The Musketeers

Last updated

The Musketeers
The Musketeers titlecard.jpg
Genre Action, Drama
Created by Adrian Hodges
Based on
Starring
Theme music composer Murray Gold
Composers
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series3
No. of episodes30 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Adrian Hodges
  • Jessica Pope
ProducerColin Wratten
Production location Prague
Running time5460 minutes
Original release
Network BBC One
Release19 January 2014 (2014-01-19) 
1 August 2016 (2016-08-01) [a]

The Musketeers is a British period action-drama program based on the characters from Alexandre Dumas's 1844 novel The Three Musketeers [1] and co-produced by BBC America and BBC Worldwide. [1] The series follows the musketeers Athos, Aramis, and Porthos as they serve King Louis XIII and citizens of 17th-century Paris. The first episode was shown on BBC One on 19 January 2014. [2] It stars Tom Burke as Athos, Santiago Cabrera as Aramis, Howard Charles as Porthos, Luke Pasqualino as D'Artagnan, Tamla Kari as Constance Bonacieux, Maimie McCoy as Milady de Winter, Ryan Gage as Louis XIII and Alexandra Dowling as Queen Anne. It also features Peter Capaldi as Cardinal Richelieu in Series One, Marc Warren as Comte de Rochefort in Series Two, [3] and Rupert Everett as the Marquis de Feron in Series Three.

Contents

Jessica Pope and Adrian Hodges produced the show for the BBC. The program was largely filmed in the Czech Republic. In February 2015, it was announced that the show had been renewed for a third series, [4] which was announced in April 2016 to be the last. [5] The third series premiered in multiple countries first, before premiering in the UK on 28 May 2016, and concluding on 1 August 2016. [6] [7]

Plot

In 1630s Paris, Athos, Aramis, and Porthos are a group of highly trained musketeers commanded by Captain Treville who meet D'Artagnan, a skillful farm boy with hopes of becoming a musketeer. The series follows them as they fight to protect King and country.

Cast

Main

Recurring

Guests

Production

Conception

The BBC had been developing the idea of a new series based on The Three Musketeers since as far back as 2007, when the project was envisaged as a Saturday evening show to run between series of Doctor Who . [8] The eventual production of the series was finally announced in 2012, with Adrian Hodges in charge of the project. [9]

Filming

Paris was not considered as a filming location because over the decades, development had detracted from the grittier architecture wanted. Dublin was also considered before settling on the Czech Republic, which suffered little damage during the two world wars. Many historic buildings were intact and privately owned stately homes were rented for filming.

Filming for the series took place mainly in Doksany, 30 km NW of Prague, where a Parisian square, a number of streets, and the musketeers' garrison were constructed. A disused convent had additional sets constructed including taverns, bedrooms and mortuary. [10]

Casting

During filming of the first series Peter Capaldi learned that he had been given the role of the Twelfth Doctor in Doctor Who . [11] The show's executive producer Jessica Pope commented they would have to "recalibrate" plans for a prospective second series to accommodate Capaldi now being unable to reprise his role. [11] Marc Warren joined the cast for the second series. [12] The Musketeers was originally planned to be broadcast in 2013, but was later delayed until 2014. [13]

Reception

The Musketeers initially received mixed reviews from critics. Reviewing the third episode, Morgan Jeffery, writing for Digital Spy , praised the development of the characters, stating that there was a "real feeling of growth" and that it delivered "something a little more substantial". [14] Den of Geek writer Rob Kemp also gave a positive review, stating that The Musketeers had "won a lot of people over with its fun and adventurous take on this well-loved story", but also wrote that some of the dramatic elements felt "shoehorned and deliberate". Overall, Kemp had hope for the series and praised the change in focus in the third episode, saying that the "time was definitely right to start to explore the characters", before going on to say that the series would have "plenty more opportunities for the Musketeers to hit their more (and hopefully, better) dramatic strides". [15]

Upon its premiere on BBC America, Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times gave the drama a positive review, calling the series "not at all bad, just a bit old-fashioned". She also praised the updates made to the series, writing "purists may be dismayed that Mr. Hodges took so many liberties with the original plot, but purists are rarely any fun". [16]

Broadcast

Series overview

These are the premiere and finale dates for the show airing on BBC One, its origin channel. Series 2 concluded earlier in the US, and Series 3 was aired/released before the UK in multiple countries; see the episode tables and broadcast details for these dates.

