I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect going into this pilot episode (actually the first two episodes of the series shown back-to-back). In fact, I hadn’t even heard of Crusoe before somebody told me about it. But, I figured it seemed like a bit of a departure with what Hollywood has been pumping out for the last couple of years. With the gluttony of cop, doctor and lawyer shows (plus the latest increase in spy shows thanks to the success of Chuck and Burn Notice), it seemed like this might be a breath of fresh air. And it was.
Keeping with tradition, Robinson Crusoe is a man stranded on a remote tropical island–a victim and the sole survivor of a horrendous shipwreck. He’s lost and far away from home. The only hope he has of making it home is if a friendly ship (an English ship) happens to pass by or send men ashore. All of this is explained during the mini-flashback as Crusoe peers out to sea through his makeshift spyglass. In fact, as luck would have it, a small boat is just landing.
As he rushes to his extensive tree house complex (a very impressive-looking setup) built of salvaged pieces from the ship that had brought him to the island, I wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do. I thought it might, like it did, have something to do with signaling the landing party, but I wasn’t expecting the complex way in which it all might work; a theme repeated throughout these two episodes. Also, I had the feeling that these sailors (even though flying the Union Jack) weren’t friendly. And I was right. They were pirates, very interesting pirates at that. However, Crusoe, I don’t think, was considering any such thing as he rushed towards the beach.
Philip Winchester as Robinson Crusoe, Tongayi Chirisa as Friday
He just about got himself shot dead right there. It was a fun, not to forget inventive, chase that he leads three of the pirates on through the jungle, as he tries to flee. Crusoe has definitely had time to construct plenty of nasty booby traps. Probably my favorite of which was the one where the two trees go from the ground up to the sky, bringing the two ropes up to where they hang one of the pirates. That was something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before, anywhere. Then, there was the introduction of Friday during this segment. Crusoe’s savage friend gets to shoot with his arrow the last of the pirates.
I like the fact that the writers put in a bit of humor here, too. After the pirate tells Crusoe why he and his fellows have come to the island, we see that Friday still wants his arrow back. Also, the pirate captain and crew had plenty of humorous things to offer. Speaking of the captain, though, he was a nasty bastard who cared for little but himself and treasure, which is very much in keeping with the pirates of history. Ruthless. Greedy. And impatient.
However, I think Judy was one of the most intriguing characters, besides Crusoe and Friday. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also deadly dangerous. And she had a rather interesting back story, too; that being that her mother had conceived her in a prison while being used to glean the information from her pirate father on how to locate the treasure buried on Crusoe’s island. My hope is that they bring her back to the island, because, as we see, the Spanish captain has her hauled back to, presumably, prison.
So far, everything I’ve seen in Crusoe is very promising. The sets, the acting, the story, the pace, all of it is good. Honestly, I was surprised. And I can’t believe it hasn’t been advertised more than it was. Everything seemed so rich. Really, I couldn’t find anything dissatisfying about Crusoe. If you like action, adventure, history and romance, you should give this show a try.
In a way, Crusoe is somewhat like LOST in that it has flashbacks and takes place on a semi-mysterious island. However, these are the only similarities. And I’m sure Robinson Crusoe is probably one of LOST’s many influences.
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