But last month, we published an article on the mechanics of all the sex and nudity in the Starz show Spartacus: Blood and Sand, including the news that much of the male nudity involved the use of a prosthesis, or fake penis, which the producers had hilariously dubbed “the Kirk Douglas.”

It’s been one of TheTorchOnline.com’s most popular articles ever.

People are interested in sex online. Who knew?

Given all the fascination with Spartacus‘ eyebrow-raising sex and nudity, we figured our readers might be interested to know that in this Friday’s episode, “Whore,” Spartacus himself gets fully naked.

Frankly, this absolutely stuns me. In my previous article, I specifically predicted that, despite all the male nudity, the show would never have their lead character be frontally naked — that American audiences wouldn’t stand for seeing their virile male hero so “vulnerable.”

This Friday, American audiences are going to see him naked whether they like it or not. (Apart from the nudity, it’s one of the show’s best episodes so far, and Spartacus’ naked body is at least somewhat important to the plot, which involves the gladiators being whored out to noble Roman women.)

It’s worth noting that while the character of Spartacus is naked, the actor who plays him, Andy Whitfield, is not. In an interview with Chelsea Handler on Chelsea Lately, Whitfield said they’d used a body-double on the show, but that “They had to search the world for the right … size.”

I was certain he was joking, that they’d never show such a character completely naked. But he wasn’t.

Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised: the show has already gone many, many places where I also didn’t think they’d go, including the orgy scene two weeks ago, last week’s castration scene, and the many shots of star Lucy Lawless topless.

But I am still surprised. There is officially nowhere this show won’t go. There’s never been anything like it on mainstream television.

The scene in question is admittedly a “distant” shot, and the character himself is hidden behind a mask (another important plot point).

But it’s also clear that for the character of Spartacus, they did find a body-double with the “right size.”

Or maybe the body-double who plays Spartacus in the scene used the “Kirk Douglas” prosthetic penis?

Frankly, I’m waaaaay too embarrassed to ask.

But I’m not too embarrassed to feature the uncensored screencap (warning: NSFW!).

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All year long, broadcast and cable networks hear pitches from writers and producers, which they then commission into actual scripts. Every winter and spring, they order some of these scripts to “pilot,” which means the show is cast and a “pilot” episode is shot.

Ron Moore's Virtuality

This does not mean that the show is necessarily going to make it on the air. Pilots are ordered precisely so the networks can decide whether they want to invest in them. From the pilot, they can see how the show looks, whether or not it “works,” and whether casting changes are necessary. Case in point, last year Fox passed on Ron Moore’s sci-fi drama Virtuality (though the project was so high-profile and expensive that they did end up airing the two-hour pilot as a mostly-incomprehensible TV movie last July).

Many more pilots are shot than ever become TV series — though the number of pilots ordered has fallen considerably in recent years as the networks try to save money.

Still, pilots are how networks pick their future schedules.

How does the current slate of sci-fi and fantasy-themed TV pilots look? Franky, not good. Despite strong starts, high-profile genre shows such as V and FlashForward have seen their ratings sink — and returning shows such as Fringe and Dollhouse fared little better.

Their relative failure has translated into a widespread consensus in Hollywood that sci-fi and fantasy shows are risky bets, especially since they tend to be more expensive than other shows due to elaborate sets and special effects.

In short, the current thinking is that the era of genre mega-hits like Lost and Heroes is over and that genre shows will now gravitate to pay cable channels like Starz (which airs Spartacus: Blood and Sand) or niche channels like SyFy (which is airing the second season of NBC’s Merlin).

Could some future show “break out” into a massive hit, upsetting the conventional wisdom all over again? Since everything in Hollywood is cyclical, you can bet on it.

In the meantime, Hollywood is playing it cautious. Here is the smattering of sci-fi and fantasy shows that we might be seeing on TV screens this fall and next winter:

The Cape (NBC): The highest-profile genre pilot to date is surely this one, about a former cop who is framed and opts to become a superhero to clear his name. Clearly an attempt to capitalize on superhero-movie-mania, the show stars E.R.’s David Lyons as the cop, and Firefly’s Summer Glau as an investigative blogger. Simon West (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) directs the pilot episode.

Betwixt (The CW): Taking a cue from The Vampire Diaries, this is based on the young adult novel series of the same name, about three teens who are “changelings,” or the children of fairies, who can transform into mythological creatures: one has claws and fangs, one can fly. The show stars Jessy Schram (Life, Veronica Mars) and Allison Miller (Kings).

