Black Sails (2014)

Watchseries; There are already reviews here that explain all the great things about this show better than I can. I just want to throw in my two cents as someone who really isn't all that interested in pirates. I watched all 4 seasons of this show in about 2 weeks, mainly due to having run out of anything I was even vaguely interested in watching during lockdown and having just finished several other period pieces. The reason I wasn't more interested in the show to begin with had to to with my assumption that a show about pirates would be overly masculine and violent and not have much to offer in terms of worthwhile female characters or put effort into things like character development, narrative, and dialogue. I figured I would watch a couple episodes and see if it held my attention. I cannot express how happy I am that my assumptions about this show were so wrong.

The first few episodes are the least engaging of the series by far (random gratuitous sex and some cringey dialogue moments) and yet I saw enough strong points to carry on (acting performances and overall production quality). But by the end of the first season, I couldn't wait to know what would happen next - it had developed into a compelling story with believable and complex characters that I simply needed to see more of. With each season, I became more invested in the characters and the future of Nassau.

At the end, I was left with a certainty that the entire story must have been written for all 4 seasons in advance - it's difficult to say much about the ending without going off on a diatribe about what goes wrong with so many other multi-season historical fiction shows - but I will only say that compared to shows like Vikings, GoT, Outlander, and even The Last Kingdom - this show is in its own league as far as having a coherent and satisfying narrative from beginning to end and complex, believable characters whose actions make total sense. I like all of the other shows I mentioned there quite a bit - but Black Sails is on another level, especially in terms of character dialogue. The characters monologue - frequently and so compellingly that you're never left wondering why some character did something or thinking some action didn't make sense or exists just to force the plot forward. It's not that kind of show. If a character does something, it is for a good reason that reflects who that character fundamentally is. If you don't understand an action at the time, you will as the story unfolds. This show treats the audience with respect and doesn't spoon feed or dumb anything down. Aside from a few season one moments, nothing about this show ever feels like a cash grab. It is a story well told, without much care who has an appetite for it. Anyway, go watch this now if you're even vaguely considering it - especially if you're on the fence because you don't think a show about pirates is for you.

There are already reviews here that explain all the great things about this show better than I can. I just want to throw in my two cents as someone who really isn't all that interested in pirates. I watched all 4 seasons of this show in about 2 weeks, mainly due to having run out of anything I was even vaguely interested in watching during lockdown and having just finished several other period pieces. The reason I wasn't more interested in the show to begin with had to to with my assumption that a show about pirates would be overly masculine and violent and not have much to offer in terms of worthwhile female characters or put effort into things like character development, narrative, and dialogue. I figured I would watch a couple episodes and see if it held my attention. I cannot express how happy I am that my assumptions about this show were so wrong.

The first few episodes are the least engaging of the series by far (random gratuitous sex and some cringey dialogue moments) and yet I saw enough strong points to carry on (acting performances and overall production quality). But by the end of the first season, I couldn't wait to know what would happen next - it had developed into a compelling story with believable and complex characters that I simply needed to see more of. With each season, I became more invested in the characters and the future of Nassau.

At the end, I was left with a certainty that the entire story must have been written for all 4 seasons in advance - it's difficult to say much about the ending without going off on a diatribe about what goes wrong with so many other multi-season historical fiction shows - but I will only say that compared to shows like Vikings, GoT, Outlander, and even The Last Kingdom - this show is in its own league as far as having a coherent and satisfying narrative from beginning to end and complex, believable characters whose actions make total sense. I like all of the other shows I mentioned there quite a bit - but Black Sails is on another level, especially in terms of character dialogue. The characters monologue - frequently and so compellingly that you're never left wondering why some character did something or thinking some action didn't make sense or exists just to force the plot forward. It's not that kind of show. If a character does something, it is for a good reason that reflects who that character fundamentally is. If you don't understand an action at the time, you will as the story unfolds. This show treats the audience with respect and doesn't spoon feed or dumb anything down. Aside from a few season one moments, nothing about this show ever feels like a cash grab. It is a story well told, without much care who has an appetite for it. Anyway, go watch this now if you're even vaguely considering it - especially if you're on the fence because you don't think a show about pirates is for you.

