tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828041471522671543.post7480756713511038697..comments2023-10-29T06:19:34.723-06:00Comments on Tim's TV Talk: Spartacus delivers one of the greatest series finales of all timeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828041471522671543.post-44155640901142751082016-03-22T14:40:21.553-06:002016-03-22T14:40:21.553-06:00Spartacus left us with the one great truth we cann...Spartacus left us with the one great truth we cannot avoid.<br /><br />In the end, you lose. Money, power, corporate interests will ultimately overwhelm you, crush you and destroy the hopes and dreams you foolishly hold to.<br /><br />And you're left, like Naevia, or Gannicus ultimately alone and sacrificed for a useless cause that was never realistic.<br /><br />The series serves as an amazing allegory for our own cultural situation. Spartacus and his rebellion serve no other purpose than to elevate those that hunt them down and ultimately dispose of them. The handful of his followers who do escape represent a ridiculously small percentage of the people he lead to their deaths while they followed a foolhardy dream of rebellion and freedom. And what was the realization of their dream? Starvation, death from the elements? Death from wounds? What was the value of the freedom they gained? Was it as wondrous as the rotted horse meat the children scrapped for in the refugee camps?<br /><br />No, Spartacus met no glorious end, earned to great and honored death. He was merely stabbed in the back by a nameless soldier ordered by a Roman General. A Roman General who throughout the series had time and again out maneuvered Spartacus.<br /><br />It was a most disappointing series and a very painful period in history. I would have it differently, certainly. I take no pleasure in the review. Please don't misinterpret my summary here. I only point out with complete clarity the utter bleak and dismal inevitability of the slave rebellion defeat.<br /><br />Essentially what the series depicted was a glamorized account of Spartacus running away while the Romans chased him down and eventually slaughtered all who followed him. Painful, but true.<br /><br />What is a crime is injecting characters and writing into the story to make such a painful and intractable event in history so personal and difficult for viewers. Why make us care so much about characters only to slaughter them so meaninglessly. Ultimately, it's cruel. We can take no hope from Spartacus doomed rebellion. We can take no comfort from Naevia and Crixus' love. We can take no pride in Gannicus' stand against Caesar. We can feel nothing but horror and pity at Kore's death.<br /><br />No, this series was meant from the beginning to be painful and inflammatory. Well played sir. Well played. But let's not pretend there was any hope or positivism to be gleaned from the finale or any other part of the program.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04396807469227570093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828041471522671543.post-40513875382358569082016-01-02T16:45:03.955-07:002016-01-02T16:45:03.955-07:00I could very well write a massive reply to this du...I could very well write a massive reply to this due to how much I loved this show. <br /><br />I have only just now watched it after it being recommended to me for so long. I saw clips of the stylised violence and thought "not for me". but I was so wrong. Its particular style of violence (400 in nature) was only a small part of the show and its multitude of layers and complexity, and drifted from it in time anyway to something a bit more realistic. <br />I thought that it would lack... maturity: I judged it by its proverbial book cover. <br /><br />I have to admit that I agree with almost 100% of your review of Spartacus. Even your thoughts on the Sybil character. I think that the characters of Sybil and Castus would have been used better and fleshed out had the series run longer. However Castus did at least serve to show Agron's jealously and in result his fierce love for Nasir. <br /><br />I also have to echo how Spartacus wonderfully puts big Hollywood productions to shame with its final episode. I didn't giggle like a school girl at the hidden trench but jumped off my chair and roared like an idiot :). Very unlike me. <br />I never thought such and epic battle would be possible outside of a 100+ million dollar movie production. It truly does stand as a rival to Lord of the Rings in that regard. The emotional depth was brilliant and heartbreaking. Very pleased that its importance was not ignored. The very end had me sitting, crying like emotional wreak. And - like you - I am so pleased that no "afterlife" or allegories of it were used to soften the brutality of the events that characters throughout the series suffered and the impact that it has on the viewer. <br /><br />The only place I disagree with you on is your desire for a bad guy to kill. I think the ending with Spartacus and Crassus is perfect. We don't need another bad guy to kill just so that we can feel catharsis. I like how we are left without it. It keeps the "bad guy" focus on Crassus. A "bad guy" we understand - even like - but still hate due to his many faults. I like that level of depth.<br /><br /><br />Spartacus is one of the best television productions I have ever seen and I have never seen and ending to a TV series that was as amazing (or epic!) or that moved me as much as this. The final battle... the brutal but emotionally impactful deaths of so many of the main characters... Spartacus' last words... when the life drained from his eyes... So brilliantly well done.