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 1019 January 2014 (2014-01-19)30 March 2014 (2014-03-30)
2 102 January 2015 (2015-01-02)27 March 2015 (2015-03-27)
3 1028 May 2016 (2016-05-28)1 August 2016 (2016-08-01)

International broadcast

Shown on BBC One, the first series of The Musketeers was broadcast weekly at 9 pm on Sunday nights starting on 19 January 2014. The program was the highest rated drama to debut that year. For the second series, it was moved to 9 pm on Friday nights and screening began on 2 January 2015. The series premiered in the United States on 22 June 2014 on BBC America. [17] The complete first series was "striped" on 3 August 2014 on the Australian Foxtel Cable TV channel BBC First, the day of that channel's premiere. The series started on 18 September 2014 on 'Box' Sky TV in New Zealand.

The third series premiered in Canada on Showcase Canada on 10 April 2016. [6] The full series was made available on Netflix Latin America on 16 April 2016, [18] and on Hulu in the United States on 14 May 2016. [19] The series premiered in the UK on 28 May 2016. [7] The series remains on Hulu in the US, and is available to stream on Netflix in Canada. [20]

Home media

NameNo. of
episodes
DVDBlu-ray
Region 1Region 2Region 4Region ARegion B
Series One1026 August 2014 [21] 31 March 2014 [22] 6 August 2014 [23] 26 August 2014 [21] 31 March 2014 [24]
Series Two1021 April 2015 [25] 6 April 2015 [26] 15 April 2015 [27] 21 April 2015 [25] 6 April 2015 [28]
Series One & Two206 April 2015 [29] 15 April 2015 [30] 6 April 2015 [31]
Series Three1011 October 2016 [32] 15 August 2016 [33] 19 October 2016 [34] 11 October 2016 [32] 15 August 2016 [35]
The Complete Collection3015 August 2016 [36] 19 October 2016 [37] 15 August 2016 [38]

Notes

  1. These are the premiere and finale dates for the show airing on BBC, its origin channel. The third and final series was aired/released before the UK in multiple countries; see the episode tables and broadcast details for these dates.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Three Musketeers</i> 1844 novel by Alexandre Dumas

The Three Musketeers is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in collaboration with ghostwriter Auguste Maquet. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight for justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athos (character)</span> Character in The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Athos, Count de la Fère, is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers (1844), Twenty Years After (1845) and The Vicomte de Bragelonne (1847–1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He is a highly fictionalised version of the historical musketeer Armand d'Athos (1615–1643).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aramis</span> Fictional character in The Three Musketeers and other Dumas novels

René d'Herblay, alias Aramis, is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers (1844), Twenty Years After (1845), and The Vicomte de Bragelonne (1847–1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other two musketeers, Athos and Porthos, are friends of the novels' protagonist, d'Artagnan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles de Batz de Castelmore d'Artagnan</span> French captain of musketeers (1611–1673)

Charles de Batz de Castelmore, also known as d'Artagnan and later Count d'Artagnan, was a French Musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard. He died at the siege of Maastricht in the Franco-Dutch War. A fictionalised account of his life by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras formed the basis for the d'Artagnan Romances of Alexandre Dumas père, most famously including The Three Musketeers (1844). The heavily fictionalised version of d'Artagnan featured in Dumas' works and their subsequent screen adaptations is now far more widely known than the real historical figure.

<i>Twenty Years After</i> 1845 novel by Alexandre Dumas

Twenty Years After is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized from January to August 1845. A book of The d'Artagnan Romances, it is a sequel to The Three Musketeers (1844) and precedes the 1847–1850 novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne.

<i>Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds</i> 1981 Spanish-Japanese animated TV series

Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds is a Spanish-Japanese children's animated television series that adapts the classic 1844 Alexandre Dumas story of d'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers, produced by Spanish studio BRB Internacional with animation by Japanese studio Nippon Animation, that was first broadcast on MBS in Japan in 1981–82.

