The Show
By some standards, the Spartacus: Blood and Sand The Complete First Season is just the greatest TV show in the history of history. I didn't have my stopwatch handy, but second for second it might have more sex and violence than any series I've ever seen, and enough profanity to make Deadwood seem like Davey and Goliath. (The abundance of F-words and C-words was actually bordering on distraction, but I don't want to seem square so I'll put this observation in parentheses.)
This Starz original series is a very different Spartacus from Stanley Kubrick's feature film, clearly inspired by the movie 300 (and Gladiator, to state the truly obvious), right down to specific shots and filming techniques. But if 300 sought to faithfully bring the imagery of a published comic book to life, then Spartacus is a work of live-action drama seemingly destined to be immortalized in four-color pages.
Here, an able-bodied, honor-bound Thracian (Andy Whitfield) allies himself with the Roman army and goes to war against a common foe. It's not a good fit, things don't work out too well, and he winds up in an arena for public execution, only to survive and win the hearts of the people. From there it's off to gladiator school, where he becomes a champion.
This season is fraught with political intrigue and personal drama, and lots of action both on the sand and between the figurative sheets. It all leads to a major season-ending revolt, with more to come, hopefully: Season Two has been delayed due to the star's recent health issues.
The Picture
The 1.78:1 image is quite good for TV-on-Blu-ray, a trifle soft, with a kiss of noise sometimes owing to the tremendous detail and daring use of shadow. The special effects don't quite live up to the ambitions of this series, looking like... well, special effects and not the events they depict, particularly difficult to hide in high resolution. Blacks look natural and colors are quite strong, although the virtual gallons of digitally-added blood don't always match. There's some streaking in fast motion, but many of the static, well-lit/-focused shots are quite lovely.
The Sound
I found myself wishing there was more than music--which is quite effective--in the rears. There is some real Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround action behind us, some rudimentary environmental sounds, but the mix favors the front. Even a climactic cheer inside a 360-degree arena was smaller than expected. Oh well, it's TV, and at least everything is well-recorded and cleanly presented, and the bold audio editing of a fevered flashback provides occasional sonic fun.
The Extras
Many of the folks behind the show return to add their reflections via audio commentaries on more than half of the 13 episodes. Some (like writer/creator/executive producer Steven S. DeKnight) contribute to more than one track. Participants include directors Rick Jacobson, Michael Hurst and Jesse Warn, writer Brent Fletcher, executive producers Rob Tapert and Joshua Donen, star Whitfield and co-stars Erin Cummings, Lucy Lawless, Viva Bianca, Nick E. Tarabay, Peter Mensah and Katrina Law.
The series also supports movieIQ+sync (enhanced to also work with computers and certain smartphones) via BD-Live, pushing quite a bit of show biz data right to our screen while we watch. Spartacus Historicus: Pop-Up History adds an optional on-screen scroll of pertinent facts, which can be paused if we need to read more slowly.
From here it's featurettes galore, beginning with the broad "Spartacus: Blood and Sand Behind-the-Scenes" (15 minutes) and the seven-and-a-half-minute fight scene montage "Spartacus: Battle Royale." "Gladiator Boot Camp" reveals the intensive preparations undertaken by the actors, "Grime and Punishment: The Hole" takes us into one of the nastier sets, and "Andy Gets Plastered" details the star's uncomfortable molding/casting rigors for makeup purposes.
"Legend Re-Imagined" justifies the creators' subjective, selective approach to history, while "Oh, Those Randy Romans" lays bare the orgies and other hi-jinks. "Shooting Green: The Shadow of Death" illustrates the underlying green-screen visual process used for so much of the show, and lastly "Exposing Your Ludus" shares the lighter moments as the warriors clown around between takes. These are each just a few minutes long, and everything is happily in HD.
Exclusive to Blu-ray are extended versions of eight selected episodes, including the pilot and the finale.
Final Thoughts
Jam-packed with nudity, inappropriate language and almost cartoonish levels of graphic violence, Spartacus: Blood and Sand is not for everyone. But if you find modern depictions of bawdy Roman times appealing, and don't subscribe to Starz (or if you do but want relive the adventure), then this first-season Blu-ray set belongs in your collection.
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