- SWORD AND SANDALS EPICS YOU MISSED MANUAL
- SWORD AND SANDALS EPICS YOU MISSED SERIES
- SWORD AND SANDALS EPICS YOU MISSED TV
All new pages should use the preloadable templates feature on the edit page to add the appropriate basic page markup.
SWORD AND SANDALS EPICS YOU MISSED MANUAL
SWORD AND SANDALS EPICS YOU MISSED SERIES
Nor is the channel considered a haven for original series “Crash,” the contemporary drama starring Dennis Hopper that was based on the Oscar-winning film, was the channel’s first high-profile scripted effort. Many viewers who might want to check out “Spartacus” probably will have to order the premium cable channel because Starz, while widely available on DirecTV and the vast majority of cable operators, has only about 17 million U.S.
ABC’s “Empire” miniseries in 2005 was dissed by critics and failed to connect with a large audience. HBO’s “Rome” performed well in the ratings but was expensive and plagued by production snafus, leading to its cancellation after two seasons. The swords-and-sandals genre can be tricky. Here, Spartacus (Australian actor Andy Whitfield) just wants to kill a lot of rivals so he can get back to his wife.īut whether all this will yield a breakthrough for Starz remains an open question. One way to further that aim? Cue the love story. “We wanted to make it so it would appeal to the widest audience possible, so we didn’t have the female audience being absolutely repulsed by bloodshed,” he added. “We tried to do the Western operatic version of violence and bloodshed,” said Rob Tapert, who serves as executive producer with his creative partners, Joshua Donen and director Sam Raimi (Tapert is also Lawless’ husband).
SWORD AND SANDALS EPICS YOU MISSED TV
The producers are hoping to strike the right balance by offering something not seen anywhere else on TV without possibly scaring away the less adventurous. “Spartacus” is a flashy big-budget attempt to forge a brand, complete with a big-name co-star (Lucy Lawless, erstwhile heroine of the syndicated “Xena: Warrior Princess”) and the heavily stylized comic-book-like use of green-screen technology familiar from movies like “300” and “Sin City.” The cable outlet, best known as an outlet for studio features, is joining the industry’s rush into original series programming. The network, which late last month took the unusual step of ordering a second season before the premiere has even aired, is already calling it “the boldest show on television.”
The Starz take has naked flesh to spare, not to mention more blood than the Red Cross. Viewers who recall the old Kirk Douglas film about the Roman slave who leads an uprising may rub their eyes in disbelief. At least, that’s the version of history on display in “Spartacus: Blood and Sand,” a sword-and-sandals epic that Starz, the premium cable network, rolls out at 9 p.m. Like its sex- and violence-laden ‘Spartacus,’ Starz lives by the sword – Twin Cities Close MenuĪncient Rome’s gladiators may have endured horribly violent lives, but they also saw plenty of overheated sex.