It’s been a long, long road for the hit Starz original series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, after its star, Andy Whitfield, was diagnosed with non–Hodgkin’s lymphoma, forcing the unfortunate–yet–necessary decision to replace him with a new actor.

After a significant amount of time off (the first season’s finale aired on April 16, 2010)””helped along by the 6–episode prequel series, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena“”the actor chosen to replace Mr. Whitfield was revealed to be Liam McIntyre.

That was just the first step toward a second season of the show finally making its way to us, but production is now underway on season 2, which will be called Spartacus: Vengeance, and all signs are that it will arrive in early 2012. To hold us over, Entertainment Weekly has the first official images of McIntyre as Spartacus. You can see them below now, and share your thoughts on how the replacement looks!

The big news that fans of the hit Starz original series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, have been following since the first season ended long ago was the loss of star Andy Whitfield after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and his eventual replacement with Liam McIntyre.

What many fans might not be so aware of, is that another popular actor from the first season also departed from the show during the lengthy delay. Lesley-Anne Brandt, who played top slave girl to Lucretia (Lucy Lawless), Naevia, decided during the delay to accept a job on CSI: NY. Now it’s being reported that Starz has found their new Naevia with the casting of Cynthia Addai-Robinson.

There are three Blu-ray deals over at Amazon this week:

True Blood: The Complete First Season and True Blood: The Complete Second Season for only $27.49 each (that’s 66% off the list price of $79.98 each).

Also, Spartacus: Blood and Sand is on sale for $32.99 (that’s 59% off the list price of $79.97).

There’s a BONUS when you purchase the Blu-ray editions for the two seasons of True Blood: While you wait for your physical items to arrive, you can start watching the series on Amazon on Demand instantly.

Note, these deals are valid all week through January 1, 2011.

There’s still plenty of DVDs and Blu-rays on sale right now:

– The Wire: The Complete Series DVD for $96.49

– Back to the Future: 25th Anniversary Trilogy Blu-ray for $38.99

– Harry Potter Years 1-6 Giftset Blu-ray for $69.99

– Harry Potter Years 1-6 Giftset DVD for $44.99

Every day, Amazon offers up “Lightning Deals,” limited quantities of various products for a discounted price for a 4-hour window of time. You have to be on the lookout for these deals and once the item runs out within that four hours, the sale is over.

Meaning, if you see something on sale that you want, buy it immediately before it’s gone. Since BLACK FRIDAY is coming up, there’s tons of great deals going on sale today, STARTING ON NOVEMBER 26 AT 12:30AM PST (yes, that’s 3:30am EST!).

Typically you don’t know what will be on sale until the minute it gets posted, but as part of this Black Friday event, Amazon has released this week’s Lightning Deal schedule for Movies & TV on DVD and Blu-ray. See list of today’s deals here below, along with more information on how these special deals work.

NOTE: Amazon has lowered the price of ALL seasons of Mad Men on DVD and Blu-ray to $9.99 each from November 25-27!!! Visit the Mad Men page to select DVDs/Blu-rays to purchase.

Also, Amazon’s Blu-ray box set deal of the week is the Alien Anthology Blu-ray Edition for only $70.49 (that’s 50% off the list price of $139.99). This deal is valid only for this week through November 27, 2010.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2010

12:30 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. PST

Angels & Demons
Blu-ray – $5.00

Legion
Blu-ray – $5.00

The first trailer for the mini-series prequel to Starz’s hit show, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, has been released online.

The six-episode prequel, titled Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, was announced after series star Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, delaying production on season 2 of the show. Sadly, Whitfield has faced setbacks in his fight, and recently it was announced that the lead role would be re-cast. Starz has now narrowed their search down to just a few names, and we should get an announcement on who will be stepping into the role and when production on season 2 will begin in the near future.

Now you can see a trailer for Gods of the Arena by clicking over to the other side, which is accompanied by a lengthy synopsis. The prequel debuts on January 21 at 10pm EST on Starz.