Like always, Crusoe and Friday were up against some uncertain odds. There’s nothing like a boatload of cannibals to sour your morning. I knew, though, as soon as they came across the “ceremonial grounds” that it had recently been used. It was only logical to conclude from there that Crusoe and Friday would end up having to rescue somebody being held captive by the cannibals. However, there was a twist. Actually, two of them.

First, Crusoe’s first rescue attempt yielded only the one captive. That captive having been the dispicable Captain Santana from the first two episodes: The one that had sailed off into the sunset after having not been able to retrieve the “golden cannon”–leaving Crusoe and Friday behind on the island. The twist, though, was not that the Captain was one of the cannibal’s captives, but that he also has had a change of heart. That change being he’s no longer selfish, it seems. In fact, as we saw, he was willing to risk his own life in order to rescue the cannibal’s other captive. But the man’s ultimate loyalties had me guessing to the end.

Tongayi Chirisa as Friday

The second twist was exactly who the second captive was: Friday’s father. That was a big surprise. And I think Friday acted appropriately, too. It made perfect sense that he had to see with his own eyes that it was, indeed, his father. Only then could he fully trust the Captain. Of course, it took Santana’s suicide mission to rescue his fellow captive for him to win Crusoe’s trust. In fact, I couldn’t find fault in “Long Pigs” story line, I’m happy to say.

Of course, there were a few candid moments shared between Crusoe and Friday. The opening had them returning from a hunt, as we saw, with Crusoe complaining all the way because of how heavy the pig was. Then, there was the fishing scene: Friday sure showed him up with his skills; spearing fish without having to aim, now that’s something. Another moment was where they were discussing their recent findings about the cannibals’ return and Crusoe trying to liken them to street gangs of all things. I guess I can see the connection…

However, it was the ending of this episode that was a definite treat. We actually got some action, and a lot of it. After having a big lull, we had some serious fighting going on. Those cannibals were merciless! Heck, so was Friday. He got his revenge at the end. Too bad the Captain had to die…or did he? That was another surprise. The boat disappearing like that…Well, at least, Friday knows his daddy’s still alive–and vice versa. Though, the one scene that got me (I mean, actually startled me) was when Crusoe and Friday come upon the cannibals’ supposedly empty canoe and bam! cannibals come popping up out of the sand. I nearly lost my cookies there.

Anyway. “Long Pig”–perhaps, while not the most original title–was another welcomed change of pace for a show that felt like it was going nowhere fast. With all of Crusoe’s flaws so far, it was nice to see things further change for the better. Last week’s episode was good, and “Long Pig” was only better.

Rating: 8.0

While finding a boat in the trees probably isn’t very likely–Well, this is fiction, so I’ll go along with it. Heck, maybe a huge tidalwave had washed it up into the canopy. That would be the only way that it could have got there. Of course, that was the precipitance (finding the boat and compass) that got Crusoe’s mind working again on a plan for escape off the island. The only problem was the boat was in terrible shape, not having a bow or stern, but, as we saw, he and Friday were able to put it back together.

The time-lapse of them repairing the boat wasn’t really that exciting, though, but it did lead to something a little more action-packed and tense, which was definitely a welcome change from the initial start of “High Water”, as the first twenty minutes or so not much else seemed to be happening, other than them trying to figure out how to patch up that boat. When Friday “accidentally” knocked the compass into the fire…

Tongayi Chirisa as Friday

It did make sense that Crusoe would try to hide his suspicions (and he was probably trying to convince himself otherwise) that he thought the accidental compass-melting probably not-so-accidental. But, even to the end Friday said to the contrary, that he hadn’t planned for it to happen at all. Regardless if it truly were an accident or not, the quest for finding another compass in the mutineer’s camp did give us some action, like I said.

Naturally, the finding of a compass wasn’t the hard part for Crusoe and Friday. It was more the escape with it that they ended up nearly botching. Of course, Friday kept having to remind Crusoe of how bad of an idea it was in the first place, which did start to wear. I think I might have told him to go jump off a cliff–again. But, that’s not Crusoe’s way, as we know.