<br /><br />I was a fool to ignore it while it was airing. <br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16388712592694482765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828041471522671543.post-65113415597386488002014-11-12T02:21:20.462-07:002014-11-12T02:21:20.462-07:00That is a very new subject based on tv series rank...That is a very new subject based on <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list-of/tv" rel="nofollow">tv series ranking</a>. Actually TV’s shows are less introduced by me, but still I am curious to know its status rank wise. Thanks for contributing in my search through this blog.<br />dennymourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04672467802142725375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828041471522671543.post-23028398380611460712013-12-08T03:48:15.676-07:002013-12-08T03:48:15.676-07:00First off, thanks for reading and thanks for your ...First off, thanks for reading and thanks for your compliments and thanks for leaving a thoughtful and expansive and passionate comment, the best kind for a blogger to receive.<br /><br />However, I'm afraid - having just done a full marathon of all 39 episodes of Spartacus last month - I still can't really agree with your thoughts on Sibyl. And yes, comparing her to Saxa as Gannicus' love interest plays a part in that, I can't deny. But so does comparing her to Laeta as we track the journey of a Sinuessa en Valle native, and even comparing her to Oenomaus as the relationship Gannicus holds most important in his heart.<br /><br />I can't speak for anyone else of course, and if she is beloved in the fandom (I don't participate in many active internet fandoms so I honestly don't know) then more power to them and her. But for me, personally, she could be flat-out deleted from War of the Damned and it would have virtually zero impact on my enjoyment of it.<br /><br />Your thoughts on War of the Damned's lessened character interaction is interesting and not something I'd really considered. If it's the case, I wonder if a little of screentime that would have otherwise been devoted to characterization fell victim to plot mechanics since they only had 1 seasons of 10 episodes and tons of story left to get through.<br /><br />I would have to say that, in terms of character dynamics, none of Spartacus probably beats Blood and Sand and Gods of the Arena, for the extremely simple and straightforward reason that everyone being stuck in Batiatus' ludus together literally FORCES character interaction. The writers had a lot of fresh opportunities when the show left the ludus and more still when they left Capua, but it did arguably make them work harder to have everyone interact.<br /><br />And yeah, the Castus story didn't quite work either... but he never actually ended up breaking Agron and Nasir up, so in the end I was fine just kind of giving it a shrug and being ok with it. He got to participate in a couple cool fight scenes, which is better than nothin'.Tim Kraemerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15228211162790290588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828041471522671543.post-85552935987012782272013-12-06T02:18:27.365-07:002013-12-06T02:18:27.365-07:00Oh wow, lovely review of the finale and I have to ...Oh wow, lovely review of the finale and I have to agree, Spartacus is a show which defied everything and became a legend on our tv screens. There is nothing like it. Very few shows can deliver as gut wrenching and satisfying episodes as this show has, and it has never once failed to entertain it's audience. The finale was bound to be nothing less than pure epic.<br /><br />However, I do respectfully disagree regarding your opinion on Sibyl, especially if it being made in contrast to Saxa. As far as I saw, both are secondary characters and it is unfortunate that on the rebel side, the most layered females had been just 2: Naevia & Mira. We don't really get to spend much time with most of them, but it may be due to the circumstances they were in (also their deaths early on). I do think considering Saxa as a more worthy character based on her being such a bad ass (which she is) is overly simplistic. Sibyl's strength is shown in her faith, optimism & resilience to see good in others. Even attempts to fight back Laurus and Heracleo but fails because of her lack of skill. So she's courageous & endearing in her own way. People also like her because she's a realistic character, she does not just pick up a sword & magically turn into a warrior. She represents the victims Spartacus is so eager to save. And given Gannicus' character, he's always been attracted to the innocents and it's no surprise that the people he is truly close to are so different than him. So it was made obvious early on that he would eventually fall for Sibyl. She is an adored character and I think her story line with Gannicus was a simple, yet effective way to turn Gannicus into a lovable hero. Needless to say, we can't expect an epic romance like Crixus & Naevia but the Gannicus-Sibyl story line served its purpose pretty smoothly in my opinion.<br /><br />My personal complaint from the last season would actually be the lack of character interactions on the rebel side. It's a striking contrast to Vengeance where we got to explore a lot of different characters and spent time with them, but unfortunately in the last season, we barely have any intimate conversations or opportunities to connect with the rebels. I have to admit, I was looking forward to Saxa's character development this season, but despite having been in a season earlier on, the audience never gets the opportunity to get to know her and to connect with her. Also, I feel the Castus story line was a little off, maybe because we know how desperately in love Agron-Nasir already are? What was the point? It was a miss for me. <br /><br />Lastly, I would thank steven deknight for introducing such epic characters like Crassus and Caesar to the final installment. Even Heracleo left a great impression on me. <br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13458051016309161764noreply@blogger.com