I'm sure by now we are all aware of the complications with
Spartacus: Blood and Sand.
Andy Whitfield, the star of the show was diagnosed with Stage 1 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. While filming of a new season was put on hiatus to give him time to recover, it became apparent that he would not be physically well to shoot another season any time soon. :(
Enter Gods of the Arena, a prequel to the hit series.
Without spoiling it for those of you who havent had the chance to watch, here is a quick run down of the new series.
Gods of the Arena attempts to take us back to the beginning. Before the legend of Spartacus and before Crixus became a household name. It also shows the evolution of Batiatus and his wife Lucretia who apparently weren't always the social climbing leeches they are in Blood and Sand. We finally get a glimpse of Oenomaus, the man fans of Blood and Sand know as "Doctore". Oh and Asher is back too. Gods of the Arena also has a new champion in Gannicus, a man almost impossible to beat even in the most extreme of circumstances.
In the premiere episode titled "Past Transgressions" we see Baitatus attempt to build a name for himself by becoming a Master of the Arena but his efforts are soon thwarted by forces with their own agenda. The episode featured a lot of blood, a lot of gore, a lot nudity, some girl on girl action and a scene involving golden showers (yes...Golden Showers). This was the recipe for Blood and Sand so i am sure the fans are used to this. So was it enjoyable? It was. It's not a master piece but the writers are talented story tellers who have the ability to capture your attention and make you want to tune in for the next episode and trust me you will want to...because the end of the episode sets the stage for a lot of character development or degeneration in some cases. I expect to see a lot of the characters fleshed out and get to know more about the new characters who have been added to the line up. With the exception of Spartacus,Varro, and Ilithyia, all the regulars are back.
Gods of the Arena was a bloody good watch...literally. I give it a 3.5. Would have been a 4 if there wasn't so much gratuitous violence and nudity in it. But thats just me. :)
Need more convincing? Check out the trailer below. And for those of you who have seen the episode, what did you think?