“Spartacus take it up another notch with long slow motion scenes of beheadings and augmented reality blood”- Miss Eva Vavoom

Spartacus is the goriest bit of violence porn ever produced for television. Of course it’s also a tittie fest but that in itself is not offensive at all.

Spartacus is also the first TV series produced for the Doom generation, who have grown up with over the top violence in video games. Just when the violence reaches that level where it will make you hurl, the makers of Spartacus take it up another notch with long slow motion scenes of beheadings and augmented reality blood. Spartacus has the gore level of Kill Bill with the detail application of C.S.I. However, it goes much farther than both in its depiction of gore and as such is a landmark series.

I am not offended by gore, I watch C.S.I. religiously but it’s inside the body shots tell a tale of injury and they are stunningly produced. It’s the same technique that was brilliantly done in the movie Three Kings. I am also keen to watch people hit each other or poke each other with sharp objects live for sports whether in the contact of BDSM piercing or cutting play or during martial arts or fight training, so I am a fan of blood sports.

However, with Spartacus it’s more of a “How can we shoot someone getting mortally wounded and make it even more unbearable to watch?” While the production value is good, it’s the editing that tries too hard with annoying swishy cuts that distract from the content.

What’s missing?

Since this series is made for guys from the status bar generation, I would add indicators at the bottom counting down the time until the next sex scene and the next gore fest… Oh and let’s not forget the frag count!

ETA on May 1, 2010: I have uploaded a bit from You Have Been Watching with Charlie Brooker as he takes on Spartacus: Blood and Sand. In it, Liza Tarbuck, English actress and television and radio presenter, says of Spartacus: Blood and Sand: “It does feel outrageously macho and it needn’t have been to be better.” and I wholeheartedly agree with her. Spartacus is so gory that it makes it unwatchable. I have suffered through more gore in 4 episodes than I care to witness in my whole life. The rest of the show is great!