Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (TV) (2011)

Before the days of Spartacus, the house of Batiatus strived to gain prominence in the city of Capua. With his father Titus (Jeffrey Thomas) temporarily out of the picture, Quintus Batiatus (John Hannah) takes control of the family ludus and recruits an incredibly skilled but also extremely cocky gladiator named Gannicus (Dustin Clare) whom he hopes will elevate the house of Batiatus to the levels of prosperity and respect he craves. With his wife Lucretia (Lucy Lawless) at his side, Quintus schemes to gain every advantage he can, including making sure his fighters will be prominently featured at the opening of a state-of-the-art arena. Gannicus is rewarded for his victories with drink and women, and Quintus maneuvers every asset at his disposal to his advantage. Unfortunately, the house of Batiatus's rising fortunes will not go unchallenged. Rival Tullius (Stephen Lovatt) schemes to acquire the champion gladiator Gannicus for his own house, while friend Solonius (Craig Walsh Wrightson) proves he may not be a man Quintus can fully trust. Meanwhile, the house of Batiatus purchases a rough and unskilled gladiator named Crixus (Manu Bennett) to fill in the ranks while a veteran and very proud gladiator named Oenomaus (Peter Mensah) finds himself suddenly thrust into a position of great prominence in the house. In the world of Roman Capua, it's every man for himself both inside the arena and out of it, but there's always room for sex and wine even in the midst of personal and political chaos and excessive bloodshed at every turn.

As most fans probably already know, "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" is a prequel rather a sequel to the wildly popular "Spartacus: Blood and Sand." In fact, the title character doesn't make an appearance in this short six-episode "mini-season;" the name is more of an identifier for a program set in the fictional universe of "Spartacus" rather than an outright reference to the same hero who appeared in "Blood and Sand." Like its predecessor, this season is defined by its sex and violence. Unlike its predecessor, these elements play more as the dominant feature in the show rather than a supporting – albeit highly gratuitous – a piece of a greater puzzle. "Gods of the Arena" seems determined to overshadow the first season by pushing its limits further than ever before; the first episode, in fact, feels like little more than an hour of visual extremes. Blood gushes all over the screen, a head is lopped off at the mouth with extremely graphic results, sexual encounters between numerous participants run rampant, and full-frontal male and female nudity is the norm. That's not even to mention public defecation and urination, one time on a down and beaten character. Granted the episode introduces audiences to this season's gladiatorial focus – the womanizing, drunken, self-absorbed Gannicus – re-introduces the conniving couple Quintus Batiatus and wife Lucretia, and sets the stage for the rise of two of season one's most notable characters, Doctore (Oenomaus) and Crixus. Nevertheless, this iteration never quite finds that near-perfect balance that defined season one, and it's easy to see why.

The primary problem facing season two is its status as a prequel show. No matter how difficult, unbeatable, or unbelievable the situations that face the characters may be, the specter of the happenings of the first season – notably its exemplary finale – hang over the entire six episodes. On that note, audiences just becoming familiar with the series will definitely want to start here rather than with "Blood and Sand." The show is still effective and the plots manage to shape themselves both within a compartmentalized in-season structure and within the context of the greater whole, but ultimately there's something of an absence of mystery that can't help but to somewhat lessen the overall impact of this season's arc. However, veteran "Spartacus" audiences may feel more free to become absorbed in the story as it comes into focus on both planes and enjoy the developments that see Quintus and Lucretia become more than irrelevant pawns under Titus's shadow, Oenomaus's transformation from skilled gladiator to ludus Doctore, and Crixus's rise from humble beginnings to a force to be reckoned with in the arena. Still, despite some new faces and a timeframe several years prior to the arrival of Spartacus on the scene, "Gods of the Arena" doesn't feel all that different from the first season in terms of its visual stylings and willingness to cross boundaries. Take a clip from this season and compare it to anything from the other, and chances are that, at a glance, they'll be practically indistinguishable one from the other.

Love it or hate it, see past the sex and violence or not, there's no denying that "Gods of the Arena" is a well-written (if not a bit overzealous with its use of another word for "rooster") and strongly-acted production. Even its graphic novel/comic book stylings are highly effective in creating an alluring, almost otherworldly atmosphere, even if some of the more general special effects shots aren't very far removed from low-end SyFy-style renderings. Even just superficially, the show does a great job of demonstrating the opulence and sexual deviance of its time. The show thrives on political maneuvering and sexual manipulation as a means of personal gain and exploitation, with the gladiator battles the ultimate source of pride and social mobility for the upper crust. It contrasts nicely with the fighters who do what they do not always out of a sense of duty, but rather for self-fulfillment and/or other ulterior motives that are sometimes easily assessed, and at others shrouded in multistage and multi-participant uncertainty. The two are nicely complementary, and where the show really works is in the way it makes its characters so superficially one-dimensional yet internally complex at the same time. Nothing happens without a purpose, no word is uttered without a secondary meaning behind it. To that end, the performances are strong and borderline exemplary; John Hannah's career-defining performance as the scheming and sex-crazed Batiatus is almost the stuff of legend, so perfectly absorbed into the character he is in every scene. The supporting cast is quite good, too, given that they almost all need be not only quality performers but also centerfold quality human beings to ensure the series reaches peak visual over-exaggeration with no blouse not bursting at the seams and no muscle anything but perfectly defined and bulging to the max.

01. The Girlfriend Experience: Complete Season 1 & 2 (2016-2017)
02. Cathouse: The Series (2005) Season 1 [18+]
03. Cathouse: The Series (2007) Season 2 [18+]
04. Tell Me You Love Me (TV Series) (2007) [18+] Complete Series
05. Chemistry (TV Series) (2011) [18+]
06. Satisfaction (TV Series) (2007-2010): Complete (3 Seasons)
07. Surrogate (TV Series) (2017) Season 01
08. Spartacus Complete Season 1: Blood and Sand (2010)