10 Amazing TV Episodes (That Doomed Great Shows)

What if the tales of Treasure Island's Captain Flint were based in reality? It's an appealing pitch and one that worked, largely due to Black Sail's impeccable casting and the stunning level of realism brought to the production.

By the end of the third season, Flint (Toby Stevens) and Silver (Luke Arnold) have almost achieved their goal - emancipation from colonial English tyranny and the freedom of their people. The action is on an appropriately epic scale, with the beach invasion and the marooned slaves literally fighting for their right to exist, with the floundering British army completely at a loss on how to fight guerrilla warfare, something that would prove invaluable in the colonial wars to come.

At times there is an element of box ticking here, such as the addition of 'Long' to Silver's mighty name, the burying of Flint's treasure and the long awaited fate of Charles Vane, that would herald the slow descent to the series finale. Blending Robert Louis Stevenson's classic swashbuckler with the very real struggles of ex-military British sailors trying to eek out an existence in the New World is a fascinating concept.

Even Blackbeard gets his (very real) history rewritten here, as he prepares to mop up the fleeing British fleet, yet for all the liberties taken with the overall plot, Black Sails wants the same thing as its heroes - freedom from rules. Unfortunately, its basis in literary fiction and actual history clapped the chains firmly back on after this, the last true pirate battle of the series.