The era is a rich vein to mine, and to their credit, the creators are light on pirate cliches - I do not believe one "aargh!" is uttered. More swashbuckling please.
Black Sails may not be the most well written or riveting story on TV at the moment, but it's certainly going to fill that lustful void for violence and graphic action.
But there's an intelligence to its treatment of the Nassau community and whether a settlement based on lawlessness and a shadow economy is sustainable -- one that takes the series in some complicated and unexpected directions.
Black Sails is actually spinning a cleverly-crafted tale of intrigue, secrets and deceit surrounding a race for an enormous cache of gold in a Spanish galleon.
Another notable criticism is the pacing, as after a fair battle in the opening scene the rest of the episode fell straight down the cliff. A long, boring cliff.
Maybe they were going for "Deadwood on the Beach," with the politics of organizing an unruly bunch the underlying theme. Instead, they got "Spartacus Island," a less-elevated narrative with violence in keeping with the Starz brand.
Black Sails is exactly like the 18th-century Caribbean pirates it brings to life: dirty, amoral and worth stomaching only when there are no women around.
