops Spartacus from killing Batiatus. In the ensuing chaos of the gladiators killing the guards and some guests, Crixus persuades Doctore to join him with Spartacus, Illithyia escapes and has her guards seal the door to the ludus from the outside, Doctore, making good on his word, tries to kill Ashur but ends up being eluded, Crixus grievously wounds Batiatus' wife, Lucretia, with a sword stab to her abdomen piercing her womb and killing their unborn child, Aurelia kills Numerius after revealing to him that Varro was her husband, and Spartacus finally kills Batiatus in front of the seriously wounded Lucretia. After the massacre, Spartacus vows to make "Rome tremble".

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Spartacus: Blood and Sand characters

• Andy Whitfield as Spartacus – a Thracian slave who becomes a gladiator in the ludus of Lentulus Batiatus.
• Erin Cummings as Sura – the wife of Spartacus.
• John Hannah as Quintus Lentulus Batiatus – a lanista and Spartacus' master.
• Lucy Lawless as Lucretia – Batiatus' wife.
• Manu Bennett as Crixus – a Gaul, he is Batiatus' top gladiator. Love interest of Naevia.
• Peter Mensah as Doctore Oenomaus – Batiatus' trainer of gladiators.
• Jai Courtney as Varro – a Roman citizen who sold himself to the ludus to support his family.
• Nick Tarabay as Ashur – a Syrian former gladiator whose leg was crippled in the arena by Crixus; now serves Batiatus as a bookkeeper and henchman.
• Antonio Te Maioha as Barca – nicknamed the "Beast of Carthage", he is one of Batiatus' most successful gladiators, serves as a bodyguard for his master.
• Craig Walsh Wrightson as Solonius – a rival lanista to the House of Batiatus.
• Lesley-Ann Brandt as Naevia – Lucretia's personal and loyal slave. Love interest of Crixus.
• Viva Bianca as Ilithyia – the daughter of senator Albinius and wife of Glaber.
• Katrina Law as Mira - a slave girl sent under threat of death to seduce Spartacus and become his lover.
• Craig Parker as Gaius Claudius Glaber – a Roman army legatus who is responsible for Spartacus' enslavement as a gladiator.

Style

Spartacus is presented with a slightly over the top, overexposed video stylization, akin to the style used in the film 300.^{[citation needed]}

It also contains many unusual traits purportedly intended to convey a sense of authenticity. In English, the sentence structure seems archaic, as it follows something closer to Latin rules. For example, the definite and indefinite articles ("the" and "a", in English) are avoided in many situations, and the word "yes", which is absent in classical Latin, is replaced by affirming phrases^{[citation needed]}, such as "that is my desire". The dialogue is also presented in iambic pentameter.

The program is preceded by a warning that it purports to portray a "historical portrayal of ancient Roman society that contains graphic violence and adult content". Incidental nudity and scenes of a sexual or of a violent nature are present throughout.

Production

On December 22, 2009, a month before it premiered, it was announced that the show was renewed by Starz for a second season.^{[citation needed]} On March 9, 2010, IGN.com reported that production of Season 2 had been delayed due to star Whitfield being diagnosed with early-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Due to the delay, Starz announced in May 2010 that it was developing a six-episode prequel series, entitled Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. The prequel features new and returning stars, headlining the roles of John Hannah as Batiatus, and Lucy Lawless as Lucretia. Star Andy Whitfield also briefly appeared in a voice-over role. Production began in New Zealand in the summer of 2010 and the prequel aired beginning January 2011.

However in September 2010, Starz announced that Whitfield's cancer had returned and he had decided not to return for season 2, then tentatively scheduled for September 2011. Starz said that the show would nevertheless continue, and planned on recasting the role of Spartacus in the wake of Whitfield's exit. Whitfield also gave his blessing for Starz to recast the role when he announced he would not return. Whitfield died on September 11, 2011, from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.He was 39 years old when he passed away.

