Spartacus, like a lot of good television series, has a breaking in period. The Wire, Breaking Bad, Deadwood; all shows which nearly bored me to tears when I first started watching them, but I now consider brilliant. Spartacus - or Blood and Sand, at least - is much the same. It seems very juvenile at first (what with all the tits and gore) but finds its stride after about three or four episodes and suddenly becomes pretty compelling. A shame that the lead, Andy Whitfield, died and his replacement is nothing but a shadow.
Bagsy that job!