Three Inches (SyFy): Syfy has ordered a 90-minute pilot of this show about a “professional daydreamer and underachiever” who is struck by lightning and develops a “super-power” of the ability to move objects with his mind, but only a distance of three inches. SyFy has had enormous success blending humor with action in Warehouse 13, and this seems to be an attempt to build on that sort of cheeky irreverence.

2012 (ABC): ABC has officially passed on Roland Emmerich remake/sequel of the end-of-the-world movie 2012, which was supposed to be set in 2013 and tell the story of the survivors of the cataclysmic events of that movie trying to resettle the earth.

Nikita (The CW): This isn’t strictly sci-fi, but the CW is readying an update of the USA Network’s La Femme Nikita (which was itself based on the 1990 movie). Live Free or Die Hard’s Maggie Q will star — an interesting choice in a genre that almost always casts white actors as leads.

A Game of Thrones (HBO): As previous announced, this pilot, filmed last fall and based on the George R.R. Martin novel, has officially been picked up as a 10-episode series, though a broadcast date is not yet know.

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The series, based on the series of novels by Charlaine Harris, has proved to be a massive hit for HBO, drawing  an average of over 12 million viewers per episode when video on demand, repeat telecast, and DVR numbers are all factored in. Only The Sopranos has drawn higher ratings for the premium cable channel.

Additions to the cast this season include werewolf Joe Manganiello (Spiderman 3’s Flash Thompson), Brit Morgan (The Middleman), and Kevin Alejandro (Southland) as a hospital orderly taking care of Ruby Jean Reynolds and who becomes involved with her son, Lafayette.

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Lucky for us, when Elizabeth Mitchell takes a break from fighting aliens and Joshua Jackson takes a time-out from the alternate universe, we can just flip over to another channel and pick up Spartacus or Caprica.

We’re not desperate for network TV shows to return, but we confess that we are excited.

Here’s a look at when our favorite fantasy shows are coming back, and what to expect when they land.

Warning: Mild spoilers below!

FlashForward (March 18, ABC) — The one future FlashForward can’t seem to predict is its own. Ratings haven’t been promising, and critics can’t decide if they love it, or if it’s a watered-down, island-less Lost. The show has been on hiatus since Christmas, which has given the writers a chance to rethink their strategy. Their plan is to stop asking so many questions and start answering the ones they’ve already posed. Plus, they’re adding Battlestar Galactica favorite James Callis to the mix, which is enough to get almost any fantasy fan’s heart thumping.

Supernatural (March 25, CW) — Supernatural’s 100th episode will air April 15th. There are rumblings that Jo, Ruby and Bela will return, but CW hasn’t confirmed it. Before that, though, Sam and Dean have got to figure out what’s happening in Bobby’s hometown. Or, more accurately, they’ve got to figure out how to deal with the zombie infestation going down in Bobby’s town (including Bobby’s wife). The apocalypse is nigh! Of course, the apocalypse has been nigh and the show has still managed to entertain for 100 episodes. We’re not expecting brimstone just yet.

Vampire Diaries (March 25, CW) — O.C. alum (and my all-time favorite TV mom) Melinda Clarke joins the cast as Matt’s mom when the show returns. She’s not crazy about Caroline — though to be fair, when has she ever been crazy about any of her TV children’s partners? (Except Luke, who she slept with.) In other news: Stefan will be vamp-napped by some revenge seekers, Damon will be auctioned off for love, and a stranger knows Elena’s secret.

V (March 30, ABC) — Executive producer Scott Rosenbaum has promised at least two or three reveals in every one of V’s final eight episodes. There’s going to be a showdown between Erica and Anna, too. In addition to driving the plot forward at breakneck speeds, Rosenbaum also insists that viewers will be rewarded with long-awaited backstory. ABC hopes the combo story-telling with reinvest viewers who are already familiar with the show, while hooking in a new audience. V is on the bubble, so we’re crossing our fingers the strategy works.

Fringe (April 1, Fox) — In their spring preview issue, Entertainment Weekly reported that the relationship between Peter and Olivia “will develop a lot” by the end of the season. The dichotomy between Walter Bishop’s past and present will become even more “moving and poignant.” And he and William will definitely meet up at the end of the season. We already know that Fox has greenlit a third season of Fringe, so we’re expecting nothing less than a delicious cliff-hanger in the two-part finale.

