Some of you have asked what I thought about Starz's blood- and sex-laden drama series Spartacus . After watching the first four episodes that were sent out for review, my thoughts on the series are just as muddled as they were when I first heard about the project. Created by Steven DeKnight, Spartacus recounts the exploits of a Thracian warrior (Andy Whitfield) betrayed by the Romans, torn away from his wife, and forced to compete as a gladiator in a series of vicious battles for the amusement of the public. His only desire: to train as hard as possible in the ludus (gladiator school) in order to win, so that that he can finally be reunited with his wife, who has been sold into slavery. (He'll eventually launch a slave rebellion against the Romans.) And when I say vicious battles, I mean vicious . The bloody and gruesome action is set against a series of a computer-rendered backdrops that recall 300 , without that production's gargantuan budget. Which basically means a nev