Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers have existed in many different iterations ' some of them extremely faithful to the writings of the French author ' while others, like Paul W.S. Anderson's 2011 film, not so much. But that doesn't stop production companies from continually rejuvenating the property ' breathing new life into Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.
That's exactly what BBC America, purveyor of our weekly Whovian fix, hopes to do in their just announced Three Musketeers TV series, which they are coproducing with BBC One. Titled succinctly The Musketeers, this 10-episode series will follow the exploits of three brothers assigned to protect the King and their country.
As with any good adaptation, some liberties have been taken to make the series more palatable for television audiences, and to serialize a single story into a compelling set of episodes. The task of wrapping all of those elements together has been given to Adrian Hodges, who most recently wrote My Week with Marilyn.
Though the episodes won't air until 2014, BBC America General Manager, Perry Simon, appears to be filled with enthusiasm for The Musketeers, stating, 'The series bristles with vivid escapism and heroic action adventure and is set to thrill audiences with cracking stories of the week.'
Like Sherlock, or to a lesser extent Robin Hood, BBC America hopes to adapt a prized literary property into an ongoing series that is as renowned for its succinct storytelling and lead performances. Who might be assuming those three choice roles, however, is unclear at the moment, and given the diverse cavalcade of actors who have assumed a Musketeer role ' from Charlie Sheen to Gerard Depardieu ' it's hard to nail down a perfect fit.
Plus, what of D'Artagnan, the hopeful Musketeer featured prominently in many of the films and TV adaptations? The brief synopsis for the series only makes mention of three brothers, ostensibly leaving out an integral part of the Musketeer storyline ' at least for now.
Still, with the success of BBC America's past adaptations in the back of our mind, it's hard not to imagine The Musketeers coming out as a success. Lower-budget TV production often times suffers from sub-par action sequences, but balletic swordplay can work perfectly in that context.
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Source: TV Guide
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