Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Dear Starz, Why are you killing the show I love?!

Starz is great.  First they came out with the bloody and extremely epic Spartacus: Blood and Sand.  The show was sort of comical, in the trying to capture the spirit of 300 kind of way, BUT it brought out the secret blood lust in me.  The desire to watch scantily clad men fight each other to the death was high.  And having a sexy cast didn't hurt either.
Lucy Lawless was amazing as Lucretia, Andy Whitfield was incredible as Spartacus and Manu Bennet was swoon-worthy as the Champion of Caupa, Crixus.  Everyone else was wonderful, too.  I can't forget the rest of the amazing cast Spartacus had but there was one thing that hurt the production of the second season and that was the illness Andy Whitfield was battling: non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. I'll admit, the compromise pre-quel season 2, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena was a little hard to watch since Andy Whitfield was not included at all and it seems as though Andy Whitfield has passed the torch to Liam McIntyre as the new Spartacus.  While Spartacus: Gods of the Arena was still epic and bloodier and sexier than ever, I still missed Sparty himself - even though Gannicus had won me over by the season's end.

With all that going on, I understand Spartacus can't be the same without Andy Whitfield but I would much rather him rest and fight the good fight and make it through before he over-works himself.  I am getting excited because Katrina Law is tweeting about behind the scenes antics on the set of Spartacus and she has said that Liam McIntyre will be joining her and other members of the cast at Comic Con this year! YES!!  I kinda wish I was going (to see Manu Bennett up close and personal).

But there was a void.  A blood thirsty void that Spartacus left.  It needed to be filled and Starz' other original show, Camelot, fit that bill perfectly.

While Camelot wasn't as bloody or as full of nakedness as Spartacus, Camelot was - for the lack of a better phrase - FUCKING AWESOME.  I've seen the Merlin tv movie, I've seen most of the King Arthur movies (not Russel Crowe one though...), I've read the books (a long time ago but still) and I LOVE the Arthurian legend.  Camelot captured what all the other tv movies and regular movies couldn't.
Camelot's cast was gorgeous too.  Jamie Campbell Bower - abandoning his seat with the Volturi to become the boy king and the always flawless Eva Green - showcasing her smoldering sultry-ness as Morgan Pendragon.  Those two alone were enough for me


I mean, look at them! Gorgeous, young, talented, badass...And then Starz had to throw in Joseph Fiennes as an even more badass version of Merlin



And on top of THAT, Starz had to throw in Clive Standen as Gawain, a warrior living on the outskirts of Camelot who gets recruited as one of the King's men.

We liked to refer to Gawain as the "Andrew WK of Camelot".

Le swoon

Besides the insanely sexy cast, Camelot reignited the Arthurian legend in me.While I remember key bits and pieces from the legend,  Camelot made them that much more entertaining.  Especially the Lady of the Lake story and the sword in the stone.  Both are familiar stories but Camelot gave them the Starz twist.  Not to mention the "killing" of Morgan Pendragon and the "birth" of Morgan le Fay.  But one thing was missing: Lancelot.  Sure, Leontes was like the Lancelot we all know but his story was downright awesome.  And they kind of left it open for season 2 as they were putting together the legendary "round table" that Lancelot would be coming.

But alas, Camelot will NOT be picked up for a second season.  WHY STARZ WHY???!?!?!  Don't wimp out because of Game of Thrones or ratings.  You have what those shows don't have: Accessability to MORE viewers via Netflix Instant after the season has ended.  I'm sure a TON of viewers have been watching via Netflix Instant (including me).  Is there no way to monitor those views?  I read (here) that one of the challenges of filming Camelot is conflicting schedules with the cast but you know what, if viewers can wait forever for Spartacus, we can wait forever for Camelot.  We don't want to but we will.  I know I will.  I love Camelot and I want more.  LOTS MORE.  I want to see the story progress with all the characters we all know and love.  And I want the introduction to Lancelot and the Knights of the Round Table!  Give it to me, Starz!  Why would you let the season end in such a cliffhanger and then not renew it?!?!?!

I am truly devastated.

I guess I'll just have to re-watch season 1 on Netflix Instant.  And stare at this Gawain gif forever



This gif lives here

Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

No comments:

Post a Comment