Spartacus (TV series)

Spartacus

Season 1 intertitle
Genre Historical drama
Sword-and-sandal[1]
Created by Steven S. DeKnight
Starring
Composer(s) Joseph LoDuca
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 3 + miniseries
No. of episodes 39 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Producer(s) Chloe Smith
Charles Knight
Aaron Lam
Location(s) New Zealand
Cinematography Aaron Morton
Editor(s) Gary Hunt
Jonathan Woodford-Robinson
Running time 53-60 minutes
Production company(s) DeKnight Productions
Starz Originals
Release
Original network Starz
Picture format 1080i (HDTV)
Original release January 22, 2010 (2010-01-22) – April 12, 2013 (2013-04-12)
External links
Website

Spartacus is an American television series produced in New Zealand that premiered on Starz on January 22, 2010, and concluded on April 12, 2013. The series was inspired by the historical figure of Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator who from 73 to 71 BCE led a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic departing from Capua. 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.[2]

After the completion of the first season titled Spartacus: Blood and Sand, production for another season was delayed because lead actor Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with early-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma so Starz produced a six-episode prequel mini-series entitled Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. When the actor's cancer recurred and he later died on September 11, 2011,[3][4] Starz had actor Liam McIntyre take on the role of Spartacus in the second season titled Spartacus: Vengeance.[5][6] On June 4, 2012, Starz announced the third and final season, titled Spartacus: War of the Damned.[7][8]

Plot

Blood and Sand

The story begins with an unnamed Thracian's involvement in a unit of Roman auxiliary in a campaign against the Getae (Thracian tribes that occupied the regions of the Lower Danube, in what today is Bulgaria and Romania, ancestors of Romanians) under the command of the legatus, Claudius Glaber. In 72-71 BCE, 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 suspect that Batiatus arranged Sura's death. He is able to confirm this by forcing Batiatus' man, Aulus, to confess the act. 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 (whom 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 of the guards and some guests, Crixus persuades Doctore to join him with Spartacus, while 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 his intended victim eludes him. 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".

Gods of the Arena

The mini-series features the history of the House of Batiatus and the city of Capua before the arrival of Spartacus. The main story opens not long after Quintus Lentulus Batiatus becomes lanista, manager of the House's slaves and gladiators, when he takes over his father's ludus.

Batiatus is quickly discovered to have grand ambitions, beginning with the stepping out from his father's shadow. As the story progresses, Batiatus continues to seek greatness for the House under his leadership, as well as recognition for his own name. By his side stands his devoted wife, Lucretia, who is willing to help her husband achieve his goals regardless of the cost. Batiatus soon places all of his fortunes on one man whom he believes will bring fame and glory to the House of Batiatus, his best gladiator, the Celt Gannicus. Gannicus is a skilled warrior almost without equal, who wields his dual swords in the arena with great prowess. However, Batiatus' opponents would not sit idly and allow his ascent to greatness without challenge.

Purchased as an undisciplined and disheveled recruit in the first episode, Crixus the Gaul initially endures mockery and threats of death, before eventually rising to become a gladiator of skill and fame second only to Gannicus. As Batiatus fends off repeated attempts by his professional rival Tullius to obtain Gannicus, his relationships with his father Titus and friend Solonius begin to suffer the strain of Quintus' relentless ambition. Former champion gladiator Oenomaus reluctantly retires from combat to become Doctore, while Syrian recruits Ashur and Dagan become fierce enemies as Ashur tries to prove himself worthy of being a gladiator. Veteran gladiators Barca and Gannicus accept the rising star of Crixus but fear that their own careers will suffer, as the machinations of Batiatus and Lucretia to court Capua's elite end in tragedy for several members of the household. Against all of this, the city's splendid new arena nears completion and with it the opening games that will make men into gods. When the arena opens Solonius' and Batiatus' gladiators compete with each other, Batiatus' gladiators prevailing in the contest. Gannicus again proves himself to be the champion of Capua and the god of the arena and by virtue of his win against Solonius' gladiators, becomes the champion of Capua and gains his freedom.