Smallville (April 2, CW) — CW has already granted Smallville a tenth season, making it one of the longest-running primetime shows ever. Unfortunately, most of the original cast has moved on, and there’s a good chance Erica Durance won’t be back next season. But for now, Clark’s got the Silver Banshee and Max Lord to deal with. Maybe Smallville’s producers can de-Kryptonite Lana and bring her back for season ten, now that Kristin Kreuk done messing with Chuck and Sarah’s true love on Chuck.

Also of (non-network) note Stargate Universe returns with five new episodes on SyFy on April 2nd. And Matt Smith’s Doctor Who is coming to BBC America on April 17.

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Robert Tapert (left) and Steven DeKnight

After writing and/or producing stints on Smallville, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Dollhouse, Steven DeKnight knows genre television.

Now DeKnight finds himself ensconced as head writer and executive producer of a show he helped create, Starz’ Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

Last year, when I interviewed Spartacus co-creator Rob Tapert (who also co-created Xena: Warrior Princess), Tapert credited DeKnight with the day-to-day handling of the show.

That was all I needed to know. With the show a solid hit (and having firmly won over most of us here at TheTorchOnline.com), I was eager to do a mid-season check-in with DeKnight, to find out exactly how the show ended up where it did — and get a sense where it’s going next.

TheTorchOnline: You have to be pleased with how the show has been received so far.

SD: Very pleased. Very pleased. It got off to a little bit of a rocky start. The reaction to the pilot was not as favorable as we’d hoped, but working on the show … we very quickly found our footing, and it became a much more complicated, intricate show. The pilot is pretty cut and dry.

TTO: I don’t think the pilot was representative of what the show became. It was the weakest episode.

SD: Exactly. I’ve been very, very please that people have stuck with it. The overriding comment I’ve seen on the internet is that each episode keeps getting better and better.

TTO: I think my favorite theme of the show is that this is a society infused with violence, in the ring, but also in the different social strata. In the palaces and in the streets, among Lucretia and her friends, it’s the same thing that’s going on in the gladiator ring. They’re all having these tournaments, just in different ways. Was there an “Ah ha!” moment when you realized the two halves of the show were two sides of the same coin?

SD: Oh yeah. I mean from the start we’d planned it that way, to mirror the violence in the arena with the violence in the upper strata of the Romans. Just with our research and talking to our consultants, it was just a fascinating culture where they were really raised from birth to not shy away from violence. It’s a republic, and eventually an empire, built on conquest. That’s deeply, deeply ingrained in the people.

Yes, there are some incredibly gory fights in the arena, but there’s also some incredibly violent stuff that goes on in the “civilized” arena of the Romans. You’ve seen in Episode 9 where things go shockingly awry.

TTO: It hasn’t aired yet, so I don’t want to give anything away, but it’s a great episode, with particularly interesting turnaround for Lucretia. Usually when someone is writing about Ancient Rome, they are trying to make a parallel, whether subtle or more obvious, between Ancient Rome and contemporary America. Is that a part of this show?

SD: A very, very subtle one. My first order of business is to tell a rollicking good story. My connection with the present and the past has always been that we went through a large economic downturn, and part of that resulted in something that’s been building for years, the squeezing out of the middle class. Basically, there are the rich and there are the poor. The middle class is slowly disappearing, and the wealth is concentrated among very few.

That’s the one thing I wanted to explore this season, and I think you’ve see it most with Batiatus. The drought is his economic downturn. Here’s a guy in the middle class trying to claw his way up into the upper class, willing to do anything he could to do that. Of course, the slave class, the poor that work for outrageously low wages in modern times, were actual slaves in ancient times with that kind of uprising and revolt against the system.

TTO: That’s one of the other things I like most about the show, the sort of Upstairs/Downstairs quality to it, where the slaves are obviously real people to the viewer, but they’re subhuman to the folks over them. Is that how you, as a contemporary writer, are making a judgment about these Roman characters, by showing us their society through the eyes of the slaves?

SD: Yeah, but at [a recent press event], I mentioned when we eventually bring in Marcus Crassus, we’re going to get a different viewpoint of slavery. Marcus Crassus was the biggest slave owner in Rome at the time and made his fortune.

