True Caribbean Pirates

[Blackfoot]

Come on now! Did I miss something here? I could not find a thread on the History channel show of "True Caribbean Pirates" showing on Sunday July 9th. If it's been spoken of, sorry.. www.historychannel.com/pirates/

[capnwilliam]

This being an ad that I caught out of the corner of my deadeye yesterday...an ad that said the History Channel was having a show about "Caribbean Pirates" (purely coincidental timing! ) This weekend (Sunday July 9): 8:00 Eastern, 7:00 Central.

Capt. William

[Red Maria]

Featuring Christine Lampe (No Quarter Given) and Gail Selinger (Complete Idiot's Guide to Pirates) Who you will remember from the Pirate e-list Capt William. :)

[Red Bess]

It's spoken of in the "Real Pirates of the Caribbean" thread below. There has been confusion because of the similar title.

"True Caribbean Pirates" looks pretty awesome -- it was enough to convince us to finally get cable TV. :)

[the Royaliste]

Well, you musta been hidin' under a rock, mate!...Lots of posts regarding this film, we can't wait to see Blackbeard beheaded on our foredeck!..funny thing is, we don't get cable at sea, so..anybody in Cleveland got a spot for a shipload 'o pirates to go ashore and watch it??....just fuggin' figures, eh?

trailer

[Christine]

I watched this thing on the TV guide channel that showed all the highlights of it. Yup, it was cool, but now I don't need to see the show, saw all the highlights, all the good stuff.

[Red Bess]

I'll watch the whole thing. I'm glad they are spending some time on Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Maybe I've been hiding under a rock, but has there ever been a good (or even not so good) documentary done on female pirates?

[capnwilliam]

I do indeed remember them, Red Maria. Now I MUST see it! :)

Capt. William

[Silent]

Should be a good watch

[MadMike]

"True Caribbean Pirates"... did they even bother to contact Ken Kinkor?

Yours, Mike

[blackjohn]

... and Barry Clifford.

Lets hope so. If not, then they didn't do their homework.

I will remain skeptical.

[Bilgemunky]

I don't know if they contacted Ken Kinkor or Barry Clifford, but they definitely didn't use them. Aside from those previously mentioned (Jamaica Rose, Robert Ossian, Benerson Little, Richard Zacks) they also interviewed a few other authors, an Annapolis professor, a historical Blackbeard Reenactor, and a tour captain out of Ocracoke.

Not to besmirch Clifford or Kinkor, but I don't see how anyone is the "definitive" expert enough that we should hold any project NOT involving them as suspect.

I posted a full review of True Caribbean Pirates last night. You can read it at:

True Caribbean Pirates

[the Royaliste]

I'll watch the whole thing. I'm glad they are spending some time on Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Maybe I've been hiding under a rock, but has there ever been a good (or even not so good) documentary done on female pirates?

Well, I don't wanna burst yer bubble, eh, but.....I go on record here on the topic of women seamen.The majority of my crew, or at least 50% depending on the destinations, are women. And, to boot, we have two licensed USCG Captains; both women....So, along comes the History Channel, and we jump a little for joy, 'cuz...we like things historical. We strip the ship of running lights, radar,put new trucks on the deck guns.Make sure all paint is flat, not gloss... You get the picture. Then, in discussion, we of course jump to the characters, since we have women crew, and hang with other reenactors...The producers tell us that A&E mandated that the women be 'more attractive' to make the whole thing sell-able....Everything else we presented went out the porthole loike yesterdays stew...They even brought in huge fake hollywood cannons, and covered up all the real ones!, And, one 'o the best parts....Calico Jack Rackham, one 'o me favorites, in plain breeches....How the bloody hell did he get the name, eh????...Don't count necessarily the details, as even the History Channel doesn't give a hoot.....Our friends Lynx and Spirit weren't even a design until a hunnert years later, netting and all...See ya, maytees

ROYALISTE Raidin' Lake Erie with a Vengance...

[Red Bess]

Don't count necessarily the details, as even the History Channel doesn't give a hoot

So what I'm hearing is that just because it's labeled "True", it's still television.

Well, it had better be good television then.

[blackjohn]

I don't know if they contacted Ken Kinkor or Barry Clifford, but they definitely didn't use them. Aside from those previously mentioned (Jamaica Rose, Robert Ossian, Benerson Little, Richard Zacks) they also interviewed a few other authors, an Annapolis professor, a historical Blackbeard Reenactor, and a tour captain out of Ocracoke.