Vengeance

Main article: Spartacus: Vengeance

After the bloody escape from the House of Batiatus that concluded Spartacus: Blood and Sand, the gladiator rebellion begins to strike fear into the heart of the Roman Republic in Spartacus: Vengeance. Praetor Claudius Glaber and his Roman troops are sent to Capua to crush Spartacus' growing band of freed slaves before they can inflict further damage. Spartacus is given a choice between satisfying his personal need for vengeance against the man who condemned his wife to slavery and eventual death, or making the larger sacrifices necessary to keep his budding army from breaking.

War of the Damned

This final season of Spartacus began airing January 25, 2013 and concluded April 12, 2013. This season follows the final struggle between Spartacus and Marcus Licinius Crassus. Crassus pursues Spartacus as he struggles to feed his ever growing army of former slaves. Spartacus wins several victories against Crassus' forces and continues to frustrate the Romans. The series culminates in a direct all out battle between Spartacus and Crassus.[9][10]

Cast and characters

Gladiators and slaves

Romans

Style

Spartacus is presented with a slightly over the top, overexposed video stylization, akin to the style used in the film 300.

The style of English used in the series mimics the structure of Latin. Definite and indefinite articles (the, a, ...) and pronouns (I, you, he, this, they, ...) are dropped where the meaning of the sentence is clear. Latin terms (domina, ludus, ...) are used where the audience can infer the meaning from context.

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

Production

After filming in early 2009 and promoting for some time, it was announced that Starz would premiere Spartacus: Blood and Sand on January 22, 2010.[11] On December 22, 2009, a month before it premiered, it was announced that the show was renewed by Starz for a second season.

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.[12] Due to the delay, Starz announced in May 2010 that it would be developing a six-episode prequel series, entitled Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, to allow star actor Whitfield to seek medical treatment.[13] The prequel featured both new and returning stars, headlined by 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.[14]

In September 2010, Starz announced that Whitfield's cancer had returned and that he had decided not to return for the production of Season 2, then tentatively scheduled for September 2011.[15] Starz announced that the show would nevertheless continue, and planned on recasting the role of Spartacus in the wake of Whitfield's exit.[16] Whitfield gave his blessing for Starz to recast the role when he announced he would not return.

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.'"[17] On January 17, 2011, it was announced that Australian film and TV actor Liam McIntyre had been selected to replace Whitfield.[18]

On February 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.[19] On August 1, 2011, Starz released a trailer indicating that the long-delayed second season would premiere in January 2012, under the new sub-title, Spartacus: Vengeance.[20]

Andy Whitfield died on September 11, 2011, from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He was 39 years old.[21]

Over two months before the premiere, on November 7, 2011, Starz announced that it was renewing Spartacus for a third seasona second year with Liam McIntyre in the titular role; and fourth year on the air overall.[22]

The second season eventually premiered on January 27, 2012.

On June 1, 2012 Starz released a teaser video of the next season on YouTube.[23]

On June 4, 2012, Starz announced that the 3rd season of Spartacus (War of the Damned) will be the final one for the series.

Starz released the first full trailer for Spartacus: War of the Damned on July 13, 2012.[24]

Other media

Board game

In 2012 Gale Force Nine announced the creation of licensed board game based on the Spartacus series. The English language release of the game Spartacus: A Game of Blood and Treachery had a limited release at Gen Con 2012 and a general release to game and hobby stores on September 28, 2012.[25]

Comics

In 2009, Devil's Due published a four-part prequel comic series, titled Spartacus - Blood And Sand. Each issue spotlighted a character from the upcoming television series, mostly the minor gladiator rivals of the main cast.[26]

The series was adapted as a 4-part motion comic adaptation called Spartacus - Blood and Sand - Motion Comic. Ray Park and Heath Freeman were cast. Kyle Newman was the director, and the producers were Andy Collen and Jeff Krelitz.[27][28][29][30]

# Title Spotlights Writer Artist Run Time (Motion Comic)
1 Upon the Sands of Vengeance Arkadios, the Red Serpent Steven S. DeKnight Adam Archer 16 minutes
2 Shadows of the Jackal The Gargan Twins Jimmy Palmiotti Dexter Soy 16 minutes
3 The Beast of Carthage Barca, the Beast of Carthage Todd & Aaron Helbing Jon Bosco & Guilherme Balbi 9 minutes
4 The Shadow of Death Theokoles, the Shadow of Death Miranda Kwok Allan Jefferson 12 minutes

Novels

In 2012 Titan Books announced the publication of a series of novels based on Spartacus: Blood and Sand. The first one, titled Spartacus: Swords & Ashes, was written by J.M. Clements and released on January 3, 2012.[31]

The second book in the series, Spartacus: Morituri by Mark Morris, was released in August 2012.

