Spartacus: Blood and Sand

:

Season 1
Metascore
52

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 22
  3. Negative: 5 out of 22

Critic Reviews

  1. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Glenn Garvin
    60
    The result is compulsively watchable pulp, provided you have a high threshold for decapitations and copulations, sometimes simultaneous.
  2. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    60
    It's no "Rome," but at least it appears headed more in that direction.
  3. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Hank Stuever
    60
    It's deliciously, marvelously bad, and I was helpless in its grip. It's a long way from Kubrick, but what isn't?
  5. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Verne Gay
    58
    After Spartacus blows most of its special-effects budget on the pilot, it settles into a not-bad sword-and-sandal genre series, a la "Xena" or "Hercules."
  6. San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa Times
    Reviewed by: Chuck Barney
    58
    Some viewers will be riveted to the sex, violence, beautiful nude bods and sensory gluttony of Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Others will be turned off almost instantly.
  7. Kansas City Star
    Reviewed by: Aaron Barnhart
    50
    Though the violence is designed to be gorgeous, like a graphic novel, it doesn’t have the pacing of a comic book. The creators of Spartacus: Blood and Sand seem a little too enamored of their ability to sketch a vast Thracian tableau, a fight scene, or a coliseum full of cheering CGI Italians.
  8. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Robert Bianco
    50
    There's no denying that Spartacus does what it sets out to do fairly well--and in a way that doesn't duplicate anything else now on TV. Were it broadcast free over the air where children might find it, one might blanch, but that's not the case.
  9. Dallas Morning News
    Reviewed by: Cary Darlig
    50
    Toto, we're not in I, Claudius, or even Rome, anymore. The problem, though, is that this Spartacus is so over the top that it begs to be considered as total camp.
  10. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    40
    Spartacus is derivative as entertainment and primitively pandering as a diverting spectacle of campy historical fiction.
  11. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    40
    The trappings up front are so over the top that to say you watch Spartacus to see a contemporary reworking of a cinema classic is like saying you go to Hooters for the food.

Awards & Rankings

97
#97 Best TV Season of 2010
5
#5 Most Discussed TV Season of 2010
8
#8 Most Shared TV Season of 2010

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 474 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 406 out of 474
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 474
  3. Negative: 49 out of 474
  1. JDnator
    Oct 4, 2011
    10
    the series starts of SLOW and on a VERY small budget but the story just gets better and better. so some of the actors may not be "hollywood"the series starts of SLOW and on a VERY small budget but the story just gets better and better. so some of the actors may not be "hollywood" (whatever that is) level, but they never are in these things and to be honest i have no issues with it anyway as i have bonded to many of the characters in it with no probs. the ONE proper grumble i have is that they do need to tone down the nudity and bad language. i know i sound like a 90 year old there but its all a little overdone to the respect it losses its meaning SOMETIMES, a lot of the time its good though. its a crying shame one of the lady's (no spoiler) has to die so soon because she was HOT. any way the main reason i give this a 9 is because i have never felt so much about characters in a series, this has to be good because im engaged in the story. a story which gets very good later in the series. the episode "party favors" shocked me so much to the core i was just left speechless. no other tv series has had that effect on me so for that i think this is a WIN and i cant wait for the next one.… Full Review »
  2. Gio86
    Sep 27, 2011
    10
    Highly entertaining, well acted, controversial, bloody TV Viagra. The stories and the characters who portray them get more and moreHighly entertaining, well acted, controversial, bloody TV Viagra. The stories and the characters who portray them get more and more enticing, as the show goes on and on it thrills and makes you get down on your knees and beg for more.… Full Review »
  3. dj_stevie_c
    Aug 23, 2010
    8
    After watching the first episode I wasn't sure what I was getting into. The second and third episodes didn't help much but I really foundAfter watching the first episode I wasn't sure what I was getting into. The second and third episodes didn't help much but I really found myself getting into the series and the characters as the series went along. I think some may have been a bit over-sensitive about the nudity and blood, yes they are a bit over done sure but some of it IS plot worthy, for example showing how the slaves were treated by those above them, and how the Romans viewed anyone who wasn't one of them as something to be poked, prodded and laughed at (or cheered as they are killed), the plots towards the end of the series are woven together strongly and the seriously evil Batiatus and Asher pull off some stunning moves. Perhaps some who want to compare this to gladiator and 300 should watch those and then watch again, style wise I can't argue, but overall they are very different beasts. I found myself caught up in the sorrow of the minor characters like Crixus and Barca, the sad Mira who is just abused over and over again, and the sad Varro and his wife who, in my opinion, has the best 'kill' scene ever put down on film. I hope they learn plenty from what they did with the first season and I look forwards to more. It's not perfect, but it's very enjoyable.… Full Review »
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