kalliope93 Crossbones features brilliant twists of plot and amazing dialog (Teach's speech prior to battle, etc.) Superb performances by Malkovitch and Coyle. The premise of this show accurately touches upon real history. It reaches beyond the shallow pirate "formula fiction" to reference the revolutionary and anarchist spirit that pervaded places like Freeport, Bahamas in the 1700s. This fictional Blackbeard rules through astute political savvy and even a sort of freedom fighter revolutionary idealism. The Puritans were not the only ones who wished to throw off the yoke of British Imperial rule. The "pirates" were anti- Puritans who shared a similar but more anarchistic (and more fun?) revolutionary zeal. As written for this show, Blackbeard's character is complex and Malkovitch portrays all the conflicts and inconsistencies of the character masterfully. It is a pleasure to see a great actor do justice to a well-written character. It is a pleasure to view a truly WELL WRITTEN show. It is the rare TV show which one needs to actually THINK to follow the plot twists. Deducted 2 stars from an otherwise perfect show b/c some of the characters were not as well realized or acted as the 2 leads. With such exceptional characters in the lead roles … a couple lesser characters noticeably fell short. Also the wardrobe was not as well-done as I have come to expect from historical shows (frex Musketeers although not as well-written does a fantastic job with wardrobe).WHY did they cancel this show after only 1 season? That seems a CRIME. Thankfully the end was not as painful as Firefly … they manage to wrap-up 1 story arc so you are left feeling almost satisfied … but I would have liked to have seen MORE SEASONS!!!!

s3276169 Crossbones takes a swashbuckling tale of high seas adventure and makes it walk the plank in favour of a rather tepid tale of intrigue. Its pretty uninspiring stuff, made worse by an outlandish story line. William Teach, better known as Blackbeard, is a pirate "guru" who lives an implausibly luxurious lifestyle on a Disneyland like pirate island. Williams too busy being a "visionary" to be a real pirate, embroiled in empire building, whilst dealing masterfully with courtly hi-jinks from his shifty pirate subjects.Its all too absurd to suspend disbelief for any length of time. As a result, the whole tale quickly descends into farce. There are a few bright moments, the cast are talented, and some of the twists and turns are interesting. That said, its not enough to excuse the rather silly, inappropriate tone of the whole drama. Five out of ten from me.

castlepsaint I was very sceptical about watching this show, especially after seeing the less than great score on IMDb, however I must say I really enjoyed it. It made a nice change to have a show without the now customary gratuitous sex scenes which seem now to be added for ratings and not for the plot. It is an interesting take on the Blackbeard story and I would have like to have seen a second series as I feel the characters had more to offer. i too watched Black Sails and enjoyed it, but I would say I enjoyed this slightly more.Definateley worth a watch

adeflandre1 If anyone is into 1700 period stuff of pirates this is a well made TV DRAMA and FANTASY show.Lots of angles and nuances. The show has to be seen each and every week to really enjoy the story line.It gets better and better with each episode. Trust me NOT BAD AT ALL !!!. The cast of actors and actresses are really good. Some are well known from other programs and TV shows.The Islands and the spender of the scenic view, and the scenes show some realism to the time period for sure. Well worth the watch, you may get hooked.