But the thing about slaves, and the thing we couldn’t really explore and expand on this season because in the ludus they’re just slaves, but it wasn’t always just slavery as we imagine it, beaten and locked in a cage. A lot of slaves were highly skilled craftsmen and artisans, and they were basically working for the master. They had their own homes, they had their own families, but they were not technically free.

As we progress the story, and we bring in Marcus Crassus, I want to explore the other side of slavery in Ancient Rome, and actually give the Roman side of it. The fact is, without these slaves, the society would not have flourished, and without Roman society flourishing, where would modern civilization be?

I remember when I said this at [that press event], the next day I read on the internet, the headline was: “Steve DeKnight Puts A Positive Spin On Slavery.” That’s not at all what I’m saying. But realistically, not all slaves were beaten or tortured or mistreated in Rome.

TTO: One of the most shocking elements is the degree to which people accept the system. Ultimately, where you’re going is that one of them won’t accept the system and will try to overturn the system, but the degree to which the gladiators take on this idea that allowing yourself to be killed is honorable, and if you don’t do it, you’re shamed. Shocking from a modern perspective.

SD: Exactly. They’re so far into that system. For instance, take a look at Barca and Ashur. They are slaves, but they are allowed to go out unchained and do things for their master, and they come back. They don’t just disappear. That’s another mindset I found very interesting. They could just skip out, but they don’t.

TTO: The real chains are in your head, I guess.

SD: Exactly. And that’s something we’ll definitely explore as these seasons continue. Crixus is another great example. In Episode 5, Spartacus really grills him about why are you doing this? Crixus is a very interesting character for me, because he’s completely bought into the system, and by the end, he starts to realize how the system has destroyed him.

TTO: He was eventually Spartacus’s right hand man, wasn’t he?

SD: Yeah. Spartacus, Crixus and Oenomaus led the three factions. It was another interesting thing that I find looking forward, in designing this season, I didn’t want want Crixus and Spartacus to be buddy/buddy, chummy, let’s-go-out-together. These are two men who are trying to find common ground, but will never truly be friends.

Historically, if you look at the record, when they do break out, there was a lot of contention. It wasn’t one big happy band. Crixus sets his goal. Historically, they separate, then come back together. They weren’t always on the same page, which is very important. The last thing I want going in to Season 2 is Robin Hood, everybody together with their Merry Men. It wasn’t like that.

TTO: You’re writing Season 2 now? Where are you and what can we expect?

SD: Yes. We’re on Episode 3. It’s an interesting change. Anybody that knows the history of Spartacus obviously knows where this has to go. I always read on the internet, based on Rob’s work with Hercules and Xena, everybody says, “Well, Rob doesn’t care about history.” That’s absolutely not true. Rob does care about history. We are following the broad strokes of the Spartacus story. We can’t be slaves to every detail of what happened. I’m sure you’ve heard many times: We bend history, but we try not to break it.

But this is the story of Spartacus, which is a slave rebellion, so we will be exploring that.

TTO: Do you have a five year plan? A seven year plan? How long is it going to take you to tell this whole story?

SD: I have a five to seven year plan. Definitely enough for five. It could go longer, depending on Starz and the viewership, but definitely at least five planned out. There are so many great moments in the Spartacus story and in history that I’ve never fully seen explored. I also really want the chance to explore the “villain’s” side. The Romans didn’t think they were the villains. They thought Spartacus was the villain. That’s something I really want to explore.

Moving forward, and this will be gradual thing, is not all Romans are bad. Even Batiatus, yes, he’s bad, but he has many different shades to him.

TTO: He has a point of view, but boy, when he promised Spartacus that he’d be reunited with his wife… It hits you like a slug in the gut when you realize the true evilness of that character. His code of honor is such that he’s technically fulfilling the promise he made to Spartacus even as he’s killing this guy’s wife.

SD: Batiatus is looking at a big picture. The thing I love about that character is that he is consumed by trying to get out of his father’s shadow and not being the guy that ruins the family business. That, for him, is just the overreaching goal. It becomes more and more prominent as we go on in the series.

TTO: I confess that I’ve already been shocked many times by this show.

SD: The fantastic thing about Starz is that they let us go to places a lot of other shows won’t go to.

TTO: As a result, the experience for the viewer is that you really don’t know what’s going to happen. Anything can happen, and that’s so rare to be able to say about television.

SD: Anything can happen and anybody can die. We definitely continue that moving on.

