Spartacus returns to Starz… sort of

The channel will be re-airing the full run of the epic show from the opening scenes to the closing moments.

The House of Batiatus, a gladiator training camp, is on the rise, basking in the glow of its champion Gannicus. A young Batiatus, with his loyal wife Lucretia by his side, is ready to overthrow his father and betray anyone to keep his gladiators in demand. But when Batiatus falls on hard times, it will take a gladiator greater than current champion Crixus to turn his fortunes around. When a Thracian slave named Spartacus arrives, Batiatus senses greatness. Under the watchful eye of gladiator trainer Doctore, Spartacus rises through the ranks to become the new champion. However, when Spartacus discovers that his wife Sura has been killed, he plots to avenge her death and free every slave; a bloody escape ensues. Gaius Claudius Glaber, the Roman responsible for bringing Spartacus and his wife into slavery, sends troops to crush the slave army. But Spartacus, with a rebellion swelling to thousands of freed slaves, becomes a force mightier than Rome had ever imagined. The Roman Senate turns to Marcus Crassus, a wealthy, strategic politician, for aid. With a young Julius Caesar as an ally, Crassus must crush the rebellion. And one final, bloody battle will be unleashed; a battle unlike anything ever seen before in the history of the Republic.

Does Starz even do ‘reruns’? I can’t think of a time when the channel has rerun anything other than movies, but here we are with Spartacus heading back for more- and it’s all thanks to the fans. The channel says that fans of the show have been all over social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook talking about the program even now after it’s been off the air for months.

Bottom line- folks liked the show about a slave leading his fellow gladiators to glory in ancient Rome a lot. For their part, Starz is more than happy to give the fans what they’ve been asking for and bring the show’s full run back to TV. Starting with Blood and Sand and beginning on October 26th, Starz will run the full first, second and third seasons of Spartacus, uncut and unedited.

What’s really cool is that the episodes are going to run as though they’re new, with a few dates as exceptions. By that I mean they’ll be weekly events instead of a mixed up crap shoot or a marathon.

Here’s the full schedule that’ll take you through New Years:

• October 26th- Beginning at 10:05pm (immediately following Episode 2 of “Dancing on the Edge”) “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” episodes: The Red Serpent; Sacramentum Gladiatorum; Legends
• November 2nd- Beginning at 10:05pm (immediately following Episode 3 of “Dancing on the Edge”) “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” episodes: The Thing in the Pit; Shadow Games; Delicate Things
• November 9th- Beginning at 10:05pm (immediately following Episode 4 of “Dancing on the Edge”) “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” episodes: Great and Unfortunate Things; Mark of the Brotherhood; Whore
• November 16th- Beginning at 10:35pm (immediately following Episode 5 of “Dancing on the Edge”) “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” episodes: Party Favors; Old Wounds; Revelations
• November 23rd- Beginning at 10:05pm (immediately following the epilogue of “Dancing on the Edge”)
• “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” episode: Kill Them All
• “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena” episodes: Past Transgressions; Missio
• November 30th- Beginning at 9:00pm
• “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena” episodes: Paterfamilias; Beneath the Mask; Reckoning
• December 7th – Beginning at 9:00pm
• “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena” episode: The Bitter End
• “Spartacus: Vengeance” episodes: Fugitivus; A Place in This World
• December 14th – Beginning at 9:00pm
• “Spartacus: Vengeance” episodes: The Greater Good; Empty Hands; Libertus
• December 21st- Beginning at 9:00pm
• “Spartacus: Vengeance” episodes: Chosen Path; Sacramentum; Balance
• December 28th- Beginning at 9:00pm
• “Spartacus: Vengeance” episodes: Monsters; Wraths of the Gods
• “Spartacus: War of the Damned” episodes: Enemies of Rome
• January 4th- Beginning at 9:00pm:
• “Spartacus: War of the Damned” episodes: Wolves at the Gate; Men of Honor; Decimation
• January 11th- Beginning at 9:00pm
• “Spartacus: War of the Damned” episodes: Blood Brothers, Spoils of War; Mors Indecepta
• January 18th- Beginning at 9:00pm
• “Spartacus: War of the Damned” episodes: Separate Paths; The Dead and the Dying; Victory