I was glad to see the girl-dressed-up-as-a-man pirate again. At least, there seem to be some recurring characters in this series other than Crusoe and Friday. And one of the best, besides Olivia, might just be the leader of the mutineers, Atkins. He’s a pretty nasty fellow; a good antagonist to Crusoe, if the writers really want to pursue that line of thinking, anyway. They did try here, though, it seemed. Atkins gave a few memorable scenes, no more so than the one where he was about to shoot one of his men–all because the guy had stumbled into one of Crusoe’s hastily planned traps. That was definitely one of those ”yeah, that’s what a hard core pirate might do” moments.

However, the ending of “High Water” was probably the best part. I’ll admit I saw most of it in my mind how it might unfold. I saw the tide rising and somehow Crusoe saving his friend, and the boat being swept out to sea. I just couldn’t figure out how Crusoe was going to move that log before it was too late. I should have known it’d be something genius like it was. The only thing here was they didn’t exactly show just how Crusoe could have climbed in and out of that tidal cave so quickly. I mean, that thing was pretty deep, and there was no side entrance to it. Well, again, that’s fiction.

Anyway. “High Water”, while not perfect, was definitely a markedly improved experience over last week’s episode. It should be interesting to see where they go with the mutineers, though. I still feel there’s a disconnect between them, or any other characters introduced for that matter. I’m starting to get a sense that there is no real overall story arc, which is just a shame. Again, there’s so much potential here! I suppose we’ll just have to wait things out and see how things further develop. Overall, this was a pretty decent episode.

Rating: 7.0

The opening sequence I could live with, because it did, at least, advance the relationship between Crusoe and Friday, but from there things turned south. Again, pirates (mutineers in this case) were the focus of the story; and, again, Crusoe had a chance of possible escape from his jungle prison. Of course, I knew he couldn’t yet leave the island, but I was hoping for something a bit more interesting as to what might hinder and ultimately dash his hopes and dreams.

Crusoe’s plan, I’ll admit, made sense, though it was simple: Get the deposed captain’s support by helping subdue the mutineers. It was only logical that in exchange for his help, Crusoe would ask for transit onboard the captain’s ship. All of that made complete sense. Here’s where my issues begin, where things became a bit frustrating.

During the mutineers’ first expedition into the jungle, Crusoe and Friday decided to have some fun with them. That was fine, but… I couldn’t understand the reason for trapping the one guy in a net and then cutting him out of it. Sure, it spooked him. But, here he caught sight of Friday, had his pistol right in his face, and even said a thing or two, before Crusoe distracted him. Why not just shoot? Of course, that wouldn’t have been good for Friday, but it would’ve made more sense. Also, why did the pirate run off when Crusoe threw the stick? I seriously doubt a hardened pirate, no matter if he were suffering from cabin fever or not, would get THAT frightened and, of all things, run off. Ugh.

Philip Winchester as Crusoe

Then, some of the lines just felt overly silly. Like when the mutineers arrive on the beach at the beginning and Friday makes the comment, “What are those?” to which Crusoe says “They’re womenfolk.” and Friday says “They’re shaped like bells.” And I can’t quite remember the rest of it, but it didn’t even elicit a laugh from me–it just seemed that they were trying to find something funny to put there and failed miserably at it. Also, Crusoe telling the shackled captain not to go anywhere–Well, I think that just speaks for itself.

Another thing: Crusoe’s fight with the mutineer leader onboard the ship went fairly uninterrupted. There were other pirates. Where the hell were they? He only had to fight off two to get to the leader. That didn’t really make too much sense. Crusoe should have had to contend with way more than he did. And, getting tossed overboard? Why didn’t the girl, who seemed fairly capable, just shoot the mutineer? I doubt, if Crusoe’s swashbuckling efforts were any indicator, she would have roused the crew.

Now, with all that said, there were two bright points in this episode that I did actually enjoy. The first of which was the captain pleading for his life at the merciless hands of the mutineer Morgan. Morgan was going to shoot the man dead, right in the head, when the others talked him out of it, but he still ended up shooting the captain–only, as we saw, with a grazing wound. That fit what a real-life pirate might do. That’s why I liked it. Secondly, there was the scene where Friday fights Morgan, stabbing him to death. That showed, to me, Friday still has some savage left in him.

