NBC's Crossbones

[RockyBanks]

I'll admit, I'm not entirely sure how to kick off this discussion. What you see is what you get: John Malkovich playing Blackbeard. On network TV. In May.

I have no doubt that it will be cheesy, derivative, and tame. (I'm thinking of NBC's freshly-cancelled Dracula.) But tonight's premiere deserves a chance by virtue of Malkovich's presence, and if he can manage to go appropriately bonkers, I'm in.

The premiere episode, "The Devil's Dominion", airs on NBC tonight at 10/9c. Here's the trailer:

[Starleafgirl]

I watched!

It seemed promising, up until John Mal--I mean "Blackbeard" had his first vision.

Meh, I'll continue to watch. It was all right.

Spoilers are allowed here, right? ;P

[RockyBanks]

I watched!

It seemed promising, up until John Mal--I mean "Blackbeard" had his first vision.

Meh, I'll continue to watch. It was all right.

Spoilers are allowed here, right? ;P

Sure, why not?

I enjoyed this first episode. Malkovich is appropriately creepy and unhinged, and I like the guy playing Tom Lowe. The dialogue is a bit stilted for my taste, but the characters are engaging, and the concept is fun enough that I'll tune in next week.

Here's the first episode on Hulu, if anyone missed it: (link)

[Starleafgirl]

Cool. ^^

Then, I just want to say, I liked the twist at the end, where he actually succeeded in killing Blackbeard (I thought he was going to do the typical network-television thing & FAIL and then spend the whole season trying again)... but then had to turn around and save his life. Sigh. XD It's the best of both worlds!

I'll be watching the next episode too, for now, but if the dialogue continues to be stilted, as you say, I'll probably give up.

Guess it's not real popular with the CBR crowd, if we're the only two posting. This is less of a turnout than there was for The Cape, though to be fair, that was an attempted take on a superhero show, something CBR would no doubt be interested in, lol, even if it was just morbid curiosity (though I know some people here actually liked it).

[RockyBanks]

Yeah, I was hoping for more interest, but so be it.

I'm really hoping to see more "high seas" action in future episodes. I know TV likes to constrain itself to a handful of stationary sets in order to save money, but in a series about pirates, it'll be a huge letdown if the story spends too much time on land.

Also, pirates.

[pro]

It was interesting enough to watch the next episode.
I wonder which wil be the better pirates series, this or Black Sails.

[Starleafgirl]

Yeah, I was hoping for more interest, but so be it.

I'm really hoping to see more "high seas" action in future episodes. I know TV likes to constrain itself to a handful of stationary sets in order to save money, but in a series about pirates, it'll be a huge letdown if the story spends too much time on land.

Also, pirates.

Agreed... or at least give us some truly lush scenes at the island paradise. I need my "LOST" fix and Hawaii 5-O is on hiatus. ;P

It was interesting enough to watch the next episode.
I wonder which wil be the better pirates series, this or Black Sails.

If you watch both, let us know!

[RockyBanks]

It was interesting enough to watch the next episode.
I wonder which wil be the better pirates series, this or Black Sails.

If you watch both, let us know!

I hear good things about Black Sails, but I haven't seen it. I imagine Crossbones seems tame in comparison, since NBC has to keep the sex and violence to a PG-level.

[CliffHanger2]

I saw clips of Malkovich trying to sell this show looking kind of drunk like he was about to fall asleep hilarious.

[7thangel]

i'll reserve my judgement until more eps. air, but i prefer black sails

[pro]

i'll reserve my judgement until more eps. air, but i prefer black sails

Same goes for me. Malkovich is going to have to carry this show if it is to compete with Black Sails.

[Starleafgirl]

Geez, this show was not very good at all.

Though to be fair, I jumped overboard fairly quickly, at the first sign of a love triangle between Jack, Kate, and Sawyer. *pause* I mean, Kate and the spy dude and her husband. Jumping into the arms of not one, but both of them in the same episode was too much for me.

In any case, it's been cancelled!

So... did anyone like it?

[RockyBanks]

Geez, this show was not very good at all.

Though to be fair, I jumped overboard fairly quickly, at the first sign of a love triangle between Jack, Kate, and Sawyer. *pause* I mean, Kate and the spy dude and her husband. Jumping into the arms of not one, but both of them in the same episode was too much for me.

In any case, it's been cancelled!

So... did anyone like it?

Huh. I did not expect this thread to get bumped.

The series was a disappointment overall, but I'm glad I stuck with it because the finale was fun. The final two episodes, unlike the first seven, actually featured naval battles and cannon fire and people getting hacked to bits. (You know, piratey things.)

Of course, this just underscores the fact that Crossbones was folly from the outset. Without an HBO-sized budget, the series was restricted to a handful of small land-based sets and zero special effects; without the freedom of a TV-MA rating, the story was neutered of any requisite blood, gore, violence, or sex.