<i>The Three Musketeers</i> (1921 film) 1921 film by Fred Niblo

The Three Musketeers is a 1921 American silent film based on the 1844 novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, père. It was directed by Fred Niblo and stars Douglas Fairbanks as d'Artagnan. The film originally had scenes filmed in the Handschiegl Color Process. The film had a sequel, The Iron Mask (1929), also starring Fairbanks as d'Artagnan and DeBrulier as Cardinal Richelieu.

<i>The Return of the Musketeers</i> 1989 British film

The Return of the Musketeers is a 1989 film adaptation loosely based on the novel Twenty Years After (1845) by Alexandre Dumas. It is the third Musketeers film directed by Richard Lester, following 1973's The Three Musketeers and 1974's The Four Musketeers. Like the other two films, the screenplay was written by George MacDonald Fraser.

<i>The Man in the Iron Mask</i> (1998 film) 1998 film

The Man in the Iron Mask is a 1998 American action drama film written, directed, and produced by Randall Wallace in his directorial debut. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio in a dual role as the title character and the villain, Jeremy Irons as Aramis, John Malkovich as Athos, Gérard Depardieu as Porthos, and Gabriel Byrne as D'Artagnan. Some characters are from Alexandre Dumas's D'Artagnan Romances and some plot elements are very loosely adapted from his 1847–1850 novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne.

<i>The Three Musketeers</i> (1987 TV series) Japanese anime series

The Three Musketeers is a Japanese animated television series based on the d'Artagnan Romances written by Alexandre Dumas, that ran from October 1987 to February 1989.

The Three Musketeers is a musical with a book by William Anthony McGuire, lyrics by Clifford Grey and P. G. Wodehouse, and music by Rudolf Friml. It is based on the classic 1844 novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. Set in France and England in 1626, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to become a Musketeer of the Guard. The three men of the title are his friends Athos, Porthos and Aramis.

<i>The Three Musketeers</i> (1969 film) 1969 Canadian TV series or program

The Three Musketeers is a 1969 Canadian television film based on the Stratford National Theatre's adaption of Alexandre Dumas's 1844 novel The Three Musketeers. It stars Kenneth Welsh as d'Artagnan. The Three Musketeers, Athos, Porthos and Aramis, are played by Powys Thomas, James Blendick and Colin Fox.

Luca Giuseppe "Luke" Pasqualino is a British actor. He portrayed Freddie McClair in the television series Skins (2009–2010), d'Artagnan in the television series The Musketeers (2014–2016) and Elvis Harte in Our Girl (2016–2020).

<i>Musketeers Twenty Years After</i> 1992 Russian film

Musketeers Twenty Years After is a four-episode Russian musical film directed by Georgi Yungvald-Khilkevich based on Alexandre Dumas' 1845 novel Twenty Years After.

<i>The Three Musketeers</i> (2011 film) 2011 film by Paul W. S. Anderson

The Three Musketeers is a 2011 period action-adventure film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, and loosely based on Alexandre Dumas's 1844 novel of the same title. It stars Matthew Macfadyen, Logan Lerman, Ray Stevenson, Milla Jovovich, Luke Evans, Mads Mikkelsen, Orlando Bloom, and Christoph Waltz. It is based on Alexandre Dumas's 1844 novel of the same title with clock-punk elements. The story follows Three Musketeers who must foil a plot against the king of France.

<i>3 Musketeers</i> (film) 2011 American film

3 Musketeers is a direct-to-video action film by The Asylum loosely based on the 1844 novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. The film is directed by Cole McKay and is a mockbuster that was released shortly after the Paul W. S. Anderson film The Three Musketeers. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 25, 2011.

<i>The Three Musketeers</i> (2013 film) 2013 Russian film

The Three Musketeers is a 2013 Russian historical adventure film based on the 1844 novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, père. It was produced by The Production Center of Sergei Zhigunov.

<i>The Three Musketeers</i> (2009 TV series) 2009 Japanese TV series or program

The Three Musketeers is a Japanese puppet television show produced by NHK and broadcast by NHK Educational TV from 12 October 2009 to 28 May 2010. The show is written by Kōki Mitani and the puppets are designed by Bunta Inoue.

The Three Musketeers is a 1966 British TV series based on the 1844 novel The Three Musketeers. It was a serial on the BBC. The series was directed by Peter Hammond and produced by William Sterling.

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