Spartacus

I didn't watch Spartacus (Starz network) during it's first season, and season two will start soon.  I discovered season one available "On Demand," so I decided to catch-up.  The series is about gladiators  in ancient Rome. I didn't watch it when the series first started because I didn't think it was for me.  I was right.

Nonethleess, I have a lot of good things to say.  The show could be sub-titled "Romanicing the Blood."  I have never seen so much beautiful, spectacular blood.  Blood doesn't drip; it explodes.  Starbursts of blood.  And whenever, there is a "kill", there is a freeze frame just before the sword peirces flesh--a "wait for it moment," a little cue to remind the viewer "here it comes."  It's actually quite beautiful.

Plenty of "eye-candy" too--both male and female. The first episode opens with Spartacus in a dungeon, shackled to the wall, head titled upward.  Black shoulder length wavy hair  cascades to his shoulders, deep blue eyes fringed with black lashes.  He is wearing only a loin cloth. As women from a genration before mine said, "He can park his shoes under my bed anytime he wants."  Kinky thoughts danced in my head; the shackles, the rippling muscles, the loin cloth--who could blame me.

It's nice to watch beautiful people who wear very little clothing, and these characters wear as little as possible.  Even when the characters are tromping through the snow, the fur cape is flung open revealing naked legs and arms--beautiful naked legs and arms. Even scenes showing the roman rabble show the everyday folk of Rome wearing very little clothing.

Of course, there are plenty of prolonged, beautifully choreographed sex scenes. Steamy soft-core sex scenes.  They alternate with the fighting scenes, which by the way are just as prolonged and just as beautifuly choreographed.

Even the sceneray is beautiful.  I'd nominate the show for a cinematography Oscar, it was a movie.

You may notice that I have said very little about the plot.  There's a reason for that. There isn't much plot.  The HBO series "Rome" was a much better show about ancient Rome.  It too had sex and violence, but the characters were real as were the plots.  Spartacus is not really about much.

Here's the kicker.  I watched the first episode.  And it made me watch the second episode.  I probably would have made a 13-episode marathon of it except I was too sleepy.  I guess there is just something about beautiful people, beautiful gore, and beautiful sex scenes that makes me want to keep watching.