Starz's Spartacus: Vengeance had an uphill battle before it when it premiered last fall. After having used the Gods of the Arena prequel as a stopgap while series star Andy Whitfield battled cancer, the actor tragically succumbed to his illness last September, leaving the show forced to recast. New Spartacus Liam McIntyre is a fine enough actor, but for fans of the show, he couldn't help but be in the shadow of Whitfield, who was genuinely spectacular in the role, perfectly mixing righteous anger, vulnerability, and determination. Thankfully, McIntyre never tried to do a Whitfield impersonation, instead simply trying to make the role his own, and for the most part succeeded. As a result, Spartacus: Vengeance is a strange, transitional beast, but never fails to bring the operatic mix of brutality, treachery, and drama that made the show one of the biggest surprises of recent years. If you don't have Starz and have been waiting to catch the show on DVD, mark your calendars: Spartacus: Vengeance is hitting Blu-ray and DVD on September 11th (the date of Whitfield's death, which is a nice tribute).
Both the Blu-ray and DVD will include all 10 episodes of the season plus quite a few bonus features. However, if you're a die-hard fan and you have a Blu-ray player, you'll likely want to pick up that version. Not just because the show is gorgeous in HD, but because only the Blu edition gets commentaries and extended episodes. And trust me, the commentaries are often well worth the price (listen to the first-season commentaries and you'll never look at a ladle the same way again). The Blu-ray version lists for $59.99 and the DVD for $49.98, and both are currently available for pre-order from Amazon. Here's the rundown of the bonus features:
- Starz Studios: Spartacus: Vengeance
- The Making of Spartacus: Vengeance
- Behind the Camera: Directing the Rebellion
- On Set with Liam McIntyre
- The Legend of Spartacus
- Famous Last Words
- Bloopers
- BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVE -- 9 Extended Episodes and Audio Commentaries!
