Okay the premiere of Spartacus Blood and Sand was on GO! last night. For Aussie fans who were expecting the same as the US fans, well you didn't get it. Andy did say a few months ago that Australia was getting the PG version and that is what we got.

What we got was the majorly edited version. Since it was eight months ago that I saw episode 1, I went back and compared it. The most obvious editing has been the nudity.

Sura and Spartacus first love scene - edited out to basically nothing

Sura and Spartacus after Sparty comes back from the war - MAJOR edit with only Spartacus's chest and some of Sura's back.

Glaber finding Spartacus and Sura - MAJOR MAJOR edit - when the soldiers take Sura away from Spartacus. In the US version she is naked. In the Aussie version she has a red blanket attached to her body.

I wonder what Episode 9 (Whore) is going to look like. Lots of closeups.

 

The violence is also edited. The scene where Spartacus chops off the guys legs in episode 1 and he is crawling away..you don't see the leg chopping, you don't see the guy trying to crawl away minus his missing limbs, you don't see the blood. All you see is Spartacus taking the pitchfork and striking him in the back. End of life for missing legs guy.

Episode 2 most of the same - the scene with Batiatus and Lucretia (what has been described as the "fluffer" moment) - edited so you only see Lucretia's face and so on.

Very PG and very tame. Now I realise why GO put it on at 9:30 pm. This is a very very tame Spartacus.

Our kiwi cousins across the ditch are getting the full unedited version according to Sky.

I wonder if Foxtel (our cable company) would have had the unedited version if they were showing the series. Channel 9 is not a cable company and has to adhere to different rules although having said that, they do have Underbelly which is extremely violent and has nudity.

I'm not complaining we got the PG version (I like the idea) but it's a bit odd that Australian TV doesn't have any problems with nudity and yet we get the Spartacus PG version. Maybe channel 9's quota of nekkid people has been filled with Underbelly. <g>

Whether it's the PG version or the full unedited version...Spartacus is one hell of a great show!
so to Aussies, I say watch this great show; you won't be disappointed.