Pirates must be all the rage these days. Barely two months after the finale of Black Sails on Starz, which was a worthy prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island (with another season on the way), NBC is offering a new pirate drama based on the notorious captain Black Beard. It’s titled Crossbones and premiers tomorrow at 10 PM.
The series stars John Malcovich and, based on the preview, looks pretty damn good! Of course, there are several plot elements that look similar to Black Sails, including a coded map. But, then again, what good is a treasure map if it doesn’t need to be decoded?
Crossbones is based on a book called The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard. I’ve not spent much time reading pirate books (save for Treasure Island and Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton), but if I wasn’t spending most of my time researching and writing about Tenth Century Rome for the sequel to Enoch’s Device, I might very well add this one to my reading list.
My hope is that Crossbones serves up an exciting adventure during this post-Vikings TV lull. After all, man cannot live on Game of Thrones alone!
Bill
May 29, 2014 - 4:48 pm ·Aargh! Matey. Hoist the mains'l.
Bill
June 1, 2014 - 9:17 am ·The sound was bad the first 20 minutes for me. I couldn't hear the voices but background sounds were loud. Was that purposeful or just me?
Joseph Finley
June 9, 2014 - 9:07 pm ·Bill, that might have just been on your end. I had no trouble (thought haven't yet watched the second episode). So far, I'm not quite sure it's up to the quality of "Black sails," but I'm keeping an open mind.
Joseph Finley
June 9, 2014 - 9:08 pm ·By the way, the female lead in "Crossbones" was also on Vikings (or so I've read). Was she the Saxon princess who was all too curious about Athelstan?
Bill
June 10, 2014 - 7:58 pm ·I'll have to look again about the actress. No one immediately stood out on viewing.
Bill
June 13, 2014 - 6:49 am ·I thought I found a big anachronism watching the 2nd episode. Some of the pirates were signing "Ye Jacobites by Name" which is most famously a 1791 Robert Burns song. Edward Teach (Blackbeard) died in 1718. The show is said to take place in 1729 with the idea that Teach didn't really die. Some more research found that Burns had rewritten an earlier anti-Jacobite song with less strident lyrics. The wheelchair bound clock maker discusses his Jacobite loyalty with Tom Lowe. So, it's not necessarily anachronistic within the loose limits of TV historical fiction.
Joseph Finley
June 13, 2014 - 8:11 am ·I'm and episode behind, but I'll look out for that one – thanks!