Peter Mensah | Esoteric Fish - Shallow and Pedantic

‘Under Spartacus’ leadership a villa is liberated. Oenomaus, however, decides to throw himself into the brutal pits.Despite his wife’s protests Glaber decides to support Lucretia’s prophecies.‘

While the opening of the second (Gods of the Arena was a prequel) season of Spartacus felt like it was trying to play catch up, A Place In This World seems to be laying the ground for things to come. There were some fantastic moments in this episode, but the pacing of the show is suffering from needing to cover too many characters. One of the strengths of the previous series’ was the focus on a very small group of characters that audiences grew to love (or hate) with a passion. Continue reading →

‘Spartacus realizes that becoming the leader of a mass of freed slaves can be challenging and he struggles to keep the rebellious group intact when news of Claudius Glaber’s arrival in Capua reaches him.‘

Spartacus: Blood and Sand was one of the big surprises of early 2010. Unlike Starz’s other disappointing series Camelot, Spartacus‘ stylised combination of blood and sex served as the flavour of the show rather than the substance. Andy Whitfield’s titular character had great screen presence and a stellar supporting cast including the likes of John Hannah and Lucy Lawless which made for a riveting series of double and triple crosses that led to a satisfying and brutal finale. Unfortunately, it was announced during the gap between Season 1 and 2 that Andy Whitfield had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The show creators, rather than taking the easy route of recasting decided to shoot a prequel series – Gods of the Arena – that turned out even better than the original. Sadly, Andy lost his battle with the disease last September; he did however give his blessing to the man who is filling Spartacus’ big shoes: Liam McIntyre. Continue reading →