Video game

In 2012, Ubisoft announced that they would be publishing a video game based on the series. The game, titled Spartacus Legends, has been developed by Kung Fu Factory and was released on June 26, 2013 on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network.[32]

Home video releases

The DVD and Blu-ray Disc sets of each season were released in various regions after their television broadcast.

Season DVD and Blu-ray releases
North America United Kingdom Australia
The Complete First Season: Blood and Sand September 21, 2010 May 16, 2011 December 1, 2010
Gods of the Arena September 13, 2011 October 3, 2011 August 31, 2011
The Complete Second Season: Vengeance September 11, 2012[33] October 1, 2012[34] August 29, 2012[35]
The Complete Third & Final Season: War of the Damned September 3, 2013[36] April 29, 2013[37] August 28, 2013[38]

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.[39] 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."[40] 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."[41] 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.[42]

Accolades

Year Result Award Category Recipients
2010 Nominated EWwy Award Best Drama Series Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Nominated Monte-Carlo Television Festival Outstanding Actor - Drama Series Andy Whitfield
Nominated John Hannah
Nominated Outstanding Actress - Drama Series Lucy Lawless
2011 Nominated Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Stunt Coordination Allan Poppleton (for Episode: "The Bitter End")
Won Saturn Award Best Supporting Actress on Television Lucy Lawless
Nominated Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Nominated Best Presentation on Television Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
2012 Won Best DVD/Blu-ray TV Series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
Nominated Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series Erika Takacs, Allan Poppleton
Nominated Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series Jacob Tomuri, Tim Wong
2013 Nominated Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor on Television Todd Lasance
Nominated Best DVD/Blu-ray TV Series Spartacus: Vengeance - The Complete Second Season
Nominated Best Presentation on Television Spartacus: War of the Damned
Nominated People's Choice Awards Favorite Premium Cable TV Show Spartacus: War of the Damned

Broadcast

The series aired in Canada on TMN beginning on January 25, 2010.[43] RTL 5 announced in their January newsletter that Spartacus: Blood and Sand will debut in the Netherlands in March.[44] In the United Kingdom, Bravo began airing the series on May 25, 2010.[45][46] Following the axe of Bravo on UK television, Sky1 has now picked up the rights to the series and will air all subsequent seasons. In conjunction with the UK airings of Spartacus: War of the Damned on Monday nights at 10pm, a Tweet-a-long is held from the official Spartacus Twitter page, in which fans post tweets during the episode, using the hashtag #SpartacusWarOfTheDamned. The series is also scheduled to premiere in Poland on HBO Poland starting from June 19, 2010[47] and in Hungary on HBO Magyarország starting from June 1, 2010.[48][49] The series airs in Ireland on TV3.[50] 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. In Slovenia, the series started airing on Kanal A on 2 January 2012, from Monday to Friday at 9.45 pm. In 2014, Syfy began to air an edited version of the series.

