The settings of the show is actually a prequel to Treasure Island, about 20 years prior to its events. When John Silver was just youngster. It's interesting and I wonder how it will stack up with Crossbones.
I've watched all of
Crossbones now, including tonight's final 2 episodes. The series was cancelled by NBC, so they wrapped it up quickly in Episode 9. It's more than a little disappointing, and not just because of the cancellation-induced hurry to a conclusion. The show was all over the place, concentrating way too much on petty character bullshit, rather than the fascinating premise of a British agent sent to find and kill Blackbeard, long after the fearsome pirate was supposed to have been beheaded. The show wasted no opportunity to go cheap, and keep us in a soap opera rather than naval battles. They even dabbled in gothic horror and a bit of a slasher tale--not to mention that latest darling of Hollywood, the all-powerful hyper-villain (and I don't mean Blackbeard). It's a shame, because Malkovich was fascinating--if way improbable--as an aged Edward Teach. The Lowe character was played impressively as well.
So, my final answer must be that, while
Black Sails remains unfinished,
Crossbones does not stack up against it at all, even if the former were cancelled tomorrow, and never yielded another episode.
Black Sails is by far the better pirate yarn, at least.
