TV TV Blog Popwrap Linda Stasi Michael Starr Phil Mushnick Reviews Listings Last Updated:Wed., Dec. 22, 2010, 12:47am Rex Ryan Bernard Madoff Eli Manning Gwyneth Paltrow WikiLeaks PicsPostToday in Pictures Story Comment RAW RAGE: PeterMensah, Lucy Lawless (inset right) and Jaime Murray (above) stars in "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena."Bloody hit How 'Spartacus' gets away with the sex & violence By MICHAEL GILTZ Last Updated: 4:36 AM, December 13, 2010 Posted: 10:54 PM, December 12, 2010 Comments: 2 Like 63 likes.</p><p> Sign Up to see what your friends like. 7 Gladiator movies used to be nicknamed "sword and sandal epics." But thanks to " Spartacus " -- the outrageous new TV series on Starz -- they could just as easily be called "sex and violence" epics.</p><p> The new season begins next month and fans won't have to wait long for beheadings, throat slashings, copious amounts of blood, full-frontal nudity and countless sex scenes betweenmasters and slaves, men and women, and several other combinations as well.</p><p> And that's just the first episode."That's nothing, mate," says Lucy Lawless, the New Zealander who shot to fame as Xena and also had a major role on the acclaimed " Battlestar Galactica " reboot. "I'm forbidding my parents to watch." Really? "Well, I'd like to -- but unfortunately they're grownups, and I can't really tell them what to do," says Lawless, who plays Lucretia, the wife of the owner ofthe gladiator school. "But I cringe to think of them watching the prequel." If her parents do watch, they won't be alone.</p><p> The first season of "Spartacus" was a phenomenon.</p><p> It told the story of the origin of the gladiator who becamefamous in the arena and then led a slave rebellion against Rome.</p><p> It debuted to more than 500,000 viewers -- and then grew.</p><p> The season finale wasseen by more than 1.2 million viewers.</p><p> It is a rare TV series that more than doubles its debut audience the way"Spartacus" has.</p><p> Apparently, word got out about a TV series that combined the graphic novel More Print Sponsored Links SHOCKING: Apple iPad for $24.87 TODAY ONLY: Auction site to give away 1,000 iPads Entertainment Best western Embrace the madness Just kidding...</p><p> Home TVMovies Music Fashion Theater Food Travel Pets Events Comics & Games Columnists Blogs Horoscope Lifestyle NYC Local Business OpinionNews Vacay-Rod Alex Rodriguez and Cameron Diaz have their very own hot- stove...</p><p> Gossip Celeb Photos PopWrapPage Six Family feud Uber-conservative Stephen Baldwin is bracing for a Baldwin...</p><p> Teams High Schools Scores Sports Feeling 'Melo MEMPHIS — With each day, the Nets confidence seems to grow that...</p><p> PHOTOS VIDEOS BLOGS 30 ° Today's Paper Login Register Classifieds Archives Subscribe More in Photos Click on Each Photo Video More in Videos VIEWED COMMENTEDMost Popular 1.</p><p> Family feud 2.</p><p> Spidey's tangled web 3.</p><p> Hubby would take back 'vow' 4.</p><p> Rabbi indicted on murder charges in killing of ex-cop 5.</p><p> End for Andy? coolness of the movie "300" with equally graphic adult content.</p><p> With the mind-blowing content seen every week, does Starz even have a Standards & Practices department? "Not the way a network does," laughs creator Stephen S.</p><p> DeKnight, who credits Joss Whedon of " Buffy The Vampire Slayer " fame for giving him his big break. "We got a note on episode eight with Segovax [Mike Edward], the very well-endowed gladiator," DeKnight says. "There was a shot in the bathhouse where Spartacus is sitting down and Segovaxcomes up to talk to him.</p><p> And the way it was framed, you saw Segovax's endowment before you saw Segovax.</p><p> And they thought that was a bit much." Lawless wasn't feeling so bold now that her daughter, Daisy Lawless, is also working on the set. "I say, 'Turn your back for the next 20 minutes, Daisy,' " Lawless says. "It must be really weird to have your mother engage in some shocking behavior." Surprisingly, that shocking behavior hasn't sparked an outcry, though "Spartacus" is even more violent than the other breakout show of the moment, the brutal zombie fest " The Walking Dead ." "Really, I can count on one hand the number of times Starz asked us to snip something out.</p><p> And usually it was a giant shot of a penis or Spartacus ripping somebody's throat out with his teeth," he laughs. "They give us incredible latitude to tell the story the way we want to. "I'm hoping people realize it's not just sex and violence, and we're telling a story.</p><p> I know Starz was expecting to get a bit of an outcry, but it just never happened." TV historian Tim Brooks says being on pay cable helps tremendously."Frontal nudity and extreme violence seem to be the last frontier of specialty channels seeking attention from the mostly upscale viewers who will pay extra for the thrill," says Brooks, the co-author of "The Complete Directory to Primetime Network and Cable TV Shows." "You recall that Showtime made a mark some years ago with ' Queer as Folk ,' which was pretty racy for its time," says Brooks."The violence and nudity is generally contained within a serious narrative about historical subjects, like 'The Tudors .' It's hard to attack that without seeming prudish." Like 63 likes.</p><p> Sign Up to see what your friends like. 7 More PrintNYPOST Comments (2) DavidKashfi 12/13/2010 6:32 PM I cannot begin to describe how beautiful and sexy Lucy is.</p><p> DavidKashfi 12/13/2010 6:28 PM I love Lucy! I am greatly anticipating seeing her in the prequel and all the erotic and hopefully barefoot action with her.</p><p> Lucy is incredibly beautiful and gorgeous and an awesome actress.</p><p> I love Lucy forever.</p><p> You must be logged in to leave comments.</p><p> Login ι Registerfor $24.87! 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