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Miniatures Adventure => Pikes, Muskets and Flouncy Shirts => Topic started by: flags_of_war on 18 February 2014, 11:22:01 PM

Title: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: flags_of_war on 18 February 2014, 11:22:01 PM
Anyone been watching this at all? Only seen something about it there and going to check it out.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2375692/
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: LeadAsbestos on 19 February 2014, 12:35:31 AM
Really great if you're having trouble sleeping. Not as disappointing as the Camelot series, but only because I cared about the subject matter more. ::)
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Slayer on 19 February 2014, 04:17:34 AM
im watching and loving it.

Think game of thrones but with pirates imo
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: marcusluis on 19 February 2014, 05:04:11 AM
when is this on in the uk ??
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: sotek486 on 19 February 2014, 04:58:35 PM
I've been enjoying the series ... good acting and story --- high quality filming ... although I can't wait for S4 of Game of Thrones!!!  ;D  Valar Morghulis!!!!
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Hammers on 19 February 2014, 05:02:53 PM
I have only seen the first half of the pilot. Looked OK even though pirates, in the romantiziced way,  is not really my thing. HBO *always* deliverers as far as I am concerned. All shows do not reach the stellar heights of The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Rome, GoT...,  but they are almost always watchable.
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Captain Gamma on 19 February 2014, 06:49:00 PM
My only problem is that the lead Toby Stephens is a horrendous over actor. That's what spoils it a bit for me. Still, I've only seen the clips so I may yet be surprised.

Apparently Guy Ritchie is making a Treasure Island which could be good.   
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: flags_of_war on 19 February 2014, 07:00:03 PM
when is this on in the uk ??

Not sure. I do most of my tv online.
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Hammers on 19 February 2014, 08:05:21 PM
Not sure. I do most of my tv online.

Me to. I have HBO Nordic, which is pretty fucking great.
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Captain Blood on 19 February 2014, 08:26:18 PM
Haven't seen it, but have just finished watching Season 1 of Vikings on DVD, which I thought was pretty damn good - not HBO, but quite HBO-like.
:)
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: NickNascati on 19 February 2014, 09:19:41 PM
I'm watching it when I happen to see it in the listings.  Not very impressed overall.  Much too talky for my taste, just isn't "Piraty" enough.  Lovely ladies though. :)
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Hammers on 19 February 2014, 10:44:34 PM
Haven't seen it, but have just finished watching Season 1 of Vikings on DVD, which I thought was pretty damn good - not HBO, but quite HBO-like.
:)

Huh, season 2 is starting om HBO next week...
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Slayer on 19 February 2014, 11:18:36 PM
Huh, season 2 is starting om HBO next week...

Thanks for making my day:-D
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: LeadAsbestos on 20 February 2014, 12:12:12 AM
Huh, season 2 is starting om HBO next week...

History Channel here, starting the 27th. Great show!
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: flags_of_war on 20 February 2014, 09:58:16 AM
the only two trailers I saw was pirates talking about their feelings. Sent me running the other direction.


 lol lol lol lol

Haven't seen it, but have just finished watching Season 1 of Vikings on DVD, which I thought was pretty damn good - not HBO, but quite HBO-like.
:)

Im just about to start that as well seen as i just finished Boardwalk Empire ;D
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: El Frantico on 24 February 2014, 07:38:47 AM
I'm enjoying this show... The first few epsidopes in I thought i was going to be giving up on it, but it gets much better. I'm more excited about the show each time I watch.

  They actually get a bit of history stuff right. For example,  merchants go to closed quarters instead of attempting to fight the pirates head on as they often did historically.

 They way they dress is absolutely ridiculous though. Charles Vane looks like a South American pop star and in one episode Jack Rackham is wearing sunglasses! Definitely my least favorite part of the show.
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Sangennaru on 24 February 2014, 08:07:52 AM
They way they dress is absolutely ridiculous though. Charles Vane looks like a South American pop star and in one episode Jack Rackham is wearing sunglasses! Definitely my least favorite part of the show.