Black Sails watchseries. Black Sails is just a flat out awesome show that is addicting once you start watching it! It's the prequel to "Treasure Island." It didn't get nearly the attention that it deserved at the time and that's probably because it was on STARZ when they were just branching out into original tv shows. This was one of their first big budget tv shows and it's worth every second you put into watching it! People are finally starting to find out about it now that STARZ has become bigger with shows like Spartacus, Power, Outlander, etc and is on streaming sites like Hulu. We still got 4 amazing seasons out of it though!

I've been hooked on this show since it's release, at last a proper Pirate T.V. series. In my opinion the attention to detail rivals such shows as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, the acting has the potential to possibly match that of Breaking Bad. I would expect nothing less from the list of producers and directors. The Story line is much more complex then i first thought and the amount of time that the character building has taken so far just to understand and completely enjoy this show is immense but not unjustified. The performances by these actors and actresses (Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Zach McGowan, Luke Arnold, Louise Barnes, Tom Hopper and Mark Ryan) has increasingly made this show more intriguing and more powerful. I'm intrigued to watch and want more. There are no limits or boundaries as to what can and can't be done throughout this series. This series takes a bit of patience as it's only just starting out, but once you adjust and settle in for the ride it's exciting, truly exciting.

EDIT: 24/02/16 After two and a half seasons, I stand by everything originally stated. This T.V. Series is absolutely amazing. The script writers have matched or bettered every single one of my expectations.

Wow this show is amazing! The opening scene is absolutely brilliant one of the best opening's I have ever seen in a show before. The whole pilot is done extremely well plenty of Action which they really did well here. Character development is done really really good without going overboard which I was surprised. The setting and locations were absolutely amazing! It is exactly what I would have pictured back in the days of the Pirates. Story might be a bit confusing for some though you will understand it in the end. Honestly I really can't praise this show enough it's one of the best Pilots I have ever seen but then again I don't watch much TV. I really look forward to seeing this series to go on. I will be watching this every Saturday night. I recommend this to everyone that's looking for a good show. Absolutely brilliant 10/10

*Edit* 2/16/14- Just finished episode 4 and I am still enjoying this series a lot. I am really looking forward to the rest of the season.

*Edit* 3/17/14- I rather enjoyed Black sail's season 1 a lot and I am looking forward to seeing the second season.

Rarely do I find a TV series worth my time to followÂ…..Black Sails has got my attention. Actors are terrific and the storyline is adult and intriguing. The storyline mix of the Treasure Island prequel and true life historical pirates is extremely compelling. It is a TV genre that has never been explored before. I like seeing women in powerful roles (Eleanor) as I think it provides a positive role model. I just watched episode V and I am anxious see what happens next. Zach McGowen, Captain Vane, is doing an outstanding job in his pirate roleÂ…Â…and his fit athletic frame is not hard to look at Â…...amazing shoulders and abs. Toby Stephens is really top notch as Captain FlintÂ…..he brings a passion to the role not unlike how I remember him as a Bond villain. The sets for the show are grandÂ…the detail of the sailing ships is amazingÂ…..the scenery is dazzling. The unfurling of the top sails gave me a rushÂ…..photography was so good. I am glad to hear that there will be a second season. This is the first time that I have done a review in IMDbÂ…Â…..I felt compelled after reading all the negatives from the other reviewers. I thought that the show overall is fast paced so I do not agree with some of the other reviewers (at all).

As some other reviews point out here, this show is totally underrated. The production value is really quite high, especially for a pirate show like this where there's ships being blown apart, intricate costumes, detailed settings. I'm really pleased with the quality overall.

Acting is very believable and quite good, especially for Flint (pretty bad ass character).

Some people complain the pace is slow. I really don't find it an issue. I'm always captivated, and there's pretty dynamic/various characters and subplots that it keeps you involved. Breaking Bad.. now that show was dreadfully slow at some points..

Only thing I don't really like is the intro. The song is awesome and catchy, but the visuals of the intro are super boring. IMHO.

Overall, one of the best shows on TV if you like a gritty, pretty realistic, high production value pirate show!