Christmas Eve Morning with Blood and B00bs.....

It's X-Mas eve morning and I'm finally done with all of my holiday chores. All gifts are purchased and wrapped.

Tonight I head to my sister's place where my family will eat a nice dinner, followed by driving around looking at the neighborhood's' lights and decorations, then we'll head back and exchange gifts. Tomorrow we all head to my cousins place to eat drink and be merry. It is the final reward for a week long battle fighting off hordes of idiotic shoppers while trying to find those perfect gifts.

While wrapping the last of my gifts this morning I popped in a rented DVD of the cable TV series Spartacus: Blood and Sand that I watched while I absolutely crucified the art of using wrapping paper. Over the last few years I've grown accustomed to renting TV series that I miss out on when they originally air due to bad timing or not having the premium cable channel in my already overly expensive cable set up.

I'll get back to Spartacus in a minute, but I'd also like to touch upon some other jems I came across and would definitely suggest to someone who enjoys watching intriguing television.

Deadwood - I've raved about this Wild West TV show which aired on HBO years ago in past posts. But, one can never boost the popularity of what I feel is the greatest TV western to grace the small screen since The Wild Wild West.

Deadwood takes you back to the days when people were settling out west and the small town of Deadwood, South Dakota was fighting off inevitable domestication and still clinging on to being a gambling, whoring, booze ridden hole of depravity and sin. Leading the charge of depravity and sin is local "businessman" Al Swearengen, brilliantly played by Ian McShane. Swearengen has become one of may favorite TV characters despite the fact that he is pure scum. How McShane actually has you rooting for the villain towards the end of the series run proves that the Golden Globe her received for the role was well deserved.

The dialog of the whole show is spoken in what I like to call "vulgar Shakespearean". There is a very formal cadence to the way the characters speak, intermixed with a lot of "F" and "C" bombs being dropped every few seconds. It's not a show for the faint of heart as it depicts the depravity and violence of the old west in graphic detail.

The entire ensemble cast are all incredibly dedicated to humanizing their characters and there isn't a "phoned in" performance in anyone in this show. Sadly the show stopped dead in its tracks after the 3rd season, so there is little resolution to the stories being told. But, it is well worth your time if the kiddies are away for a weekend or two.

ROME - It took me awhile to get into this sword and sandals drama about the ancient Roman empire. It's another show that's very adult in nature. This show featured several stories interweaving in and out of each other. One storyline followed the adventures and friendship of two Roman Centurion soldiers. Another storyline covered the corruption and power of the Roman Senate during the fall of Julius Caesar. In yet another storyline we see a rich and powerful family try and grasp and claw for their status among the elite. Excellent writing and fine acting are the benchmark of this show.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand - More like Spartacus: BOOBS & BLOOD! This is an INSANELY adult oriented view of ancient Rome that is far more geared for the Fanboys than any drama loving historian. This series follows the hardships of the infamous gladiator character of Spartacus, originally portrayed by Kirk Douglas in the classic film. This time around the story is being somewhat reinvented and told in a serial format.

Much like in the series ROME there are power struggles and manipulations of the wealthy portrayed here. But the corner stone of this show is the abundance of computer animated gore which is a constant in every episode. The gladiator arena scenes are always filled with fountains of blood as someone is being struck by a sword.

Another factor of the show is there is overt nudity and sex everywhere. Much of the time the story is overshadowed by the shock factor. But for the fanboys in all of us, this series has to be seen to be believed, especially with the likes of Lucy Lawless and Erin Cummings presence in the show.

Fringe - When this first started to air I, unfortunately and misguidedly ignored it, assuming it was going to be no more than a poor man's X-Files. But after deciding to catch up with it through rentals I've really become enamored with the show. It was a bit slow to get into, but after sticking in there for a few episodes, I became hooked!

In a nutshell, FBI agent Olivia Dunham teams up with a "mad scientist" and his recently reunited, former con-artist son to solve crimes and incidents that reach outside of a scientific range of simple explanation. One such storyline has them dealing with an alternate universe. That sort of thing.

I think that the main factor that turned me into a fan was actor John Nobel's portrayal of Dr. Walter Bishop. Dr. Bishop is a scientific genius who's specialty is Fringe Science. Along the way Walter experienced some horrible professional and personal losses that rocked his world to the core and put him into a mental institution. Having been released by Agent Dunham and his own son he works with them under their custody.

To my recollection, Dr. Walter Bishop is the first character in a Sci-Fi / Fantasy genre that deals with mental health issues that is portrayed positively. This is where Nobel's portrayal really shines. You do not see Walter as a mad man or crazed lunatic. He is a caring, loving person who simply does not function in, or see the world the same we do. His observations are either delivered in grim straight forwardness or creepy exuberance which can lead to some good chuckles at times. He has a childlike quality that makes us want to reach out to him and protect him. He's becoming another one of my favorite characters on TV.

Warehouse 13 - Imagine, if you will, that the warehouse that is shown in the very last scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark actually existed. All of it's treasures and dark secrets that are locked within have to be protected by someone, right? This show is about two agents that are given just that task in a similarly imagined warehouse. Along with a few other oddball characters, agents Lattimer and Bering find themselves attempting to keep the inventory of Warehouse 13 safe and sound. But that's not an easy task when these powerful artifacts have a tendency to get out and have to be put back in or trouble will ensue.

This show isn't that much of a departure of the late 80's Horror influenced show, Friday the 13th: The Seires. But, instead of collecting cursed items in a creepy atmospheric peice, Warehouse 13 is more fantasy, and slightly, comedy driven.

This show is also far more family friendly than a lot of the other shows that are on my list. You don't have to worry about Little Tommy getting an eyeful of Xena's bare gazongas flapping about (not that there's anything wrong with that....ehem. I digress. I'm sooo getting coal in my stocking.).

I've only seen the first season and can't wait until I can find time to get a gander at season two which has already aired on the Sci-Fi channel. I may have to wait for DVD rentals again.

I'm enjoying catching up with these shows on DVD. I may review mare if I find the time. And speaking of time, I've wasted enough here for the day.


I'll leave you now with this thought,

Have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy whatever holiday you're into! Here's hoping it's full of family, food, fun, and warmth.

Zangz.