Spartacus' Inspiring Hero, Gone too Soon

Spartacus: Blood and Sand leading man Andy Whitfield died last night in his home in Sydney after battling non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for the last year (he was originally diagnosed in March 2010 then declared to be in remission in May, after two months of treatment).

His role in the Starz series having been recast for season two (his replacement was Australian actor Liam McIntyre), Andy Whitfield was seen as a model for gracious behaviour in Hollywood and a hero for his resilience in the face of illness.

The Welsh-Australian former engineer, model and actor leaves behind 2 children and his loving wife Vashti who was with him Sunday night when he passed.

Starz president and CEO Chris Albrecht spoke for the cast and crew of Whitfield's former star vehicle, saying "We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Andy Whitfield. We were fortunate to have worked with Andy in Spartacus and came to know that the man who played a champion on-screen was also a champion in his own life. Andy was an inspiration to all of us as he faced this very personal battle with courage, strength and grace. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time. He will live on in the hearts of his family, friends and fans."

The stunningly handsome Whitfield was in legendary shape at the time of diagnosis and a mere 39-years-old when he died, a terrifying reminder of the utter randomness of such things.

He will be remembered not only as the infamous warrior he portrayed but for the good fight he fought offscreen, for his grace and humility and for the courage he inspired in others.

Spartacus: Gods of the Arena

When Spartacus: Blood and Sand star Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with cancer and forced to take a break from the television show that truly redefined what gratuitous nudity meant (as well as providing incredibly solid plotting and acting), the network stepped in and decided to provide a stop-gap measure: a six season mini-series that would follow the travails of some key Blood and Sand players five years prior to the events of the main series. The idea, I'd imagine, was to satiate the blood lust of the audience while allowing the star to recover, get back his six pack and come back to the series.

Unfortunately, the second goal was successfulness (Whitfield is still battling cancer, and the series itself resumed shooting in the original timeline with a new star who has very big shoes to fill). But in terms of creating a compelling tv show...

Spartacus: Gods of the Arena could easily have been an entertaining diversion. With the ending a seemingly foregone conclusion and with the star of the original show, Gods of the Arena probably should have been a suspense free exersice in enjoying the endless variations of "Jupiter's Cock" that Batiatus is capable of creating.

Instead, Gods of the Arena has taken the excellent plot lines, character development, set dressing, and yes heavy use of the Roman-period to excuse orgies that were Blood and Sands' bread and butter, and has managed to actually elevate the show by adding in a sense of thematic and moralistic brilliance that was just beginning to develop by the end of BaS. It has infused the series with a fascinating debate of "fate versus freewill" that has reinvigorated my belief in the power of genre television to speak to infinite life truths.

On top of that, its taken the violence and sex that had seemed mostly like window dressing (and button pushing) during the original series and laid grief, pain, pleasure, and pathos into them. You feel the death of the gladiators in the arena, the helplessness of the slaves in the ludus, and the desperate lust for power that drives its principal actors, Lucretia and Batiatus, towards increasingly stupid and reckless moves. Knowing where the characters end up gives the series a tragic glow that does nothing to damper the shocks at watching the way that their options were whittled away.

Almost more impressively, the show deeply invests us in new characters despite our knowledge that they weren't around five years later (and therefore are probably dead). This keeps anything from seeming concrete in terms of what we think we know.

Spartacus: Gods of the Arena may be the brainchild of tragedy, but it is a shining example of how great television can remain regardless of the reasons for its creation. Part of me almost wishes they were always planning on telling this story, because it's a great one.

Spartacus Arrives on DVD

Spartacus: Blood and Sand arrived on DVD a couple weeks ago. And though the Starz series has had some tumultuous times (star Andy Witfield was diagnosed with cancer and had to back out of season 2), it not only struck a chord with My TV reviewer Tessa, but is set to return strong with a prequel in January. Here's what Tessa had to say about season 1 and the special features included on the DVD:

 

"Spartacus is a great series. It really has a different feel from most tv shows. The aim of the series is to create a televisual graphic novel, which they achieve brilliantly with their use of green screen and fake blood. The effect is amazing and probably the best feature of the series"

 

"The DVD special features offer the viewer a good understanding of how the show got started, the vision of the creators and how it was executed. There's a good focus on the intent of the series: not to create a historically accurate depiction of the legend of Spartacus but to make a great and compelling story, which allowed them to play with facts and really develop relationships between the characters. The special features also give a great sense of how fun it was on set: "gladiator boot camp" is definitely a highlight.  There's also an endearing featurette on the filming of Spartacus and Varro in the sewage pit, it's priceless. A little more detail on the period aspect of the show would have been a nice addition, but the special features that are there are great."

"Now, if only Andy Witfield were healthy so we could see the resolution of that crazy cliffhanger!"

All Hail Spartacus! Bringer of Rain!

It started as a guilty pleasure. Innocently wandering over to a friend's house, I feasted my eyes upon a show whose entire mission statement seemed to be: get characters naked, have them kill people, other people have sex. In other words, it was exactly the kind of over-the-top ridiculousness that one could be excused for getting sucked into.

And at first, I thought it was a crappy show that made up for how crappy it was with absurdist and incredibly gratuitous nudity and violence. But something really funny happened as I began to sink my teeth into Spartacus's first season on Starz: I sort of fell in love.

Because Spartacus: Blood and Sand isn't exactly a normal TV Show (it airs on Starz, it has a shortened season, it's practically pornography), and therefore doesn't follow exactly normal TV reviews, it was actually surprising on a level that most shows can't be. On top of that, beneath the over-the-top orgies of both the carnal and bloody varieties, this show had some of the best characters ever created. It almost defies writing about them. Suffice it to say that Battiatus and Lucretia (the power couple that owns all the Gladiators, played by Lucy Lawless and John Hannah) were near perfect evil creations. And in Spartacus, viewers had the type of manly sentimental badasssery that is the only way to redeem a character who spent the majority of every episode drenched in other people's blood.

The dialogue, always flavored with a Shakesperean lilt, only improved as the series went on, as did its fast-paced plotting and excellent use of supporting and recurring characters. By the time that bat shit finale finally came around, it seemed an impossible task to truly tie up all the loose ends flapping about. Of course, the finale told you exactly how it was going to do that right in its episode title: Kill Them All.

The finale was a bloody, sex-filled apocalypse, literally awash with dead bodies and carnage, and it totally hit the reset button for next season. On a different show, I'd be worried that nearly half the principle cast left the finale irredeamably, well, dead, but on Spartacus, it only opens up further ridiculous and amazing possibilities.

Season Finale: A

Season: A-

SIDE NOTE: All episodes of Spartacus: blood and sand are available for free on Netflix Watch Instantly.