Have you been watching Spartacus: Gods of the Arena? If you haven't, take a look at this trailer and perhaps you might consider starting to follow this 6-part prequel to the preceding Spartacus: Blood & Sand.

Being a huge fan of Blood & Sand, naturally, I myself have been religiously following Gods of the Arena. I must admit, I had doubts and skepticism, especially knowing that the title character, Spartacus (played by the ever-so-dashing Andy Whitfield---can you tell that I adore this man?), isn't even going to be portrayed in this series. But after the 1st episode, I must admit, creator Steven DeKnight knows what he's doing.

I have to admit, when I first started Blood & Sand, my first initial reaction was: "THIS IS A CHEAP IMITATION THAT TRIES TOO HARD TO BE 300." I also realized that most of the people I talked to got turned off by all the sex, complaining that it's nothing more that softcore p0rn. They can't seem to get past it and is repulsed by it. YES, REPULSED BY HOT SEX SCENES OF GORGEOUS ACTORS AND ACTRESSES. Honestly, people... are you hearing yourself? Puh-leeze! But if they continue to refuse seeing beyond all the so-called "sex and violence" to find the hidden gem that is one of the most BRILLIANT storytelling and scriptwriting ever to grace the television screen, then it's their loss, not mine.

Back to Gods of the Arena, a Spartacus series without Spartacus seems moot, but it worked so well because I've truly gotten emotionally attached to every single character in Blood & Sand. As much as I loathe Quintus Batiatus, I must admit that I do have this love/hate relationship going with him, his ludus, and everything that lies within the walls. So, it is intriguing to see the beginning of it all. The times before Doctore became THE Doctore, before Lucretia had her flaming red hair, before Quintus and Solonius became mortal enemies, before Crixus became the Champion of Capua, before Quintus was... oh, never mind, he's STILL a douchebag in Gods of the Arena.

One most intriguing character was Gaia, a close, dear friend of Young Xena---I mean, Lucretia (who, of course, turns out to be quite the scheming beeyatch, but naturally, Xena doesn't know that) I can see that Gaia is DEFINITELY Lucretia's wardrobe and style inspiration in Blood & Sand, but since the 1st part of Gods of the Arena, I've been wondering how or why Lucretia took on her look, as an homage perhaps, or revenge? I got my answer in Part 4. And as much as I'm sad to see each character go (and I'm sure a lot of boys are sad to see HER go), but in Spartacus, you know it's coming. No one's safe (except Spartacus, I guess).

There's still a lot of things I'm curious about: (1) How Crixus becomes Champion of Capua, coz he's pretty shaky and dumb at the moment, (2) How Batiatus and Solonius' friendship turned super duper sour, (3) How Lucretia started that love affair with Crixus, (4) How Ashur got that limp, and... if I'm not wrong, wasn't Doctore's wife dead in Blood & Sand? So... (5) How Melyta goes out of the picture.

However, there's only 2 parts left in this prequel. How will DeKnight squeeze all that into 2 hours? IT'S NOT ENOUGH! Or is it? I guess I'll just have to trust the maestro and enjoy the show.