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Prequels — from Star Wars to X-Men Origins: Wolverine to Star Trek: Enterprise to Terminator Salvation — deserve all the derision you want to heap upon them.

I lost my faith in the prequel the moment I saw Jar Jar Binks, and I didn’t think there was any chance I’d become a believer again.

Batman Begins and JJ Abrams’ Star Trek helped. And lately I’ve been wondering if Caprica is doing for TV what those films did for the big screen. Is the show that redefined the toaster also redefining the post-dated prologue?

There are lots of inherent problems with the concept of the prequel.

First, they almost always lack dramatic tension. Oh no, is that helicopter going to chop Wolverine to bits? No, it is not, which you know; you’ve already seen him making out with Jean Grey in the future.

Equally annoying is the fact that prequel narratives usually can’t stand alone. The stories themselves aren’t as important as manipulating all the pieces so they arrive in tact at a starting line we’re already familiar with.

And then there’s the failure to answer the important questions. Prequels should be the “why” to the “what” you already know — not just a whole bunch more CGIed “what.”

Caprica, though, has so far managed to side-step all of those pitfalls.

Unlike the first three episodes of Star Wars, which are only interesting because Anakin Skywalker sure was a cute and precocious little thing, Caprica delivers a palpable sense of doom. Never once during Attack of the Clones did I feel the need to say to Obi-Wan, “Maybe don’t train him quite so thoroughly.”

But every week of Caprica has found me shouting at Daniel Graystone that he’s blowing up the tracks at the end of the roller coaster: “You’re all going to die!”

While knowing what’s coming certainly makes the Caprica experience more haunting, it’s equally watchable if you don’t know anything about the post-apocalyptic crew of Battlestar. It is interesting to see the motivation behind the construction of the first Cylon. And it is interesting to watch how little Willie Adama grew up. Those things are all BSG.

But it’s equally intriguing to watch two families, from entirely different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, cope with the tragedy of terrorism; and to watch characters explore the connections between monotheism and terror; and to examine the effects of a virtual world without morality or consequences. That’s brand new.

And questions about the why of BSG get answered every week. Why build a Cylon in the first place? Why would they turn against humans?

Because the first Cylon’s dad made her rip off her arm! Because the first Cylon’s mom kept calling her a terrorist! Because the first Cylon had to watch her parents having sex right in front of her single, red eye! (And the probable second Cylon spent too much time trapped in a game of Dick Tracy’s Call of Duty.)

The fantasy genre breeds a rare form completist fan who will follow her fandom anywhere for the slimmest chance that she’ll find a morsel to supplement her understanding and enjoyment of a fictional world. SyFy banked on the Super Fan breed with Caprica — and so far they’re handing out genuinely tasty treats.

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“I’m receiving excellent care, and am feeling strong, positive and determined with an army of support behind me,” said Whitfield in a statement.

Production on the second season of the show, which had been renewed by Starz even before the series debuted, was set to begin later this month.

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Q: As I understand it, the real-life Spartacus only lived a short time after leading his famous Roman slave rebellion. Assuming Spartacus leads the rebellion next season, doesn’t that mean the show can only be three seasons long, at most? — Mark, Milwaukee, WI

A: Not surprisingly, not much is known about Spartacus in his pre-gladiator days, but the rebellion he led took place in 73 B.C., and Spartacus died in 71 B.C.

Robert Tapert (left) and Steven DeKnight

Or did he? Contrary to the famous ending of the Stanley Kubrick movie, Spartacus’ body was never found — an historical truth that the producers of the new Starz TV show Spartacus: Blood and Sand could certainly exploit.

In any event, there’s no reason why a “season” of the show has to correspond to a year of real time.

What do the producers themselves say?

“Anyone who knows the history of Spartacus obviously knows where this has to go,” Spartacus creator Steven DeKnight tells the Oracle. “There’s been a lot of talk based on [co-creator] Rob [Tapert's] work with Xena and Hercules — everybody says, ‘Well, Rob doesn’t care about history.’ But that’s absolutely not true. Rob does care about history, and we are following the broad strokes of the Spartacus story. We can’t be slaves to every detail — we bend history, we try never to break it.”

So how long will the show go?

“I have a five-to-seven year plan,” DeKnight says. “Definitely enough for five — it could go longer, depending on Starz and the viewership. Definitely at least five planned out. There’s so many great moments in Spartacus’ story, in history, that I’ve never fully seen explored.”

