BLACK SAILS [Ep. 1 Review]: Booty, Plentiful.

While wandering around San Diego Comic-Con this past July, I ran into a seemingly endless amount of promotion for Black Sails. There was your usual booth doing giveaways, models dressed up in pirate costumes you could take a few snaps with, and an actual pirate ship docked behind the convention center that they even used for a party one night. The Divine one had RSVP’d an advanced screening of the pilot episode, but declined the visit when reality set in that geeks were already lining up for over three hours, thus beginning a new search of other shiny toys. Happens.

Thankfully, I never lost interest in what Starz had in store. Much like the hit video game Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, “Sails” is set during the “Golden Age of Piracy.” In fact, there are a lot more similarities between the two mediums than you’d think — except with far more sexual situations and, surprisingly, more violence.

Only one way to get rid of these damn mice..

Previously held by the British, 1715 sees a good portion of the West Indies become a haven for pirates to bring in their spoils from all of the ships they pillage. New Providence Island (without the “Rhode”) is run by Eleanor Guthrie (Hannah New), a firecracker of a boss who trades pirates’ goods to legal merchants for profit. But the real juice of the story can only come from the pirates themselves, ay!!?