Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea Episode 14: Gladiators of Barkar

I knew this episode was coming and I had gotten my expectations up for it, which was a mistake. The bar was raised by Batman the Animated Series and continued on with other DC Universe cartoons like Justice League. Avatar the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra also added to what was possible for half hour action adventure shows so I shouldn't expect that from a show that came 15 years before Batman and didn't have the built-in mythology which most kids already knew before watching.

Animation can be expensive so I understand taking shortcuts but to have the same repeating scene of hands collecting the spherical projectile so many times it can be disappointing. This is where a remake can improve on an existing property. Matt (Bob) and Rebecca have no back story other than they came from the surface. They've been with Spartakus and Arkana for 14 weeks or more. Do they have parents or are they homesick? Spartakus has become a father figure to them but everything is still pretty vague.

Rebecca is generally the curious one but Matt looking for that sense of manhood put on Spartakus’s gauntlet after he passed out. Slavers than capture Matt and take him to Barkar where Spartakus was a gladiator. This only happens just prior to the halfway point of the episode so exploring gladiatorial life wasn't possible. It played out like another captured party member episode. Though I did like the device they wore on their arms to fire balls at each other.