01-25-2010, 02:19 PM
The Producers claim: “Pretty quickly, the audience has to realize they aren’t in Kansas anymore."
The viewers may not be in Kansas, but they are certainly not in ancient Rome either...
http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/2 ... 10.article
If sex sells, TV programmers are adding inventory to an already humongous sale.
Viewers are seeing full-frontal male nudity; heterosexual, homosexual and group sex, and graphic scenes rarely — if ever — seen on mainstream TV. And that’s just on pay-cable Starz’s fornication-heavy, 13-episode “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” (9 p.m. Fridays), a “300”-meets-“Caligula” epic about the Roman Empire’s notorious slave/gladiator.
‘Spartacus’: Roman hands
Initially pitched to NBC in tamer form, “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” oozes explicit content.
“The whole thing was pushing the boundaries on pretty much every level,” says co-executive producer Robert Tapert, who is married to “Spartacus” star Lucy Lawless. “Once we wound up on [premium pay cable], we were able to really push the envelope.”
Lawless portrays a conniving social climber who is nude in some scenes, commits adultery in others and uses sex to manipulate frenemies and family. One episode shows Lawless’ character and her gladiator-camp-owner husband (John Hannah) manually stimulated by slaves before having sex. Upcoming episodes feature orgies and a gladiator whose large endowment ultimately leads to his downfall.
Lawless concedes “Spartacus” isn’t for everyone: “Pretty quickly, the audience has to realize they aren’t in Kansas anymore. There will be [viewers] who are truly horrified and switch this off.”
Of course, Starz executives hope for the opposite effect, and they believe “Spartacus’ ” underlying sex-and-gore themes will be provocative attention-grabbing devices to bolster viewership. They’ve already ordered a second season.
“People are going to stop in their tracks and say, ‘Wow, that’s something really different’ — whether they approve of it or not,” Starz programming chief Stephan Shelanski says.
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Narukami
The viewers may not be in Kansas, but they are certainly not in ancient Rome either...
http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/2 ... 10.article
If sex sells, TV programmers are adding inventory to an already humongous sale.
Viewers are seeing full-frontal male nudity; heterosexual, homosexual and group sex, and graphic scenes rarely — if ever — seen on mainstream TV. And that’s just on pay-cable Starz’s fornication-heavy, 13-episode “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” (9 p.m. Fridays), a “300”-meets-“Caligula” epic about the Roman Empire’s notorious slave/gladiator.
‘Spartacus’: Roman hands
Initially pitched to NBC in tamer form, “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” oozes explicit content.
“The whole thing was pushing the boundaries on pretty much every level,” says co-executive producer Robert Tapert, who is married to “Spartacus” star Lucy Lawless. “Once we wound up on [premium pay cable], we were able to really push the envelope.”
Lawless portrays a conniving social climber who is nude in some scenes, commits adultery in others and uses sex to manipulate frenemies and family. One episode shows Lawless’ character and her gladiator-camp-owner husband (John Hannah) manually stimulated by slaves before having sex. Upcoming episodes feature orgies and a gladiator whose large endowment ultimately leads to his downfall.
Lawless concedes “Spartacus” isn’t for everyone: “Pretty quickly, the audience has to realize they aren’t in Kansas anymore. There will be [viewers] who are truly horrified and switch this off.”
Of course, Starz executives hope for the opposite effect, and they believe “Spartacus’ ” underlying sex-and-gore themes will be provocative attention-grabbing devices to bolster viewership. They’ve already ordered a second season.
“People are going to stop in their tracks and say, ‘Wow, that’s something really different’ — whether they approve of it or not,” Starz programming chief Stephan Shelanski says.
:|
Narukami
David Reinke
Burbank CA
Burbank CA
