So I was watching the first episode of BBC America's "The Musketeers" and was pleasantly surprised to see that D'Artagnon is being played by Luke Pasqualino, who was young Bill Adama in "Blood and Chrome". I liked "Blood and Chrome" and thought it had potential to go forward. Very pleased to see Pasqualino working again. This new role suits him; he handles himself quite well in the period setting. His voice is good (he's a Brit by birth) and seems to be very skilled with a sword. This should be fun.
Living in the UK have already seen the whole series, and I have to say I was really impressed, as it works as a great reimagining of the Musketeer story. No spoilers, but you're in for a great ride! Also, Capaldi gives one of the finest portrayals of the Cardinal I've seen. He may seem evil, yet it is all done for the good of France!
Is there just the one series, then? I've wondered, what with Capaldi being the new Doctor Who and all.
Yep it was renewed very quickly and the wiki entry notes that all cast members were signed up long term - with the exception of Capaldi.
They actually started the read-throughs for Series Two within days of the last episode of Series One being broadcast. Capaldi was part-way through filming Who at that point. Now whether they will write out the Cardinal, replace Calpaldi, or leave space to possibly film some Cardinal scenes later when he is available has yet to be seen. I believe the Musketeers is set for the autumn schedule here, so there may be time for some studio-bound shoots, though I believe all the studios are also in Prague. However, most sources claim the the character of the Cardinal is gone. As Marc Warren will be joining the series as Rochefort, a smaller or no role for the Cardinal can be accomodated easily.
I'm still on the fence about the show; it's kind of intentionally lowbrow and blockbustery, and doesn't seem that concerned with authenticity to Dumas. Well, except for one thing: I like it that they've cast Howard Charles as Porthos, since it's sort of a nod to the ethnicity of Dumas himself, whose grandmother was an Afro-Caribbean slave. It's a nice acknowledgment that historical Europe was not as all-white as the movies and TV have traditionally portrayed it. That plus an Aramis of Latin American origin makes this perhaps the most diverse Four Musketeers I've ever seen. (One of the many, many things that annoyed me about the TV series The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne is that they cast a white actor, John Rhys-Davies, as Dumas. Rhys-Davies, by the way, has also played Porthos.) Capaldi is pretty impressive so far, though not as impressive as he was in Torchwood: Children of Earth. I've only seen two episodes, so there's not much to judge him on.
I thought it was fine for what it is -- buckswasheling, bodice-ripping (within watershed limits) fare -- but not must-see TV. Like pirates, I prefer musketeers in small, cinematic doses.
It's still better than some of the adaptations that have come out over the years. My view is that the best version was the 70's films with Michael York etc..
I still regard having a sword-fight to steal food as Porthos has gambled all the money away is one of the most fun pieces of cinema ever.
I loved them both as they were quite fun, and until Capaldi came along I think that Charlton Heston's portrayal of the Cardinal is my favourite, his discussion with Milady near the end of the first movie showing Statesman, not villain. Cardinal Richelieu: They have won, we have lost. The point, that is; the game continues. Milady de Winter: Your Eminence is a great player - great enough to lose. I do not like to lose. Cardinal Richelieu: You must suit yourself, Milady. But if in the end you should, do it with a becoming grace. Well written, perhaps more impactful and memorable as Heston plays the Cardinal as a straight-man in the movie, being a counter-point to the boistrous Musketeers.
I know it's not widely considered to be a good movie, but I absolutely adore the 1993 version. For me, that and this show are the only good adaptations of this story.
I'll freely admit I've never seen the show, but seeing this article a few months ago certainly put me off ever watching it. Peter Capaldi's to be killed off offscreen How blatantly lazy is that? Oh right. Great. Imagine if the creators of others shows did that? Between Seasons 3 & 4 of Breaking Bad Gus Fring simply vanished. "Oh yeah he died, or went away, I don't know, who cares?" On DS9 Jadzia is alive and well at the end of s6, then in s7 Ezri shows up. "Hey I'm the new host now guys. Jadzia who? So anyway..." Spoiler: Game of Thrones early s4 spoiler Instead of dying in early Season 4, Joffrey died before the new season started. "The King? Joffrey? Erm, I think he died, or something, whatever." I suppose a similar thing happened with Michael O'Hare in Babylon 5, but it's the attitude of it. As if to say "We can't be bothered thinking of something or even bother mentioning it, so we'll just invent some new villain."
The Three Musketeers story must be going through a popular revival. There's going to be a South Korean version of it planned for 3 seasons (12 episodes each). Most Korean shows aren't planned for multiple years. Apparently the Musketeers are going to be part of the Korean King's bodyguard and the second season will film some(or all) in China.
Not lazy at all. The article points that Capaldi is unavailable due to his Doctor Who commitments. If the actor is doing something else you can't kill him on screen (well unless you use a dodgy wig and blurring of facial features).
It has been known to happen, and sometimes there's no choice. It's often done when the actor dies in real life, e.g. with John Spencer on The West Wing, John Ritter on 8 Simple Rules, Phil Hartman on NewsRadio, Stanley Kamel on Monk, etc. And there are cases where a character was killed off-screen due to an actor's non-fatal departure too, such as Jean Stapleton on All in the Family, John Amos on Good Times, Robert Foxworth on Babylon 5 (out of acknowledged spite for his "defection" to Deep Space Nine), Laila Rouass on Primeval, and others. That's very interesting -- reinventing the story for a different culture and era. Has anyone ever done The Three Musketeers... in Space?
Anyone else still watching this? The first couple of episodes were mediocre and lightweight, but it's gotten a lot more solid in the past three weeks, with more thoughtful and morally nuanced stories and richer character exploration. Although in tonight's episode, one of the villains was blatantly telegraphed as such. So it's not perfect, but it's definitely improving.