One thing most of us seem to agree on is that we like Starz's series Spartacus Blood and Sand. Well, here's a trailer for Gods of the Arena.



More videos here.

Really? I know I'm the one that started the thread but I'm still slightly surprised that nobody was interested.

They posted the first episode up on Netflix streaming over the weekend. I watched it. I liked it as much as the first. I miss Andy Whitfield but the new characters are good. People on netflix are complaining that it's pornography. It has more nakedness in it but I'm not complaining. It's gory and violent and perfect.

I just watched it last night. I was confused what was going on half the time until I realized this was supposed to be like 8 years before the previous season.

Also they have adorable Germanic twins in this season too apparently.

I did always really appreciate how the series is dedicated to such egalitarian fan-service, they've really got eyecandy for everyone! So many wives of nobility for one thing.

Hell yeah! I can't wait for this!

More pornography = w00t w00t

You don't have to wait if you have netflix or starz play.

I don't. But I have my, er... 'channels'

90% of my tv/movies I watch on fastpasstv.com, I found it there just fine.

I watched the 2nd episode in the series on Saturday night. Ack Batiatus is an evil son of a *****.

Thanks for pointing out that it was on Netflix. I would have noticed by now anyway but I didn't even know it was up there when I started the thread. I do kind of wish I knew nothing of it until they were all up there so I could view this season one right after the other like I did the previous season. Oh well.

So I may watch the 2nd episode tonight. I can see how Batiatus really turned evil after that ass whoopin'. And, wow, that blindfolded gladiator? It would have been interesting to see how Oenomaus would have fared in that one. The show just absolutely rocks!

I think he was evil before this. It's basically the ruling class' treatment of the slaves that makes them evil. It seems like his father at least had some code, like despite the physical abuse and sending them to their graves, he had respect for the gladiators and even the other slaves in his household. Not so with Batiatus.

I don't think there's anything spoiler-tag worthy in that post but I've always noticed what appear to be twinges of sympathy when he somewhat passively allows vile acts committed by and upon his slaves. I know what you're saying but those aren't usually the parts that make me think he is evil.

Saw the first 2 episodes. Liked the first episode better than the second, but still interested in what happens next. Hmm. And I haven't realised that the Gaul that Batiatus had bought in ep 1 was actually Crixus (the future champion of Capua) until the middle of ep 2.

This is kind of a badass show.

If you're watching the first season, it just gets better and better. After I think the 4th or 5th episode I thought it was the best show ever.

It's a pretty damn good show. I was a little skeptical about this season, but it's started out promising...same great political intrigue, drama drama drama, etc. It's just plain fun.

IMDB only lists 5 or 6 episodes, is this supposed to be a short season?

6 episodes in all. This mini-series came out mainly due to the ill-health of Andy Whitfield, which interrupted the main series (Blood and Sand). So far, it's pretty freakin' awesome though. Can't wait till Crixus becomes Champion!

So I gave the original episodes another try because of this thread, and I gotta say I liked it a lot more this time. There's still a lot of tiny things that bother me, such as the pandering gratuity of the sex and violence, some of the soundstage shots don't really work where the others give a sort of theatrical embellishments, and oftentimes a characters' dialogue can get overly expository. The editing that I hated the first time I watched the show is a lot more thoughtful and intentional than I saw on first viewing, however the inconsistent pacing can sometimes jump out at me, but I think this has to do mostly with artistic choice and little to do with objective quality.

Overall, I'm really identifying with the hero's journey and have recently been craving more of a classical hero and damsel adventure, as it fulfills a familiar primal masculine urge. The desire to workout and bang after watching an episode really speaks to culture of gender. Contradicting that, seeing all those hot chiseled naked man bodies reminds me that I'm just a little gay. I also have to say Lucretia is a very sexy older lady.

Overall though, it still feels like soap porn sometimes, as I can follow and predict the plot without catching every conversation, and I can usually call the next sex scene like it's clockworks.

I watched the first 2 episodes on Netflix (like others) & very much enjoyed them. I personally like the sex scenes. It's nice of the creators to acknowledge that not every society in history was as uptight about nudity & sex as in the U.S.

There's a buttsex scene too.

I thought it was a Lewinski-notsex-dependsonthedefinitionofis scene.

Well. Have you seen a lot of Roman artwork/writing and such? It isn't that they are gratuitous about it, they just had a very different view of it. Eg it wasn't uncommon for a nobleman and his wife to keep the servants in the room during sex in case they needed something.

