Black Sails - Starz Pirate TV Show

I can't be the only one who likes this more than game of thrones?
Love this theme song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFTcA4QLHw0
anybody else watching this?

hmm this is good eh? i love banshee and loved spartacus. can i expect more of the same here? if so i will begin this tonight :)

both banshee and spartacus (based on the two or three episodes I've seen of each) are OTT soap operas and yes Black Sails is in similar waters but it's better imo? i think this is the best hour long drama on television right now and probably will be in the top five for the year (alongside Americans, Fargo, Better Call Saul and Mr. Robot if that helps decide how seriously to take my opinion)

the acting is alternately excellent (toby stephens, toby Schmitz) and ridiculous (zach mcgowan, hanna new) but when it's good it's very good. Dialogue is excellent but it's the plotting and the set pieces that make this enthralling.

Season one is sometimes fun but often onerous and rape-y in the game of thrones mode; enough so that it was occasionally embarrassing and difficult to watch.
Season two improved vastly, mostly stopped with the creepy sexploitation and recentered the storyline on SHIFTING ALLEGIANCES and power structures; about halfway through it completely found its own style and took off. Massive endgame reveal as to why Flint became a pirate.
Season three has been spectacular thus far and they've figured out how to elevate several black characters into the lead.

Character connections and storylines are too complex to recommend skipping season one but I would plow through that season as best you can; it's not unenjoyable but it's mostly just backstory. The best of it will come when you get into s2.

Blackbeard was a bit of a macho bore to start with in s3, but since they dispensed with his long monologues about how hard he is and just let get on with killing people he is a lot more fun.

Agreed! The father figure relationship with Vayne feels like the best use of the character thus far as opposed to his standard I HATH BECOME VENGEANCE schtick

You not checked the latest Vikings Forks? That'll be up your street as well.

i kinda lost interest in vikings after a season and a half

Poor you! The last one was class.

i watched an episode of vikings and it didn't click but i'd heard from multiple people it requires commitment.
what makes black sails so interesting to me is that they manage to plausibly shift every character's allegiances and commitments roughly three times per season. From episode to episode, you'll have people fighting to save a character, then fighting to kill the same guy a week later. And they make it look natural!

"allegiances and commitments roughly three times per season"

that p much sums up the last two seasons of Vikings as well.

as in them changing.

ill try vikings again.

I guess i will too!

Not trying to hijack this thread because I do genuinely love this shite as well!

no, all good. would love to discover vikings is worthwhile!

wanna stress how good the music is
http://www.bearmccreary.com/#blog/blog/black-sails-season-one-thoughts/
^same dude who did battlestar, walking dead, SHIELD

hm nice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbTbGiEJ7WE

featuring Brendon Small!

Yeah that Bear Mccreary score is part of what makes Black Sails a pleasure.

i am a bit embarrassed about how the hair on the back of my neck stands up when the vocals come in on the theme song

haha

also the only theme song i can think of that hinges on a hurdy gurdy melody!

Haha, is it all as much ridiculous fun as the first episode?

which season are you watching?

i taped the first three episodes of this season of vikings and the prior two seasons are on hulu; i'll give it a shot before too long.
haven't yet seen this week's Black Sails tho'!

Only watched the pilot so far! My brother told me that it takes half a season to get good, but I'm finding it incredibly entertaining off the bat.

The latest was a belting episode, especially Long John Silver's little piece de resistance in the tavern.

your brother is right, though i'd say more of a full season to get up to speed. it is watchable from day one tho'!

I'm on ep 3. liking it enough.

snagged a copy of a history of this history of the nassau pirate rebellion
http://www.amazon.com/The-Republic-Pirates-Surprising-Caribbean/dp/015603462X

i thought the episode afore last's temporary resolution of the vayne/blackbeard "you are like a son to me" subplot was a little strained and even the dialogue reflected it. But the rackham and abby vs everyone on nassau story is suddenly very fun!

Season 2 is excellent - the best cliffhangers since Breaking Bad. Jack and Anne might be my favourite characters, Silver really growing on me. Max the French whore with the errfull eccernt is the worst.

Was just thinking that there would certainly be a lot more gay pirates just before the big Flint backstory reveal.

last episode (with it's major character killing) and the final payoff of the blackbeard setup was pretty well calculated

Silver absolutely killing it in S3.

Overall this one is a bit more predictable and linear than S2, but still massively entertaining, and the production design, acting and dialogue just keep getting better. They've even toned down the previously hugely annoying Max.

I thought the ending of the season was great; they've quite literally set the table for full on game of thrones intrigue and internecine warfare. And we got rid of Raspy Fabio!

just finished s2 ep5

did NOT see THAT coming

which one was that?

Spoliers

When we find out flint is gay

Spoilers end

ohhhhh yeah, that is when true black sails begins imo
like you DON'T see that coming and the way they handle it is super smart and believable and in character and made me trust the writers a lot more

S2>S3 I think. The latter is still great, but the plotting's not as interesting.

SPOILERS

And we got rid of Raspy Fabio!

Am I alone in having liked Charles Vain? His ridiculousness was endearing.

BLACK SAILS!

Definitely the most excited I've been at a season premiere for a while.

... i cancelled my pay cable channels but am planning on doing a month of Starz on amazon to binge this before it ends.

i am caught up on this and love it.

it's sort of the best and i am considering doing the dumb thing and just subscribing now.

last season too btw. guess it never quite caught on.

I was finding this season a bit run of the mill compared to the previous two (a result of watching week by week rather than binging?), but episode 5 was so exciting! bringing the evil Spanish on board was a great idea, really ramping things up. The scene in the Gobernador's office was wonderfully shot.

The latest season is pretty boring, too much wooden expository dialogue and bad acting. Mind you I still watch it! I feel like the revamped, next gen of post-Ragnor Vikings has had an unsteady transition and a dodgy as fuck season, but has actually surpassed this series now.

Anyone still with it? Picked up a lot in the second half of the season. Still hasn't approached the heights of seasons 2 and 3 through really.

Largely because most of the plot developments have been relatively predictable.

gonna start this season soon

prob gonna do the amazon starz subscription when i know i have a dead weekend and binge the last season over a weekend.

get ready for the worst season yet and lots of long boring scenes of expository dialogue, when you start FF'ing past them there isn't a lot else holding it together. That Blackbeard is a tedious character and the start of the end of this series imo

sorry to hear. last two seasons have been aces.

It's a lot better than Calzino says, but still not as good as the last two.

Disappointing finale. The battle was decent (particularly Flint and Billy Bones having it out on the rigging), but overall it seemed rather confused about what it was trying to say/achieve - also fell prey to an unexpected case of happyendingitis.

This has been the first season where the characters' shifting motives, goals and alligiances have felt forced and sometimes inexplicable; a pity as doing that kind of thing well was one of the show's trademarks in previous seasons.

so how did this end up? worth sticking with it and watching the new season?

oh just saw calzino and chaps posts. guess its not worth it?

It has its rewards. Bit of a slog in parts though, and an anticlimactic ending.