Thoughts on Spartacus:Blood and Sand

Recently I began to watch a new show airing on Starz. Entitled Spartacus: Blood and Sand, I found my intial impression of the show less than cordial. Based upon clips and previews it had seemed to me that all this show amounted to was nothing more than a pitiful attempted remake of Frank Miller's 300 with regards to the cinematography as well as computer generated graphics. I wasn't really wrong though. However, I began to watch this show and become rapidly engrossed. After some thinking I believe I now know why and I would like to share with you some of my thoughts:

• Plot. Enough said. The plot of Spartacus is ridiculously engaging. I found  myself quite suddenly up to the ankles in sand and a large, overly muscular man brandishing a sword at me. In only an episode or two I discovered that the story line that makes up for almost every other fault the show might possess. Like a decadent macabre soup of death, the story flows almost as freely as the blood split within it, enhanced  to bedazzle the senses with plot twists of pepper and oregano. The resulting aroma and tastes are simply intoxicating and massively addicting.

•  The aroma and taste the soup produces are equally seductive and take shape in the characters of Spartacus. The ethos generated by the situations, actions and dialogue of the characters sneaks up on the watcher quietly and swiftly until they reach the episode which ends with (!!spoiler alert!!) Spartacus, finally reunited with his long last wife, cradles her dead body in his massive arms while his dominus looks on with satisfaction. The audience careens wildly back and forth on a roller coaster of emotion: one moment sympathizing with the aristocratic Roman gentry the next astonished by their reactionary courses of action. All the while, they grow increasingly more sympathetic to Spartacus and his plight. Never does the audience feel more pity towards Spartacus and more hatred toward the Romans as when (!!spoiler alert!!) Spartacus is tricked in to taking Varo's life, his best and only friend. Betrayed at every turn, and even the slightest bit of happiness and contentment ripped from him in a swirl of fury and crimson blood, Spartacus is the most dynamic of characters shifting and evolving constantly.

I encourage anyone mature enough to stomach massive amounts of blood and the more than occasional sex scene to give this program a chance and remove their initial preconceptions. 

The Dog

I saw the most astounding thing the other day.
The sky seemed rather odd. At one moment a mighty meteorological cetacean would appear. His shadow drenched the clouds in black and the uglier shades of purple and green, the behemoth's voice  boomed through the skies and the fire emerged from his nostrils, crackling through the cloud cover. Then, all at once, he was gone;  beast seemed to get bored with exerting his threatening presence. He would yawn, stretch out his might arms give one last booming  shout and then silently, he would retreat. Back to his dwelling behind the sun. This pattern continued for the entirety of the day.
A girl was walking down the street. Dressed in a pink frilly dress with a equally pink bonnet sitting contently and squarely atop her head. Her hair was done up in long curls and her face was open and bright. She gamboled down the street happily, in her hand she held a red leash. Eyes would follow the leash down to the collar to which it was attached. And to that collar, a dog. Not a puppy, nor a full grown hound, it was simply only describable as just what it was, a dog. The young canine trailed behind its frilly pink owner, hardly imitating the cheerful gambol. The youthful pup simply followed along, walking steadily and intently. Every so often the girl would give a tug at the leash. Pulling the dog along, forcing it to pick up its pace. Suddenly the pooch spotted something. Off in the distance something was drawing it. Whether it be a pack of other pups or a gleaming red fire hydrant or an attractive dog of the  opposite sex its impossible to say. Yet something clearly caught the pup's eye.Causing it to show it first signs of excitability, the pup eagerly started towards the point of interest. And now something caught the eye of the little pink girl.
The gambol stopped. The shadow was again cast over the clouds. The girl's icy stare locked in upon the young quadrupedal. All at once the might colossus that seemed to live in the sky blew a mighty gust that rattled through the air.  Immediately the bonnet atop the young girls head slid down to an angle. The hair broke the shackles of its curls and turned into chaotic frizz. Her face turned the same shade as the ominous sky and locked up with displeasure. Her hand tightened around the leash, veins visible beneath the skin. The sky crackled with the beast fire above her. She gave a vicious pull, her lips sneering. The young dog flew back with a yelp. She trotted on, dragging the thing behind. And it was over, in a matter of seconds. The beast in the sky went back to sleep and the youth skipped on.
And the smallest of rips on the polyester collar, expanded.