BBC's The Musketeers

[chamber-music]

The BBC's 10 part series adaptation of Dumas classic book.

Trailer
[YT]/O3PzawP8Ijc[/YT]

Cast
Luke Pasqualino as D'Artagan - Skins, Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, The Borgias, Snowpiercer.

Santiago Cabrera as Aramis - Heroes, Merlin, Dexter, Spooks, Alcatraz.

Tom Burke as Athos - The Hour, Dragonheart: A New Beginning, Only God Forgives

Howard Charles as Porthos - Switch, Black Forest.

Peter Capaldi as Cardinal Richelieu - Doctor Who, World War Z, The Fifth Estate.

Guest stars include Vinnie Jones, Tara Fitzgerald, Ashley Waters, John Lynch and Sean Pertwee.

Show runner and Writer Adrian Hodges previous credits include BBC1's Survivors and Primeval on ITV.

Filmed in Czech Republic as it most resembles 17th century France. The Musketeers will air on BBC America in the U.S.

 

[Human Torch]

Looks pretty cool

Y'know,I was a huge fan of BBC's Robin Hood,and I kinda hoped they'd follow that with a Three Musketeer's show.I guess this is about as close to that as we'll get.

 

[Infinity9999x]

So has anyone else been watching this? It's pretty solid actually. It's got the same kind of charm the old swashbuckling flicks had from back in the day. The actors all have a good chemistry with one another as well, which helps a lot. I actually just read it was picked up for another season, which is interesting. I'm intrigued to see how much of the Athos/Milady arc they'll play out in this season, and if they'll actually kill of Constance or not.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

I do, the 4 guys are fine, the costumes not accurate but they do look great.
My one little complain: they made the King a buffoon.
I find it funny that they hold their pistols like modern gangsters ( a style introduced by John Woo if I'm correct ).

 

[Primal Slayer]

Ive been watching and enjoy it. Sucks that Capaldi wont be returning for S2 for obvious reasons.

 

[Infinity9999x]

Ive been watching and enjoy it. Sucks that Capaldi wont be returning for S2 for obvious reasons.

I was wondering about that. I suppose it depends on how far they deviate with the books. If they more or less finish the general outline of the book in this season...I could see them excluding the Cardinal in the next season. If they don't...that will be problematic.

 

[chamber-music]

It is cool that the BBC already ordered a second series

 

[Donut]

They need a costume upgrade to the more classic ones

 

[Infinity9999x]

They need a costume upgrade to the more classic ones

I don't mind the unique take on the costumes, though I do miss the traditional tabbards every now and then, even if only worn as dress uniforms.

The last episode was pretty darn good too. I like how they're giving the Athos/Milady relationship much more weight. The reason Athos decided to hang her in the book was fairly weak. Dude saw she was branded and strung her up then and there. This adds a lot more to their relationship. I always enjoy a more rounded Milady as well. She's still evil, but there's a bit of sympathy to her.

I also enjoy how they're striking a nice balance between D'Artagnan's hot-headed mentality and his cleverness as well. Often-times he's portrayed for mostly comic relief.

 

[chamber-music]

I like the costumes and I like that they wear the blue colours sometimes.

 

[Thundercrack85]

I do, the 4 guys are fine, the costumes not accurate but they do look great.
My one little complain: they made the King a buffoon.
I find it funny that they hold their pistols like modern gangsters ( a style introduced by John Woo if I'm correct ).

Actually, the musketeers are wielding wheellocks (precursors to the more famous flintlocks), which were actually fired sideway.

You could hold them normally, but holding them sideways was the best way to ensure that they would fire.

 

[obin_gam]

It's OK. Too bad they dont fence correctly though. One would think BBC of all would get that right.

 

[Infinity9999x]

It's OK. Too bad they dont fence correctly though. One would think BBC of all would get that right.

Nobody fences "correctly" on film. Because it would be incredibly boring. And most fights would probably only last a minute or so. If that. Actual fencing was much slower, and it rarely went through more than a few parries. There wasn't nearly as much moving around either.

 

[Human Torch]

I'm still watching The Musketeers on BBC.I can't really get that excited over it,try as I may.It seems too darn earnest.I'd like them to loosen up a little and have more fun.It is pretty entertaining,but it bugs me that they pretty much dropped Aramis deep religious nature.I guess it's not "cool" these days.They did something interesting in making Porthos Bi-racial however.It's kind of a tribute to the author Alexandre Dumas who was himself,bi-racial.There's still political shenanigans going on between the King & evil Cardinal,but the most interesting storyline has to do with Athos and his brooding over his impending clash with his treacherous wife,Milady De Winter.

 

[BestGirl]

I thought the pilot was awful and almost contemplated not watching more of the show but I'm glad I stuck with it. Subsequent episodes have been much improved. Then again, I've never read the novels so I can't compare them to the show.

It's neat watching a show set in the 17th century. There aren't very many that take place so far in the past.

 

[Marvolo]

I like this show a lot. Any word on whether it's getting a second season?

 

[Human Torch]

Yeah,BBC already announced it's getting a second season,which if the past is any indication,means BBC will air it first in completion,then BBC America will air it 4 to 6 months later.

 

[Primal Slayer]

I watched every episode but the finale, still have to watch that sometime.

 

[BestGirl]

Unfortunately, Peter Capaldi, who plays Richelieu, isn't supposed to return for season 2. I don't know how the writers will handle that, especially when [BLACKOUT]the finale hinted there would be conflict between the cardinal and Anne.[/BLACKOUT]

 

[Marvolo]

Unfortunately, Peter Capaldi, who plays Richelieu, isn't supposed to return for season 2. I don't know how the writers will handle that, especially when [BLACKOUT]the finale hinted there would be conflict between the cardinal and Anne.[/BLACKOUT]

Damn! The cardinal is a major antagonist to the Musketeers. I guess they could recast even tho it's not ideal it might be better than just having the character disappear all together.

 

[chamber-music]

They should just recast the role.

 

[Fallen Angel]

Nah a dual role and a crossover with Doctor Who is the answer.

 

[BestGirl]

They should just recast the role.

The writers have said that they're going to make lemonade out of lemons and keep the show feeling fresh by creating a new villain.

 

[Human Torch]

I'm not really feeling the cardinal on this show.Sure,he's underhanded and has an "ends justify the means" mentality,but he ends up being with the Musketeers more than opposing them.

The only truly evil thing I recall up to this point,was his killing his mistress back at the end of the first episode.(A subplot that's gone nowhere up to now,incidentally)

 

[Marvolo]

I'm not really feeling the cardinal on this show.Sure,he's underhanded and has an "ends justify the means" mentality,but he ends up being with the Musketeers more than opposing them.

The only truly evil thing I recall up to this point,was his killing his mistress back at the end of the first episode.(A subplot that's gone nowhere up to now,incidentally)

Due to Capaldi playing Dr. Who, The Cardinal won't be returning for season 2 so you can look forward to a different antagonist next season. I like the Cardinal, but I don't think he is malicious and mustache twirling evil. He just looks for opportunities and exploits them. The downfall of the Musketeers isn't his soul goal, but if a scheme happens to undermine them well that's great for him too.