Check out some of the mosaics and artwork from Pompeii for instance, there's some remarkably preserved "pornographic" pieces which are displayed quite openly eg in receiving rooms or on the side of buildings.

Also they were obsessed with dong-bells [technically "tintinnabulae"]. Not because they indicated brothels or anything we'd expect-- they just liked having a bunch of dongs hanging around their homes and cities.

As to violence, well, yes they did pander that. The Flavian Amphitheater was a very calculated move to sublimate the violent urges of a massive city from possible thoughts of revolt from the working class into entertainment. Check out the article for more, but for example: "Suetonius writes that 5000 animals were killed there in a single day" during the inaugural opening.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inaugural_games_of_the_Flavian_Amphitheatre

The section on executions is especially significant: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inaugural_games_of_the_Flavian_Amphitheatre#Executions
In short they'd often use executions by animal as a sort of dumb show to mime mythological events [eg Prometheus having his liver pecked out] for the crowd's entertainment.

So, yes the show does pander sex and violence, but so did the Roman Empire.




Tell me about it. I'm quite gay, but some of those men are actually strangely attractive. [Mostly the Germanic ones..]

I understand that historically they were sexual and violent people, I just think this show is going more for ratings than historical accuracy. I like some T&A like the next guy, I just feel talked down to when it's used to keep my "fleeting attention."

"Sorry about all that boring talking, here's a sex scene to keep you interested."

A tv show going for ratings? Oh good gods no. But seriously, I like the story; the t&a is just a bonus.

Personally I like to think of it as like "300: The Series". If you want more historicity the National Geographic had a great miniseries called "When Rome Ruled" a while back.

Pretty much everything that television and films have become now. "Oh, you don't like this movie? You really should watch it.. It has a lesbian sex scene in it! THAT MAKES IT AWESOME" kind of mentality has taken over. No longer is it shown for artistic intention, but just for the hell of it. Let's put some **** and ass in just because we can.

You know why? Because it's not just the Romans. We humans just like sex and violence. Most of the "important" things that happen in one's life are usually related to one of the two (if not both, such as in the case of our births). Romans simply had a more straightforward approach.

That's a wonderful point, except that it doesn't explain why else it's necessary to have random **** and Ass in a tv show/movie. It's oversaturated currently.

It reminds me of 90s movies where there's always sex scene a half hour in.

Additionally, a film can contain sex scenes without swinging dicks and **** around. "OMG, are they having sex? I can't tell because I can't see his prick plowing her cooter." It's really just for shock value.

I don't get why sex is so shocking, pretty much everyone does it right? It's not like it's stuff you haven't seen/experienced before (at least if you're over 16 or so).

Did anyone notice this 'new' docture is Temuera Morrison?

(aka Jango Fett)

I recognized him but couldn't remember from where. Cool find! he didn't last long, though

Very excited about today's episode!!!!

Same here, I was like 'I know this guy's face...', then I heard his voice and realized he sounded exactly like a clone trooper

Because we live in an uptight country where the religious majority has trained us to feel guilty about sex & nudity. A lot of other countries have cocks flopping & asses shaking all over the screen & they barely notice. We're also insanely uptight about "foul language" (e.g: try typing a curse word on this forum). This country seriously has something stuck in its ass & unfortunately it's probably not a cock. But what about the children? If they're old enough to understand the content of half of the shows on TV they're probably already ****ing & sucking half of the football team. The guys have already been watching porn & masturbating since 5th grade.

I don't think those of us complaining about it were offended or embarrassed by it, but felt more like it was supposed to be shocking instead of sexy or thematic. It's the difference between a violent scene that actually disturbs you, and one that is overwhelming or comically realistic. The producers are evidently trying to keep a wide audience watching.

There's killing and ****ing. I'd rather see the killing.

I thought the sex scenes and language became grating and horribly annoying after awhile. Seeing teats every five seconds (literally watch in the backgrounds of most public scenes) and hearing "jupiters cock!" every two, just doesn't make for good television in my book. Didn't progress past the first season, just got annoyed and walked away.

Sidenote: Lucretia is massively sexy.

Strange. I don't find the show offensive but Mentat's most recent post is extremely distasteful on offensive, in my opinion. Seems to be an example of drunk posting but I can't be sure.

Tonight's episode didn't seem to be the best but did have some interesting progression. Interesting to see that the ludus is gaining reputation as a place where the upper class can indulge their base desires and, essentially, take advantage of their hosts. In just three episodes we have seen how vice has enabled Batiatus and particularly Lucretia to engage is behavior of lesser morals which is bringing them better success while significantly effecting the moral of many of the slaves.