60s sunglasses though! lol

ahah, that said, the last one was a little better. Seems that they don't mind spending some money for a big show, its just... as they really WANTED To write about feelings and politics. But we want blood!
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Slayer on 24 February 2014, 09:40:52 AM
But we want blood!

this and the next one seems to be plenty :-) I really enjoyed tonight's one
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: flags_of_war on 03 March 2014, 11:04:53 AM
Im upto the EP3 now and im quite enjoying it. Not great for the histortical aspect but i don't think they are selling it as that either.
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Captain Blood on 06 April 2014, 11:15:51 AM
Just got access to this with a free trial of Amazon Prime.

Only watched the first episode, but I think it's pretty damned good. It looks fabulous, and is suitably brutal in it's protrayal of pirate violence.

Yes, there are a few too many people who look like male models, but Toby Stephens, who I agree can be a bit of a ham, is extremely good as Captain Flint from what I've seen so far.

Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Gutbukkit on 06 April 2014, 12:04:56 PM
Fantastic series. Watched the whole series over two nights. Stephens makes a brilliantly Flint, completely ruthless yet likeable. Can't wait for next season. Though we will have Crossbones to watch in the mean time, though I'm a bit wary of that from what I've read and seen so far.
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Dr DeAth on 06 April 2014, 12:39:00 PM
Just watched episode one after reading Captain Blood's post; I'm hooked.

Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Captain Blood on 06 April 2014, 03:30:24 PM
Aaaarrr!

Just got to work out how I can cram in watching ten episodes of this and ten episodes of Vikings season 2, before my Amazon Prime free trial runs out in 27 days time...

Whilst painting several more teams for the LPL...  ::)

Bloody hell... I might actually have to subscribe...  :?
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Dr DeAth on 06 April 2014, 03:53:19 PM
Aaaarrr!

Just got to work out how I can cram in watching ten episodes of this and ten episodes of Vikings season 2, before my Amazon Prime free trial runs out in 27 days time...

Whilst painting several more teams for the LPL...  ::)

Bloody hell... I might actually have to subscribe...  :?

That could be tricky, they release Vikings S2 episodes each Friday after the US screening on Thursdays, S2E6 was last Friday, so with 4 more episodes to go I think you may miss the last episode by a day or two :'(

Game of Thrones S4 starts tomorrow night too, so that may also add to your schedule.



Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Captain Blood on 06 April 2014, 03:55:17 PM

Game of Thrones S4 starts tomorrow night too, so that may also add to your schedule.


Bloody hell - is that on Amazon Prime as well?
Thought Sky kept their HBO goodies firmly to themselves...  ::)

Well, that's it... Guess I'm going to have to subscribe...
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Dr DeAth on 06 April 2014, 04:07:42 PM
Bloody hell - is that on Amazon Prime as well?
Thought Sky kept their HBO goodies firmly to themselves...  ::)

Well, that's it... Guess I'm going to have to subscribe...

No, not on Amazon Prime, on Sky - sorry if I got your hopes up.  :)
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Hammers on 06 April 2014, 07:46:21 PM
Aaaarrr!

Just got to work out how I can cram in watching ten episodes of this and ten episodes of Vikings season 2, before my Amazon Prime free trial runs out in 27 days time...

Whilst painting several more teams for the LPL...  ::)

Bloody hell... I might actually have to subscribe...  :?

I think I pay 10€/month here for HBO Nordic. I think that is quite reasonable. I get to see a lot of great stuff for that money. Girls; Fleming, the Man Who Would Be Bond, Vikings, True Blood, Big Love...
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Dr DeAth on 07 April 2014, 08:37:12 PM
Just watched the last episode of season 1 - very enjoyable romp.
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Captain Blood on 07 April 2014, 08:38:05 PM
Bloody hell Mark. You don't hang around do you?!  :o
I'm just about to watch episode three!
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Malamute on 07 April 2014, 10:31:21 PM
Just watched the last episode of season 1 - very enjoyable romp.

