Spartacus: Gods of the Arena

I've been looking forward to this six-part prequel to "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" since I first heard of it, and that was before I had even finished watching that entire series. Yeah, that's how good it is. As with most prequels, we know the way things are going to turn out, we just don't know how they're going to turn out.

The series follows the young Batiatus (John Hannah) and his wife Lucretia (Lucy Lawless) as they rise to the top of the gladiator management game in Capua. We get to see their early doings as well as those of "Blood and Sand" favorites Crixis (Manu Bennett) and future Doctore, Oenomaus (Peter Mensah).

We're also introduced to an earlier and cockier champion of Capua, Gannicus (Dustin Clare) and the seductive Gaia (Jaime Murray). You might remember the latter as Dexter's sociopath girlfriend and as H.G. Wells on "Warehouse 13." Both characters are much fun, and a reason to watch even if you already know what happens to everyone else.

"Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" airs Friday nights on Starz. Check it out.