Should I Check This Out - Black Sails season 1

Painfully putting nautical puns aside, out of curiosity I watched the first season of Michael Bay's Black Sails. Steering clear of reviews, I went to this having only seen a trailer that promised pirates, lots of action and some nice visuals. So the show delivers on that front, but with Bay as one of the execs, is it any good?

At eight episodes long, this isn't quite the same time investment as something like Lost, but Black Sails is certainly something of a mixed bag (A bit like Lost then). The core story follows Captain Flint (Toby Stephens), a former honourable captain turned pirate, trying to keep his crew in order as talk of mutiny spreads among the lower ranks, as they fear he's sending them on them on repeated suicide missions. Flint catches word of a Spanish ship containing a prize worth the risk but now has to convince his friends at sea and on land to follow him. That plot line forms the basis of the show and is also the strongest. Surrounding this are various backstories, back-and-forth dealings, and old relationships which leads me onto...

The first half of the show. This will certainly divide fans here. The opening starts with an impressive battle scene that is brief but effective, promising much but what follows in the first four episodes is long and often tedious. Reason being that the writers cram endless scenes of talking that serve little more than to set the scene and explain why some characters don't get along with others. It's exhausting and becomes rather annoying. In-between all this, in the first episode, are several gratuitous sex scenes that seem only there for the sake of it.

Acting wise, Toby Stephens (Bond villain from Die Another Day) delivers a strong, solid performance and his scenes are often the most interesting as they drive the story forward. However, many of the supporting characters are given material that seems only there to pad out the story. Female characters in particular are poorly written while the male counterparts come away on top. Tom Hopper, Mark Ryan and Luke Arnold (names you're unlikely to have heard of) stand out as Flint's crew and keep the first four episodes moving. Another mention should go to Toby Schmitz as an initially slightly OTT character that comes into his own, adding a well-needed touch of humour and adds variety to the land based scenes.

So far this sounds like a show with few redeeming features, but come somewhere around episodes four and five, something happens and we get the show we've been waiting for.

Without spoilers, wheels are set in motion and Black Sails suddenly becomes one of the most enjoyable shows around! Where other films about pirates had a limited screen time, age rating etc, when Black Sails comes to the action, it is tense, bloody and exciting. While the action rages at sea, the formerly dry action on land also picks up.

Excluding a few odd plot points and character actions that can a little frustrating because they once loved so and so etc, season one ends on a high note. Where the series will go next is hard to guess but is certainly intriguing.

Overall, if you can get past the first four episodes and unfortunately written females characters, Black Sails is actually a pretty good show. Whether or not it's smooth sailing ahead is hard to tell, but with only eight episodes, I would cautiously recommend the show if the subject matter appeals to you. If nothing else, the sea battles are bloody fun to watch.