The STARZ Network has a unique list of shows to its credit. With Kelsey Grammer winning the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series (Drama) for his role on Boss, the network has established itself to be a reliable source of awesome television, except for the occasional hit-and-miss (*cough* Camelot). But the show that really put the network on the map and made it a noticeable force to be reckoned with has to be everyone’s favorite blood-and-gore fest, the Spartacus series. The newest installment of the series, Spartacus: Vengeance officially returned this week, and it placed the viewers smack dab in the middle of the action, so much so that you can almost taste the blood as it sprayed across the television screen!
With the fall of House Batiatus, Spartacus and his band of gladiators have been on the rampage, attacking unsuspecting bands of Roman soldiers and pilfering food & supplies from wherever they can. The slave rebellion is starting to gain momentum, and Gaius Claudius Glaber, now a Praetor, as well as Spartacus’ original nemesis, is dispatched to Capua to resolve the situation. The rebels have taken shelter underground and have divided themselves into two factions, one under Spartacus and the other under Crixus, who leads his own band of Gauls. While Spartacus is still focused on keeping the rebellion alive and bringing down the Roman empire, Crixus continued his desperate search for Naevia after she was whisked away and sold to an unknown buyer before the massacre at House Batiatus. With this background in mind, this episode gave us a comfortable opportunity to judge Liam McIntyre as Spartacus. Make no mistake, Andy Whitfield was absolutely perfect in his role as the legendary gladiator. But if the show was to go on, the producers needed an extraordinarily broad set of shoulders to take over the reins from him. I thought McIntyre was fairly impressive as Spartacus, although he does lack the charisma and depth that Whitfield brought to the role. Fans of the show will need time to get used to a new Spartacus, and it’s up to him to make the role his own. But nowhere during the 55 minutes of the episode did I feel disappointed by his performance.