The Musketeers

Swashbuckling without the obligatory pirates, The Musketeers is everything you could want in a television show. Very much in the same vein as the 1993 film starring Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland and Chris O’Donnell, this is a highly addictive romantic adventure spiked with plenty of intrigue and infused with an indefatigable spirit of ebullience, wit and humor. Lots of sword play, hilariously elegant wit, heaving bosoms and despicable treachery, I defy you to watch even one episode and not instantly fall in love with this show. I’m delighted to see Santiago Cabrera (Aramis) again after his stellar performance as Lancelot on BBCAmerica’s Merlin. Once again he’s playing a romantic hero with a sword and I couldn’t be happier. Peter Capaldi has a tough act to follow, as who can hope to top Tim Curry as the nefarious and downright evil Cardinal Richelieu, but Capaldi plays him with more dimension than just a straight-up bad guy. It leaves the door open to interesting possibilities as to whether or not he’s really all that bad, because frankly the King really is an idiot and needs a minder to help him do complex tasks, like blowing the royal nose. His Majesty dresses in infantile popinjay clothing and is a completely useless human being who likes to shoot birds at point blank range because “they’re born to be shot, like rabbits and poets”. The Queen, on the other hand, is quite brilliant and a great addition to the cadre of strong intelligent women in the cast of characters. Infectious music, magnificent horses and so many scoundrels, some loveable but others just plain villainous. I really don’t know why the blurb on Netflix says this is a “contemporary take” on Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel as that implies a similar plot in a modern setting. This is set in the 1600s, as it should be, and is very much in keeping with the spirit of the book. Every episode is an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride, exciting, exhilarating and unbelievably entertaining. – BETHANY

For detailed cast information, visit http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2733252/?ref_=nv_sr_1

D’Artagnan, Porthos, Athos and Aramis