He's got far too much time on his hands. We shall have to occupy his time more effectively. ;)
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Gutbukkit on 07 April 2014, 10:35:47 PM
Episode 3 of my second viewing of the series. Maybe I should have paced myself as season two seems a long way off  lol
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Captain Blood on 07 April 2014, 11:03:17 PM
You know the best thing, I've just realised?
I've been racking my brains to place the big, burly, bald-headed, middle-aged actor who plays Gates, the Quartermaster...
I've just got him.
He was Nasir, the taciturn, swarthy saracen in Robin of Sherwood, nigh on 30 years ago...
Brilliant.
I like it even better now... :D
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Chesh on 08 April 2014, 04:43:45 PM
I watched the first episode last week after that weeks episode of Vikings.  May thether my phone signal to my Ipad on the train to Salute and watch some more then.
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: admiraldick on 24 April 2014, 04:02:10 PM
Lol. You guys seem awfully hard to please sometimes  ;)

I've only watched a couple of eps so far and really enjoyed them. i can understand that some people felt it was a bit too talky and not enough fighty, but actually i thought that was a huge strength. it gave a much more rounded picture of what it must have been like on a pirate ship that you often see. the idea that when not having to do the backbreaking labour of actually crewing a ship, you would have to put up with huge amounts of political maneuvering and back-stabbing was quite refreshing in a way, and added a lot more depth to the characters than anything else i can remember about pirates.

the opening sequence where we meet an un-named John Silver was very clever and told me more about the character than I've seen invested into him in any other incarnation (and I'm not just talking Muppet's Treasure Island and the mid-90s Legend of Treasure Island series). seeing Billy Bones' growing mix of resentment, respect and fear of Flint has been very enjoyable so far and I look forward to seeing how he becomes the wreck we know from the book. Flint is a wily kind of character and you can see why he's ended up the captain and while he's only that bit cleverer than everyone around him, you can imagine how legends of him as a demon captain may have grown around him.

the special effects and sets were clean, sharp and convincing in a way that Game of Thrones and Spartacus has never really managed to handle. the costume choices are not always historically accurate, but the setting 'feels' a lot more real than anything i've seen in Vikings or Copper. it's fiction, not historical drama, and yet manages to seem more authentic than dramas that are trying to tell a 'true story' like The Tudors.

all in all, i would rate it quite highly so far and if nothing else it's nice to have a tv series about pirates as i don't think we've had one of those for a while.

if i was going to criticise it, it would be for the role the women play in the show. someone has obviously decided that because women basically can't play a role in a story about piracy, those women that do appear have to be ridiculously over the top. where the male pirates are relatively gentile in their speech the women can't help but eff and blind every other word and there is basically no point at which a women appears on screen and there aren't also a pair of knockers on full display (hers or some other wench's). neither of these features develop the story and they basically make it impossible for me to watch it with anyone else or even to recommend it, in spite of how good the rest of the show is.

the only other thing that irked me was, as someone else pointed out, some of the characters dress 'weird' (though it seems to be restricted to 'bad-guys). Vane, Rackham and Bonny dress like they are from Waterworld, which is particularly galling as they are the only characters that aren't entirely made up. its not enough to put me off watching, but its annoying every time they're on screen (particularly Rackham's stupid bouffant).
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Penchour on 24 April 2014, 04:50:21 PM
You know the best thing, I've just realised?
I've been racking my brains to place the big, burly, bald-headed, middle-aged actor who plays Gates, the Quartermaster...
I've just got him.
He was Nasir, the taciturn, swarthy saracen in Robin of Sherwood, nigh on 30 years ago...
Brilliant.
I like it even better now... :D

 :o :o :o :o THat's it !!! Thanks for the enlightment !
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Dr. Zombie on 24 April 2014, 04:54:20 PM
You know the best thing, I've just realised?
I've been racking my brains to place the big, burly, bald-headed, middle-aged actor who plays Gates, the Quartermaster...
I've just got him.
He was Nasir, the taciturn, swarthy saracen in Robin of Sherwood, nigh on 30 years ago...
Brilliant.
I like it even better now... :D

Sweet zombie Jesus!!! That's it! It has really been bothering me that I could not place him.

Man Nasir was such a cool character, with the two swords on his back.
Title: Re: Black Sails TV Series
Post by: Captain Blood on 24 April 2014, 08:18:53 PM
 :)