Oh, and why did the women run off on him? I guess they were more afraid of a “savage” than being held prisoner by a bunch of murderous thieves? Go figure. Again, the show lacks any mainstay female character(s). What happened to the tough pirate woman? She had a great back story. I wished they’d bring her back, but it’s probably too late for that, I suppose.

Anyway. I hope there’s an upswing after this episode, because, if there’s not, I feel Crusoe could wind up being canceled–possibly prematurely at that, though NBC, at least, gives a show a chance (unlike, say, Fox, which probably would have already pulled it from the air). Let’s just say my enthusiasm for the show has been somewhat curbed.

Rating: 5.0

Friday you could say is the “man of faith” while Crusoe is the “man of science.” You can see more and more of the internal struggle besieging Crusoe. To stay sane, he’s kept his focus on science–building fantastic devices and making himself more comfortable through it. Then, Friday has to come and remind him that he is also a man of faith, whether he wants to admit it or not. Will he ever see Susannah again? Does Susannah dream of him as he dreams of her? His faith in God tells him yes, but his faith in science tells him otherwise.

In “Sacrifice”, we see Crusoe’s anger against faith, faith in things he cannot (or shouldn’t) see. Meanwhile, Friday believes in all that is, well, paranormal and, of course, childlike to Crusoe. His faith in his dreams and the sacrificed woman in those dreams telling him she needs his help is definitely something a man of science could and would dismiss rather easily, which Crusoe does again and again. Friday, though, eventually wins out and belief-wise he would appear to be correct; things are different here, on the island.

Speaking of Friday’s dreams: I saw the opening of this episode to be very reminiscent of LOST, because of the way his premonition played out. Suddenly being in a very life-like dream, he sees the unfamiliar lone figure (of the sacrificed woman, we find out later) wanting him to follow. Naturally, he goes along with it. Friday, of course, sees it his duty to understand what it all means. Definitely, this reminds me of many journeys John Locke has taken on LOST, seeking answers to riddles and clues from dreams and visions.

Tongayi Chirisa as Friday

Now, I’m not saying that Crusoe is a complete rip off of LOST–that’s to say, I don’t think necessarily the writers are going for LOST in the 18th century. But, I do see the parallels for better or worse. However, with that said, “Sacrifice” did have a more adventurous feel to it with a slight sprinkling of drama. In that way, the look and feel of it, I almost felt like I was watching the Beastmaster meets Indiana Jones. Like in any of the Indy movies there were ancient ruins, and puzzles to solve and beasts to tame (I mean, for Crusoe and Friday to get away from).

Which leads me to another point: Having been on this island for years now, how did Crusoe not know about the cave-temple and shrine? I mean, it was right near his tree house! You’d think he would have noticed all of it along time before now. I can understand if the cave was hidden, but the bridge you think he would have seen from his explorations of the island. And I think he definitely would have found the lake, too. The island is only so big. And if he hadn’t found it by now, you’d think Friday would have. I do fault the writers there big time. That did bring the show down a few notches.

Also, some of the props (like the wooden box holding the woman’s skull and the “key” pieces) looked sort of, well, low budget. I wasn’t sold on it that they were centuries old, let’s put it that way. And, even with the sound effects of scraping stone, the key pieces looked, to me, like painted wood (which is what they were) instead of actual stone. Everything else, Crusoe’s tree house, for example, was in excellent shape and kept things in focus; without that iconic structure, I think the cheap-looking episode props might have really bothered me more than they did.

Lastly, I’d like to make another LOST parallel. Crusoe seems to have a lot of flashbacks. Of course, we all have memories, and we all reflect on them from time to time. But, the way Crusoe’s reflections are done, they are more like flashbacks. He stops doing whatever he was doing, and his mind goes directly to those thoughts. I.E. He doesn’t continue doing what he was doing because he “flashes” on memories of Susannah and everything else that went along with their marriage.

Anyway. I do have the fear that Crusoe, if it’s storylines don’t get better in the next few upcoming episodes, that the show might be doomed. And that would be a real shame. Because there’s so much here to work with, so much potential. Hopefully, the writers can tap into it just a wee bit more… creatively. While I think “Rum” and “Gunpowder” were excellent episodes, “Sacrifice”, while not terrible, is not at the same level. Now, I think I know why NBC ran the first two episodes back-to-back.

Rating: 6.5

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.

Rating: 9.0