WRITER: Brent Fletcher[SPOILERS] Usually in television, writers are billed above directors (contrary to film), because the writers are in charge of the smallscreen. Notably however, with Spartacus: Blood & Sand, directors retain top billing in the credits, and it's easy to see why: Spartacus may be the most brazenly visual TV series on the box, with its 300-inspired aesthetic, ragdoll body-flips and digital claret splashing the screen. Style, sex and fight choreography overwhelm everything, as the stories and acting have so far been workmanlike at best.
DIRECTOR: Grady Hall
GUEST CAST: Andy Peter Mensah, Manu Bennett, Jai Courtney, Lesley-Ann Brandt & Viva Bianca
"Legends" finds Spartacus (Andy Whitfield) continuing his arduous gladiator training at Batiatus' ludus, still the bad apple in trainer Doctore's (Peter Mensah) eyes, but with enough cachet with his master (John Hannah) for Doctore to persevere with his teachings. Spartacus fancies himself a chance to fight alpha male Crixus (Manu Bennett), the legendary warrior who's taken a disliking to the egotistical Thracian, but is disappointed to find he's instead been picked to fight friend Varro (Jai Courtney) in a fight festival's opening round. Spartacus would rather be the main event, up against a champ he believes is overrated, if only to start gaining the notoriety and money he requires to earn freedom and find his enslaved wife. "Legends" focused on giving Spartacus a life lesson: that his passion and spirit isn't enough to succeed, and he'll have to accept he's a trash-talking amateur in order to improve and have a chance of defeating Crixus another day.
From the moment Spartacus is shown the gesture for submission (two fingers pointed together) and condemns the very notion of giving up, you know exactly where the story will go. And indeed, once Spartacus manipulated his way into a mismatched bout with Crixus in front of a baying crowd, he was forced to submit rather than be decapitated after a long duel. Lesson learned, he-man humbled.
In-between, the show still delights in its excessive nature: Doctore urinating at Spartacus's feet, Spartacus and Varro made to stand waist-deep in a cesspit, and Varro was to have sex with a slave in a room full of gawping Romans. The novelty of comic-book violence and nudity on television is still enough to see it through, but it's already more comical than shocking. A simple scene where Batiatus discusses events with his wife Lucretia (Lucy Lawless) was needlessly embellished with Batiatus peeing into an outside pool. It's getting to the point where I'm almost expecting dialogue-heavy scenes to be "softened" with a bobbing head performing oral sex somewhere on-screen.
One thing of interest was the knotted relationships that are forming: we learn that esteemed gladiator Crixus performs sexual favours for mistress Lucretia behind her husband's back; bisexual Illithyia's (Viva Bianca) growing closer to her friend Lucretia and getting aroused by her gladiators; and it was shown that Crixus fancies Lucretia's nubile body slave Naevia (Lesley-Ann Brandt). All promising signs of the series spreading its wings a little to create a world beyond Spartacus's dilemma, and part of me suspects Crixus's affection for Naevia will actually be more entertaining than hearing Spartacus opine his wife and fondle the strip of purple fabric he gave her for safekeeping.
Overall, we're three episodes in and each installment has been better than the last, so the series is heading in the right direction. It still needs to improve the storytelling and flesh out some characters, particularly considering it has a full hour to fill every week. The gore, sex and swearing will soon seem passé as we desensitize to it (as if we aren't already in this day and age), so they need to make us feel truly invested in the characters and their stories. So far, it's been enjoyable hokum after a lobotomized premiere, so let's hope it rises to that challenge.
8 JUNE 2010: BRAVO, 10PM