Spartacus series creator Steven S. DeKnight said in an interview, There are a "couple of very strong candidates" for the role of Spartacus, and season two should begin production in New Zealand in April [2011]. DeKnight added that the Spartacus producers and Starz executives weren't always sure they would go forward without Andy Whitfield, who they said had brought "gravity and heart" to the role of the famous warrior. "It's unheard of to recast your titular character in a television show, and we did a lot of soul searching about whether we even wanted to try", DeKnight said. "And then Andy [Whitfield] said, 'I really think the show should go forward without me. I give you the blessing. I want this story told.'"

On Jan. 17, 2011, it was announced that Australian film and TV actor Liam McIntyre had been selected to replace Whitfield.

On Feb. 26, 2011 interview with Entertainment Weekly, DeKnight revealed that the second season was set to air "the end of January" 2012. Additionally, he revealed that Lesley-Ann Brandt, the actress who portrayed the slave Naevia, would also not be able to return for season 2 due to the delay in production.

On Aug. 1, 2011, Starz released a trailer indicating the new series will premiere in January, 2012.

Reception

The premiere episode of the series set a record for Starz, with 553,000 viewers on their network, and another 460,000 on Encore, where the show was available only that weekend. For the rest of the season the show had an average of 1.285 million viewers. Critical reception of the first episode was mixed; the review aggregate website Metacritic which assigns a normalized average score out of 100 gave the show a score of 54% based on 22 reviews. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave it the grade B+, saying it "might prove to be the not-at-all-guilty pleasure of the season." Barry Garron of the Hollywood Reporter suggested that with "such thin stories... it's small wonder that sex and violence are used to take up the slack." Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times wrote that John Hannah as Batiatus "keeps the show grounded with a persuasive portrait of a man engaged in a stressful daily business" and called Whitfield as Spartacus "handsome and buff and smart and beastly." Mark Perigard of the Boston Herald gave the season finale a positive review, rating it a B+. He commented on the improvement of the series throughout its first season.

Broadcast

The series aired in Canada on TMN beginning on January 25, 2010. RTL 5 announced in their January newsletter that Spartacus: Blood and Sand will debut in the Netherlands in March. In the United Kingdom, Bravo began airing the series on May 25, 2010. Following the axe of Bravo on UK television, Sky1 has now picked up the rights to the series and will air all subsequent seasons. The series is also scheduled to premiere in Poland on HBO Poland starting from June 19, 2010 and in Hungary on HBO Magyarország starting from June 1, 2010. The series airs in Ireland on TV3. In Brazil, the show airs on Globosat HD. In Turkey the show releases on CNBC-E TV, while in Italy Sky Television is the broadcaster who gained the rights of the series. In India and Pakistan, the show is currently airing (as of June 2011) on HBO.^{[citation needed]} In Slovenia, the series started airing on Kanal A on 2 January 2012, from Monday to Friday at 9.45 pm.

Prequel and sequel

The prequel miniseries, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, began production in August 2010 and consisted of six episodes. It premiered on January 21, 2011. It tells the story of Batiatus' struggle to revive the fortunes of his family's ludus in the face of strong opposition from his father and from Capuan rivals. Gannicus is his champion gladiator.

A sequel, Spartacus: Vengeance, premiered on January 27, 2012. Its story follows Spartacus' campaign of building his army of freed slaves and seeking revenge.

Motion comic

In 2009, a 4 part motion comic adaptation of Spartacus: Blood and Sand called Motion Comic: Spartacus - Blood and Sand was released. Ray Park and Heath Freeman were cast. Kyle Newman was the director, and the producers were Andy Collen and Jeff Krelitz.

#	Title	Run Time
1	Upon the Sands of Vengeance	16 minutes
2	Shadows of the Jackal	16 minutes
3	The Beast of Carthage	9 minutes
4	The Shadow of Death	12 minutes

External links

• Spartacus: Blood and Sand
• Spartacus: Blood and Sand at TV.com
• Spartacus: Blood and Sand at the Internet Movie Database