The one hundred and ninety-sixth TV show: #861 Spartacus
Having watched a good chunk of the first season of Spartacus, it's a frustrating show. Its start is undoubtably weak, with the titular Spartacus (a slave name, named after the more famous revolt leader as he is set to repeat) being quite unlikeable and hard to root for. There isn't much interiority and the way he's closed off and refuses to engage with anything gets quite frustrating. The show goes for a lot more shock value and excessive amount of blood, but the over the top, mediocre CGI (even for its day) is distracting and laughable. After a few episodes and a change in showrunners, it does pick up and the characters become more interesting, the focus shifts, and we see more about how Spartacus could survive in this world, but it's quite uneven even after that, with some shock twists coming in too early to have an impact, and stopping you getting a more satisfying followup later. With that said, when it works, it works well. John Hannah and Lucy Lawless do well when given the chance to, even if the show doesn't always give them much to work with, and it feels like Andy Whitfield grows into the role as a number of the performers around him do good work as well. It's the effects, and at times the writing, that let it down, but it's enough to make me want to continue to watch it - even if I can't deny having muscled shirtless men feature regularly might have kept me drawn in. Well, whatever it takes to stay entertained, right?