Q: I know we’re supposed to be in an “animation renaissance,” but I think I’m done with animated movies for a while. I tried to sit through the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs recently, but found absolutely unwatchable — a hyper-frenetic mess on one hand (for kids, I guess) with a bunch of stupid, but ironic quips (for the adults, supposedly). And it got good reviews! Obviously, Up was night-and-day better, but even that struck me as muddled in the middle and just generally over-rated. What do you think? — Madge, Baton Rouge, LA

A: We’ve written before about the animated movie renaissance, but the Oracle has come to reluctantly agree with you.

Disney started the renaissance with The Little Mermaid in 1989, but soon their films started to blur together: a story about a plucky, but ostracized outsider must learn to “own” his or her difference into order to end up saving the kingdom, village, or savanna — all set to truly memorable showtunes.

Two studios inherited Disney’s artistic mantle, furthering the renaissance: Pixar, which had a break-out hit with Toy Story, and Dreamworks, which had its first big success with Shrek.

But just like Disney’s films became derivative of themselves, most animated movies currently seem to follow either the Pixar/Toy StoryShrek formula or the Dreamworks/Shrek one.

The vast majority (like Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs) take the now-insufferable Shrek route: a gimmicky central story with hyper, ironic pop-culture-spouting hipster main characters, usually voiced by celebrities — a shtick modeled after Robin Williams‘ hammy, but memorable turn as the genie in Disney’s Aladdin.

This formula got old three Ice Age sequels ago. Sitting through Jim Carrey in Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who, the Oracle contemplated killing himself.

By contrast, Pixar (which is now owned by Disney) tells much more timeless stories: usually complicated morality tales involving sad or ethically compromised main characters. Examples include Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, WALL-E, and Ratatouille.

In the Oracle’s opinion, the Pixar model is a thousand times better than the Dreamworks’ one.

But I agree with you that Up, while beautifully drawn and acted, was ultimately muddled and overrated.

Q: There was this TV show around ten years ago about this guy who had the newspaper delivered to him (by a cat) a day early. He’d spend the episode trying to prevent the bad things in the newspaper from happening. Do you know the name of that show? — ScreamingMonkez, Birmingham,

A: You’re thinking of Early Edition, about a Chicago man who received a copy of the Chicago Sun-Times a day early. The show, which stared Friday Night Lights‘ Kyle Chandler and Fisher Stevens, originally ran on CBS from September 1996 to May 2000. ABC Family later ran reruns.

Incidentally, Stevens won an Oscar last night for a documentary he produced, The Cove. Yes, that’s why that guy looked so familiar!

Have a question about something fantasy-related? Please send an email to thetorchonlineoracle@gmail.com and be sure and include your city and state and/or country.

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A source close to the show tells TheTorchOnline.com that, contrary to the implication of some previous media reports, the show is definitely not canceled, the studio is interested in bringing it back for a third season, and that they’re actively exploring options to make that happen.

Legend of the Seeker is produced by ABC Studios, but is syndicated, offered to different media markets on a station-by-station basis. Last week, the Tribune Company, which owns 35% of the affiliates that currently air the show in the U.S., confirmed that their stations would not air a third season of the show.

Since Tribune makes up such a large percentage of the total number of affiliates that air Legend of the Seeker, including some major markets, this prompted a flurry of online speculation that the show itself would likely be canceled.

The public announcement by Tribune came in response to a fan-generated letter-writing campaign seeking to improve the show’s third season prospects. The company answered several of those letters with the news that their affiliates would not be carrying the show next year; several sources have since confirmed that news.

But TheTorchOnline.com’s source indicated that it is still too early in the year for the studio itself to have made a decision on the show and emphasized that they have definitely not given up and will seek to replace the Tribune affiliates.

Because renewal of a syndicated show involves signing up many different affiliates, last year’s “official” renewal announcement of Legend of the Seeker did not happen until well into spring.

The show’s ratings have been relatively strong this season, making a pick-up by competing Tribune stations a definite possibility.

The source also indicated that the producers of the show appreciate the passion and commitment of the fans.

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In short, American viewers will finally get to see what happens next in this brand spankin’ new version of Camelot.

Just to bring everyone up to speed, in this Smallville-tinged re-imagining, the action is set before Arthur ascends to the throne, and he and Merlin, a closet-case sorceror acting as Arthur’s servant, are the same age. The kingdom is ruled with an iron fist by the magic-hating Uther (Buffy’s Anthony Stewart Head), but Uther is secretly undermined by his trusted friend Gaius, who is training Merlin in the arts of magic.