See also

References

  1. Stackhouse, Ray. "Spartacus: Blood and Sand — Overview". AllMovie. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
  2. name=interview Interview: Steven S. DeKnight and Robert Tapert from Spartacus: Blood And Sand
  3. Andreeva, Nellie. "'Spartacus' Star Andy Whitfield's Cancer Is Back: Won't Return Next Season To Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  4. McConnell, Donna (September 13, 2011). "'A beautiful young warrior': Spartacus star Andy Whitfield loses his battle with cancer at age 39". Daily Mail. London.
  5. Crumpley, Elliot (January 18, 2011). "Liam McIntyre confirmed to take over Spartacus role". College News. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  6. Video on YouTube
  7. THE SAGA CONCLUDES - STARZ ANNOUNCES THE FINAL SEASON OF “SPARTACUS”
  8. STARZ Announces “SPARTACUS: WAR OF THE DAMNED” to Conclude Series January 2013
  9. Kondolojy, Amanda (November 6, 2012). "'Spartacus: War of the Damned' To Premiere on Starz January 25". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  10. "Starz Announces SPARTACUS: WAR OF THE DAMNED as the Show's Final Season". June 4, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  11. "Spartacus to Premiere 22 January 2010". spartacusbloodandsand.com. August 17, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
  12. "Spartacus Halts Production Of Season 2". IGN. News Corporation. March 9, 2010. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
  13. "Starz Homepage".
  14. MacIntyre, April (May 11, 2010). "Spartacus Prequel announced by Starz, Whitfield to star". Monsters and Critics. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  15. Whitfield's Cancer returned
  16. Ausiello, Michael (2010-09-26). "It's official: 'Spartacus' moving forward with recast | Inside TV | EW.com". Ausiellofiles.ew.com. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
  17. "'Spartacus' Creator Talks About Recasting the Title Role and What's to Come for the Gladiators". Tvsquad.com. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
  18. McIntyre new Spartacus
  19. "'Spartacus' creator talks 'Gods of the Arena' finale, epic season 2 plans". Entertainment Weekly. 2011-02-26. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
  20. "Spartacus: Vengeance - Trailer - YouTube". Starz. 2011-08-01. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  21. "Spartacus star Whitfield dies of lymphoma at 39". Associated Press. September 11, 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  22. "'Spartacus' renewed for season 3!". Entertainment Weekly. November 7, 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  23. Video on YouTube
  24. Video on YouTube
  25. "GF9 release Spartacus: A Game of Blood & Treachery". GF9.com. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  26. "Devil's Due, Starz announce joint "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" project". ComicBookResources.com. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  27. "Spartacus: Blood and Sand - The Motion Comic". TV.com. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  28. "Spartacus Motion Comic". Manga. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  29. "Spartacus: Blood and Sand - Motion Comic". Youtube. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  30. "Spartacus: Blood and Sand - The Motion Comic". Hulu.com. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  31. "'Spartacus' Spins Off Book Series From Titan Books". TheHollywoodReporter.com. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  32. "Starz - Spartacus Legends Site". Starz.com. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  33. Lambert, David (June 6, 2012). "Spartacus - 'Vengeance: Season 2' on DVD and Blu-ray: Date, Extras, Box Covers". TV Shows on DVD. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  34. "Spartacus - Vengeance (DVD)". Amazon UK. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  35. "Spartacus: Vengeance - Season 2: Uncut". Ezy DVD. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  36. Lambert, David (May 29, 2013). "Spartacus - 'War of the Damned: The Complete 3rd Season' Press Release Announces Date, Details, Extras". TV Shows on DVD. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  37. "Spartacus: War of the Damned (Blu-ray)". Amazon UK. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  38. "Spartacus: War Of The Damned". Ezy DVD. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  39. "Spartacus: Blood and Sand". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  40. Tucker, Ken (January 20, 2010). "Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  41. Lloyd, Robert (January 22, 2010). "Review: 'Spartacus: Blood and Sand' on Starz". Lost Angeles Times. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  42. Perigard, Mark A. (April 16, 2010). "'Spartacus' season finale is a bloody good time". Boston Herald. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  43. "Spartacus: Blood And Sand – Schedule". The Movie Network. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  44. "Programmering en Sales Promoties" [Programming and Sales Promotions]. Retrieved January 23, 2010. RTL 5 ends the week with a double episode of the spectacular new series Spartacus: Blood & Sand.
  45. "Preview: Spartacus – Blood and Sand". Beehive City. 2010-04-27. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
  46. "Spartacus fights his way to UK pay-TV" (Press release). 2010-03-08. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  47. "Spartakus: Krew i piach, odc. 1 - HBO Polska". Hbo.pl. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
  48. "Spartacus: Vér és homok 1. - HBO Magyarország". Hbo.hu. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
  49. "SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND / Spartacus: Vér és homok". HBO Magyarország. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  50. "Spartacus - TV3". The TV3 Group. Retrieved 10 August 2010.

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