Not to besmirch Clifford or Kinkor, but I don't see how anyone is the "definitive" expert enough that we should hold any project NOT involving them as suspect.

I posted a full review of True Caribbean Pirates last night. You can read it at:

True Caribbean Pirates

That's too bad. Oh well... how about Marcus Rediker? Or Cordingly?

But yes, you do have a point... and I should neither praise nor condemn that which I have not seen.

Btw, under ordinary circumstances (ie, if it was just general web-banter) I wouldn't point this out, but I found a spelling mistake in your review... paragraph the second... canonblasts... should be cannon...

[Red Maria]

I heard this was done on the cheap. Them proably couldn't afford them.

[Black Hearted Pearl]

I saw this in it's entirity (sp?) at Cutthroat Corona Pirate with Jamaica Rose and crew. It's done as well as could be expected for the budget limitations that 2 hour television segment allows.

Yes, there will be visual inaccuracies as many ships have not survived from those time periods. The cannon issue may have been for overall effect. The cannons on the Royaliste are wonderful, but unless you are there on board, the camera takes away 10 lbs.

Overall, I would say that the program is engaging, tries really hard for accurracy and is worth the sit down of two hours with commercials (tape it and you can skip the commercials).

Overall, the best so far of the editions on the genre of GAoP. Not to mention employing those who support the history of pirates.

[Bilgemunky]

paragraph the second... canonblasts... should be cannon...

Surely you know *I* don't make mistakes. Naturally I was refering to Canon the camera company, as opposed to artillery.

:angry: No matter how many typos I catch before posting, there's always one or two more. I'll get it fixed.

[blackjohn]

Ahhh... I see. I was wondering if that may have been the case, or alternatively, if you were making a play on words with canonblasts meaning the potshots the "authenticity nazis" will take at the show. :angry:

[MadMike]

Heck, I've already noticed some discrepancies in the commercials-

1. Spanish soldiers wearing morions and armor (Exquemelin's "Buccaneers of America" has an illustration of them wearing plain clothes).

2. Anne Bonny (or was that Mary Read) wearing a dress and corset on board ship, oh really? So much for historical research. Did anyone bother to read Johnston's "Pyrates" or refer to the historical record of their court trial?

Regardless, I'm still looking forward to it since it'll be the only decent pirate documentary to date (will still have pen and paper on hand).

Yours, Mike

[Red Bess]

  Anne Bonny (or was that Mary Read) wearing a dress and corset on board ship, oh really? So much for historical research.

I'm hardly an expert, but I have read quite a bit about Anne Bonny, and I have read that she sometimes wore women's clothes on board ship. But not in battle.

But again, I ask, why has no one done a good documentary about women pirates?

[blackjohn]

They even brought in huge fake hollywood cannons, and covered up all the real ones!....Don't count necessarily the details, as even the History Channel doesn't give a hoot.....

Hmmm.... sounds like True Hollywood Pirates to me...

[Cap'n Pete Straw]

My tape is all cued up... It'll be the ONLY pirate event for me this weekend. Ironic, considering PotC opens today.

[hurricane]

All I can say is "Very Disappointing."

Obviously the budget was sooooo low that they couldn't film outside of Puerto Rico, the cast had to bring their own costumes (what was a Cutthroat Island soldier coat doing on a pirate?), they interviewed Ben Cherry, the best portrayer of Blackbeard around but used a cheesy Blackbeard for the onboard scenes and the same people appear in almost every scene. Louie as Captain Morgan, Louie as a diver, etc. etc. For the build up given it was hardly True Pirates. Morgan was a buccaneer, not a pirate, no one wears boots on a ship (or even boots in the period noted), no one would be aboard a ship in full waistcoat and frock coat in the bloody hot Carribbean. There was more holes in this than moldy Swiss cheese. I have eight of us poking holes in almost every scene and we're only half way through. For example, my two South Carolina mates here just found out there are mountains in Charlestown (look in the background as the ships sail into the harbor).

I just wish someone would do one of these with a decent budget and more authenticity.

An update: There is salvation. The new Verizon commercial just came on and it obviously had a bigger budget than the History Channel's 2 hour production and better acting.

-- Hurricane

[MadMike]

Hell, no matter how mediocre "True Pirates of the Caribbean" was, I liked it better than POTC2!

Yours, Mike