By Helen Langdon
After the reinvention of Robin Hood, Merlin, the Greek myths and Sherlock Holmes, now comes The Musketeers, the BBC’s new weekend show for all the family. Over the years, there have been numerous film adaptations of Dumas’ novel, but a relative scarcity of TV series. And the two most notable TV series were animated versions, Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds and Albert the Fifth Musketeer.
After the reinvention of Robin Hood, Merlin, the Greek myths and Sherlock Holmes, now comes The Musketeers, the BBC’s new weekend show for all the family. Over the years, there have been numerous film adaptations of Dumas’ novel, but a relative scarcity of TV series. And the two most notable TV series were animated versions, Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds and Albert the Fifth Musketeer.
So, what can we expect from this show? Is it going to bring anything new to the table? Well, from first glance at the trailers, this isn’t going to include any Orlando Bloom on airships, so at least it won’t be repeating the 2011 film. It was filmed in Prague, a city increasingly building its credentials as the go-to location for medieval and Renaissance set pieces. And the show runner, Adrian Hodges, is a man with pedigree in both period and action shows. He wrote for Charles II: The Power and the Passion and for the BBC Sally Lockhart mysteries, amongst other things.
The characters seem to be sticking close to canon, from what we’ve seen in the character profiles on the BBC website. D’Artagnan is our way into the world of the musketeers. He’s young and impulsive, and a terrific swordsman – apparently second only to Athos. Here he’s being played by Luke Pasqualino, best known for his work as Freddie in Skins. Pasqualino is young and conventionally attractive, which, you know, is really just about all you can ask of a d’Artagnan.
Far more interesting are the other musketeers. First off, we have Athos. He’s the leader of the group, a brilliant swordsman, but with a big dark secret in his past. That means Athos spends a fair bit of time moping about. At least, he does in the book. I’m guessing the secret is going to be a major plot point, and I’m really hoping it’s not as obviously signposted as these big twists tend to be. Athos is played by Tom Burke, most recently seen in The Hour. He’s also really good in the little-seen film Third Star, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch.
The characters seem to be sticking close to canon, from what we’ve seen in the character profiles on the BBC website. D’Artagnan is our way into the world of the musketeers. He’s young and impulsive, and a terrific swordsman – apparently second only to Athos. Here he’s being played by Luke Pasqualino, best known for his work as Freddie in Skins. Pasqualino is young and conventionally attractive, which, you know, is really just about all you can ask of a d’Artagnan.
Far more interesting are the other musketeers. First off, we have Athos. He’s the leader of the group, a brilliant swordsman, but with a big dark secret in his past. That means Athos spends a fair bit of time moping about. At least, he does in the book. I’m guessing the secret is going to be a major plot point, and I’m really hoping it’s not as obviously signposted as these big twists tend to be. Athos is played by Tom Burke, most recently seen in The Hour. He’s also really good in the little-seen film Third Star, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch.
Aramis is the womaniser of the musketeer group, and, in the books, an extremely devout man who becomes a bishop. Whether or not the BBC will go quite so far down that road remains to be seen – religion doesn’t tend to be seen as cool these days, so who knows? Santiago Cabrera plays Aramis. Cabrera is no stranger to television shows with the potential for huge fandoms, having played Isaac in season one of Heroes and Lancelot in BBC’s Merlin.
Porthos is the final member of the happy band. In the books, he’s the comic relief, with a lust for life and food, which doesn’t seem to be what this series is aiming for. Yet again, as with the other musketeers, his character profile emphasises his loyalty and quick sense of humour. But all four of them can’t be the comic relief, and the trailers seem to indicate that most of the laughs will be coming from Aramis. Howard Charles is the least well-known of the male actors in this series, although he’s got a strong body of work with the RSC.
Obviously, most of the media and fandom buzz is going to be around the new Doctor, Peter Capaldi, here playing Cardinal Richelieu, the main villain of the piece. Richelieu is a statesman controlling the weak Louis XIII, seen by the musketeers as a bit of a tyrant. He sees himself as doing what’s necessary for France. I think this dichotomy will make for interesting viewing, if viewers are willing to empathise with the supposed bad guy. Also, while watching his scenes, try to spot the moment when Peter Capaldi dislocated his thumb on Maimie McCoy’s (Milady de Winter) dress. Apparently he had to shove it back into place himself.
Porthos is the final member of the happy band. In the books, he’s the comic relief, with a lust for life and food, which doesn’t seem to be what this series is aiming for. Yet again, as with the other musketeers, his character profile emphasises his loyalty and quick sense of humour. But all four of them can’t be the comic relief, and the trailers seem to indicate that most of the laughs will be coming from Aramis. Howard Charles is the least well-known of the male actors in this series, although he’s got a strong body of work with the RSC.
Obviously, most of the media and fandom buzz is going to be around the new Doctor, Peter Capaldi, here playing Cardinal Richelieu, the main villain of the piece. Richelieu is a statesman controlling the weak Louis XIII, seen by the musketeers as a bit of a tyrant. He sees himself as doing what’s necessary for France. I think this dichotomy will make for interesting viewing, if viewers are willing to empathise with the supposed bad guy. Also, while watching his scenes, try to spot the moment when Peter Capaldi dislocated his thumb on Maimie McCoy’s (Milady de Winter) dress. Apparently he had to shove it back into place himself.
And finally, Milady de Winter. She’s Cardinal Richelieu’s assassin, with a dark secret lurking in her past. Yes, there’s always a dark secret. An adaptation of The Three Musketeers is always going to be short on female roles, although a female ally is being added, so I’m really glad that Milady hasn’t been removed. Hopefully, her entire backstory won’t be dealt with in the first series, and she can stick around to be the main antagonist once Capaldi leaves for the Tardis. Maimie McCoy has had a career of mainly guest roles in big series, and this is her first starring role in an ongoing series.
The cast looks good, and the cinematography of the series looks impressive from what little we’ve seen. We’ll have to wait and see whether this translates into interesting and exciting plot lines, and interesting and believable characters.
The cast looks good, and the cinematography of the series looks impressive from what little we’ve seen. We’ll have to wait and see whether this translates into interesting and exciting plot lines, and interesting and believable characters.
The Musketeers starts on Sunday at 21:00 on BBC One. Check back here for the review.
RSS Feed
