Article first published as CROSSBONES Review on Seat42F.
NBC’s CROSSBONES is pure summertime popcorn fun. It features the noble hero, Tom Lowe (Richard Coyle, Covert Affairs), going undercover as a doctor in an attempt to get close to and assassinate the notorious pirate, Blackbeard (the great John Malkovich). It’s a swashbuckling action adventure, a bit cheesy, a tad unrealistic, but thoroughly enjoyable.
NBC’s CROSSBONES is pure summertime popcorn fun. It features the noble hero, Tom Lowe (Richard Coyle, Covert Affairs), going undercover as a doctor in an attempt to get close to and assassinate the notorious pirate, Blackbeard (the great John Malkovich). It’s a swashbuckling action adventure, a bit cheesy, a tad unrealistic, but thoroughly enjoyable.
Because CROSSBONES airs on NBC, it is at
a disadvantage to its Starz competitor, Black Sails, which can show
more blood, violence, and nudity. After all, this is a series about
pirates, and unless one makes outlaws of the cartoonish variety, one is
going to want to see some of that gritty reality, even if there’s a
light spirit about. That’s just the nature of the show, and CROSSBONES
has to keep these things toned down, hinting at much more than showing
such elements, not getting anywhere near as bloody as the
boundary-pushing NBC series Hannibal.
Yet, even so, I enjoy CROSSBONES. It
could be the simplistic hero story, one that inspires and excites in the
right hands. We know who is on the side of good, and we cheer for them
to succeed, even if we want it drawn out a bit to enjoy the villain a
little longer. Or it could be the excellent Malkovich, playing
Blackbeard as an odd, thoughtful, intelligent commodore ruling an island
in a way that only Malkovich can. Whatever it is, the show draws one in
and captures the imagination.
Malkovich helps set the tone for the
piece, distinguishing it from its peers somewhat. Because of who the
actor is, Blackbeard is someone viewers are likely to feel sympathy
towards, and with the uneven balance of power in a land run by those
against institutions, his position is precarious and likely to change.
Alliances will be formed and broken, and one is never quite sure what
Blackbeard will do, his unpredictability being a positive.
In the name of fairness to the fairer
sex, CROSSBONES, like Black Sails, makes sure to include plenty of women
in its ensemble. There’s Selima El Sharad (Yasmine Al Massri, Carmel),
who Blackbeard tasks with decoding the plans for technology captured
along with Lowe, and who thinks that she knows better than the
commodore. Kate (Claire Foy, White Heat) is the wife of the man
Blackbeard asks to build the machine, and an obvious love interest for
Lowe. And Nenna (Tracy Ifeachor, Doctor Who “The End of Time”) is a
pirate henchman, pretty much on equal footing with the other pirate in
the show, Charles (David Hoflin, Neighbours), both of which are not
completely loyal to Blackbeard.
Should there be so many strong females
in this series? Well, that’s debatable. Black Sails adds females through
the inclusion of prostitutes and the capable daughter of an important
man, while CROSSBONES makes the girls more part of the action. In the
name of historical accuracy, the balance probably should be more
male-heavy. Yet, these actresses do a fine job, and a little political
correctness, as long as it doesn’t take away from the story, never hurt
anything.
There’s also the obligatory scenes
showing that Lowe’s boss, Governor William Jagger of Jamaica (Julian
Sands (24, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), is not on the up-and-up.
This will provide opportunity for Lowe to work with Blackbeard down the
line, possibly even setting up Lowe and Blackbeard to be the only
characters we really get behind, them against the world. Yet, it’s
unlikely fans will care about such predictability because they will
enjoy the results of the structure.
CROSSBONES is confined by limitations
and light on continuity and believability. Somehow, though, it’s highly
entertaining anyway, and that’s important for a network summer series.
There’s enough good stuff here to make it watchable and fun, a break
from the dark drama filling the airwaves September through May. That’s
why it works.
CROSSBONES premieres Friday at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.
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