Now that I’ve had a change to see 3 episodes of both Spartacus: Blood and Sand and Caprica, I thought I’d give an update on how the shows are. My initial review of Spartacus was less than complementary, while I gave a tentative thumbs up to Caprica. Have my opinions changed after a few more episodes.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand is a romance novel set in ancient Rome, modeled after 300 and sexed up for cable TV. The blood splatters freely and there is abundant skin. The plot is mediocre with a couple people trying to get their wives back and a couple people trying to move up the political/social ladders. But the plot and dialogue aren’t meant to carry the series. It’s truly a blood and skin show. It’s a poor man’s version of Rome. I’m still watching, but probably not for much longer. Not recommended.

Caprica on the other hand is slowly spreading it wings and showing the beginning of the Cylon empire. We start seeing plots within plots with entertaining characters. The process of showing the first Cylon by alternating the view of the robot between mechanical and the girl Zoe is a wonderful technique for making sure we don’t forget that inside this (soon to be) fearsome robot is the brain of a girl. And when Zoe’s parents are fighting in the lab, seeing Zoe instead of a robot makes it much more heartbreaking.  Zoe’s friend Lacey is caught in the religious battles and isn’t sure which way to turn, but more than anything want to support her best friend. This is a series that is worth watching to see how much better it can get. Highly recommended.