Spartacus: Blood and Sand - The Complete First Season

Spartacus: Blood and Sand is an adaptation of the story of Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator who led a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic.

The series starts with an unnamed Thracian warrior (Andy Whitfield) who pledges his support to Rome in exchange for their military assistance against hordes of Barbarians. But a betrayal from the Romans occurs, and the warrior and his wife Sura (Erin Cummings) are captured and separated. The warrior is taken to Capua to be executed in the arena, but there he bests four gladiators, wins the crowd over, and catches the eye of Batiatus (John Hannah), who buys the warrior and dubs him Spartacus.

Batiatus' wife Lucretia (Lucy Lawless) is hungry for power, and having strong gladiators can help. Then Batiatus makes a deal with Spartacus: keep winning, and I will find your wife and bring her here. Disaster strikes Sura at Batiatus's men's hands, and that ignites a desire for freedom in Spartacus.

The show is very violent and offers copious amounts of male and female nudity. Whitfield really makes the series, and it's a shame that a bout with cancer has meant he has had to drop out of Season Two.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand is rich in extras. There are commentaries for about half the episodes, with Andy Whitfield, Lucy Lawless, creator Steven S. DeKnight, director Michael Hurst, and others participating. There's the standard behind the scenes featurette, but going deeper are featurettes dedicated to the intense training the actors must undergo, and the changes that were made to the original Spartacus story for the series. There's also a montage of the best action moments of the season, a featurette showing how the body armor Andy Whitfield used was cast, and more.