Uther’s ward is the beautiful Morgana, who is starting to recognize magical powers of her own, and her best friend and lady-in-waiting is the kind-hearted Guinevere.

Much of the fun of any retelling of Arthurian legend is the different spin put on specific characters, events, places, etc. None of the leads are similar to most versions we’re accustomed to, and the first season brought us Nimue as a wicked sorceress, Lancelot as a commoner aspiring to be a knight, and Avalon as a haven for evil things.

So what does the future hold for this series set in the past? (Minor spoiler alert.)

For one, we finally begin to see an attraction grow between Arthur and Guinevere, and Morgana becomes more aware of her powers, thus setting her on the road to become Morgan le Fey. Morgause, Arthur’s villainous aunt (or half-sister depending on who’s telling the tale), will appear, and that darned dragon that’s chained up beneath the castle finally gets free.

One of the strengths of the first season was the way the writers used standard Arthurian legend as a jumping point for their own imaginations, and thus we were treated to a lot of stories set in this world that never felt tired or overused.

The four young leads are incredibly charming, and Colin Morgan is a fun and quirky young wizard. And in my humble opinion, one of the best aspects of the show was the very Buffy-like set-up of teenagers fighting the forces of evil, while under the tutelage of a rather crusty old mentor. And that Anthony Stewart Head is in it only makes it sweeter.

Merlin begins airing on the Syfy channel Friday, April 2nd.

The trailer for Merlin, Season Two

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Warning: The following review contains spoilers for the “Great and Unfortunate Things” episode of Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

Okay, so last week’s episode was a bummer. We know that.

But it was also an example of the kind of terrific writing we’ve come to expect on Spartacus. Was it upsetting to see Barca and Sura killed off? Of course. But it also made for the kind of intense drama that will keep us coming back for more.

I won’t lie — this episode was even more of a bummer than last week. But I can’t fault the powers that be behind the series; they promised a shocking television show, and they’re delivering.

It almost seems that the writers are coming to the table with this philosophy: make life as hellish as possible for, well, every single character. Considering that the majority of the cast are slaves who are forced into life-or-death matches every week, that takes some doing.

I didn’t realize how emotionally attached I had become to Pietros. Seeing him wandering around the ludus, a lost soul who believes he was abandoned by his one true love, was bad enough, but then on top of this he becomes the favorite victim of another gladiator, one who routinely beats and rapes him. When he started appearing with swollen black eyes and cuts, it set off every protective instinct in my body.

It was not really such a surprise, then, when the character hangs himself, but it did make me shake my head and think what a shame it was to see yet another victimized young gay man end his life on television. I know many fans were looking forward to the possibility of Pietros finding an inner strength and joining Spartacus in his eventual rebellion. Now, it just seems a waste.

But that aside, this particular episode gets only three torches — a low for the series so far — because the storyline was very meandering, with nothing really to drive it forward. Sure, there was the fight in the arena looming on the horizon, but at this point we’ve both been there and done that, and there was no suspense upon learning that Spartacus will be fighting six men at once because, well, check out the title of the show. Are any of us that worried about him?

To be fair, it does set up nicely what I imagine might be a future storyline, in which Doctore discovers the truth behind Barca’s “departure,” but I’ve seen the next two episodes and that doesn’t factor into either of them. But I will say this — the next two episodes are pretty awesome.

Even at its lowest point, I’m consistently impressed with Spartacus, because it doesn’t remind me of any other show, and that’s one of the greatest compliments I can give. Sure, it looks a little like 300 and Rome, but do any of its storylines really seem similar? Its premise may be reminiscent of Gladiator, but I can’t imagine two projects being more different.

Spartacus is truly its own animal, and that is a remarkable accomplishment.

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This doesn’t necessarily mean the show has been canceled, but it would mean that its producers have to somehow replace those markets where it’s been canceled. And representatives for the show have previously indicated that if Tribune were to cancel, the show would likely be canceled as well.

In short, this news does make it much less likely that the show will continue to a third season.

Ironically, the show’s ratings have been relatively strong this season, although they did take a large Olympics-induced dip in the last week.

A spokesman ABC-Disney, the studio which produces the show, did not respond to a request for more information.

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