Here is a sampling of reviews:
Entertainment Weekly Ken Tucker
After artistic duds like the TV version of "Crash," Starz may have found its destination series in Spartacus. This might prove to be the not-at-all-guilty pleasure of the season.
Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan
Spartacus develops into an enjoyably soapy escape--a la the similarly sweaty and sex-drenched "True Blood"--as its first season progresses.
Chicago Sun-Times Paige Wiser
There's no denying that stylized decapitations are entertaining, especially when accompanied by a generous helping of soft porn.
Los Angeles Times Robert Lloyd
Given that Spartacus does not stumble in what it sets out to do, one's objections to the show, if objections one has, will be moral, or simple matters of taste, to the extent that those two concerns can actually be separated.
Zap2it (Inside the Box) Hanh Nguyen
Eventually, the series makes way for just enough plot to give our poor, overstimulated eyes a rest. There's a bit of political maneuvering, fierce rivalries, the examination of slavery vs. free will, ludus-yard hazing and even romance.
Boston Herald Mark A. Perigard
Spartacus fetishizes violence even more than it depicts sex and nudity, which is often. There’s a whole lot of B.C. banging going on here.
New York Post Linda Stasi
It is trashy fun as Spartacus, who is not really that interested in overthrowing oppressive Roman rule right now as he is in getting his sexed-up wife back, fights his way up gladiator rankings and out.
Miami Herald Glenn Garvin
The result is compulsively watchable pulp, provided you have a high threshold for decapitations and copulations, sometimes simultaneous.
Washington Post Hank Stuever
It's deliciously, marvelously bad, and I was helpless in its grip. It's a long way from Kubrick, but what isn't?
