I felt compelled to give my review in contrast to some of those I have been reading saying this series is aimed at a male demographic. I am educated, gainfully employed, well read, happily married and middle aged.
I love everything about Spartacus.
I think the problem is that some people go into it with specific expectations. Start watching with an open mind.
As film art, it is absolutely beautiful. Some of the visuals are obvious CGIs and in my opinion they were done to enhance the visual experience and it works. I think the director is presenting it as his vision to us. For a television series its stunning to watch.
As a story, it is riveting. They have done a great job baiting the viewer and building interest and depth in the plot. You become fully vested in the characters without even realizing it. There is a natural continuity through it without becoming predictable. So much going on, even the side plots are interesting.
As history, it is what it is. A fictional story based on facts. I know watching this sort of historical saga always piques my interest in true history and I research. Some people get all up in arms about how it really was. I find the way a writer or director fills in the gaps or interprets history interesting and accept it for what it is.
Frankly, this bloody, dirty, depiction of that era is far more believable then some Disneyfied version. (Don't attack. I'm a big Disney fan as well)
As far as the actors and acting is concerned, kudos all around. Lucy Lawless is the big name draw and she is amazing. But equally good is about everyone else in the film whether you like their characters or not, the acting is all top notch. The costuming and even the lack thereof, is beautiful without detracting from the show as a whole. I wouldn't be surprised to see an award nod to the costume designer at some point.
All in all I have found this one of the most worthwhile and entertaining things I have put my time into to date.
Will everyone like? Of course not, for various reasons, just like everything. I just hope they keep making it.
On that note, all the wishes and good thoughts to Andy Whitfield for his improved health.

If you thought HBO's depiction of ancient Rome was graphic and brutal, wait till you see Spartacus: Blood and Sand! Take the excellent scripting work that went into Rome, combine it with the shocking sex and violence of Caligula, mix in a little of the over the top blood spatter of 300 and your expectations will be very well set for Spartacus.

I remember when HBO's Deadwood first came out that some of the public reaction was astonished and skeptic of the portrayal of such a violent and profanity filled Wild Wild West. After decades of Westerns led by squeaky clean John Wayne characters, I'm not surprised. Similar to what Deadwood was going for with the Western, Spratacus leaves nothing for the imagination during its time period. But what makes Spartacus such a classy show is that there's nothing gratuitous. It's all intended to be a very real depiction of how day to day life went in the hierarchies of Rome circa 70 BC. Love, battle, adultery, orgy, torture, rape, murder...it's all there in all its glory...and I mean ALL its glory.

The events of Spartacus take place about 20 years prior to those depicted in the HBO Rome series, and it initially focuses on the historical figure Spartacus' enslavement and rise as a gladiator. As of this writing 7 of 13 scheduled first season episodes have aired, and I was lucky enough to catch them all this past weekend over two days in a Spartucus marathon that Starz was running on one of its alternate channels. After only seven episodes, I can say that I have found one of the best new shows--if not the best--on TV. (Edit 4/19/2010: The season finale this past weekend was phenominal.)

Spartucus is played masterfully by little known Andy Whitfield. And the rest of the cast is pretty much just as little known as Whitfield. Sure, there's Lucy Lawless and John Hannah, but they are / were hardly A-listers. But the entire cast so far give nothing but A-list performances. (Edit 7/8/2010: Whitfield was diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma in early 2010; he has apparently made a full recovery and will begin filming the 2nd season perhaps as early as fall 2010. Great news. Due to the delay in filming of season 2, a short 6-episode prequel to season 1 will air this fall starring Lawless and Hannah.)

My recommendation is to start catching up on this great new show now on Starz On Demand. If you don't get Starz, this series makes the subscription worth it all by itself. But the benefit to waiting for the Blu Ray release is two-fold: The series is certainly worthy of collection so far and on Blu Ray you don't have to wait for the episodes to air on a weekly basis! However you do it, be sure to check out Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

"Spartacus: Blood and Sand" continues cable television's dominance in quality programming outshining all network shows by a landslide. The series debut on Starz TV in January, 2010 and before the series was even broadcast the station ordered two full seasons worth of episodes which shows Starz's dedication to broadcasting high quality progamming. "Sparatacus: Blood and Sand" is a historical weekly drama, made along the same lines as "Rome" and "The Tudors", but with more graphic violence, sex, and language. The series is about a Roman gladiator named Spartacus who is captured and becomes a slave in a gladiator school headed by Batiatus in Capua. There, Spartacus must fight for his freedom, and he ultimately becomes the head of all slaves as others look up to him for his determination and willpower. The first season features 13 episodes all produced where money was no option. The sets, costumes, and location shooting are the best for any series produced for TV and there were times that I had to remind myself that I was not watching a movie, but a mere TV show. Andy Whitfield, an Australian actor, is mesmerizing as Spartacus, and his character is at times often bold, intense, heart-warming, and unapologetic. Lucy Lawless has a supporting role as the wife of Batiatus who is having an affair with sexy gladiator Crixus, played to perfection by Manu Bennett. The one asset the series has is the amount of male flesh that viewers can witness week after week. Obviously great care went into the casting of actors that were buffed and well-built and if your a straight woman or a gay guy you will not be disappointed in the amount of male testosterone that is shown. Full male frontal nudity, mainly by Manu Bennett, is shown as well, which is why the series has a TV-MA rating. A wonderful series, made in the manner of a weekly serial, with excellent writing and acting is what makes "Spartacus" a soon to be Emmy winning show.
This 4 disc set arrives in stores September 21, 2010 and comes with a slew of bonuses including the featurettes "Gladiator Camp", "History Rewritten", "The Hole", "Make-Up Effects", and more; audio commentaries, episodes with enhanced digital effects, trailers, bloopers, and behind-the-scenes footage. For the blu-ray release only there will be four episodes selected that will be extended cuts including scenes that were too graphic to be shown on cable television.