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[Cornballer]

NeoGAF's favorite showrunner, Kurt Sutter, has an all new show entitled The Bastard Executioner. The series kicks off with a 2 hour premiere on Tuesday, September 15th. Early reviews have been mixed, and there's no telling how much of a train wreck this series will be. Nonetheless, the setting could be fun and Sutter, when placed in the right circumstances, has occasionally produced some great tv over the years. The first season will consist of 10 episodes

Spoiler

that all likely overrun their scheduled airtime

.

The Bastard Executioner is a blood-soaked, medieval epic that tells the story of Wilkin Brattle, a 14th century warrior, whose life is forever changed when a divine messenger beseeches him to lay down his sword and lead the life of another man: a journeyman executioner. Set in northern Wales during a time rife with rebellion and political upheaval, Wilkin must walk a tight rope between protecting his true identity while also serving a mysterious destiny.

Guided by Annora, a mystical healer whose seeming omniscience keeps Wilkin under her sway; manipulated by Milus Corbett, a devious Chamberlain with grand political aspirations; and driven by a deepening connection with the Baroness Lady Love, Wilkin struggles to navigate political, emotional and supernal pitfalls in his quest to understand his greater purpose.

Videos:

- Vengeance: First Trailer
- Prepare For Retribution
- First Look
- Destiny - Series Trailer​

Cast:

Assorted other tidbits:

Long Q&A and a short profile on the lead:
- Deadline: Kurt Sutter Q&A: Diving Into The 14th Century For ‘The Bastard Executioner;’ A ‘Sons Of Anarchy’ Prequel And Spinoff
- NY Times: Fresh Face on TV: Lee Jones of ‘The Bastard Executioner’

Pretty cool featurette showing some of the crew making a long bow from scratch and then shooting arrows at a piece of meat:
- The Making of a Deadly Weapon

Lengthy THR cover story:
- 'Bastard Executioner's' Kurt Sutter on His Troubled Past, C-Word Insults and New 'Sons of Anarchy' Spinoff

- EW: First Look: Ed Sheeran in The Bastard Executioner​

Early reviews from dubious sources:

- Deadline review:

With the debut of The Bastard Executioner on FX on September 15 at 10 PM, the Sons Of Anarchy creator has, as my video review above says, crafted a strong show that cuts sharp and deep. Honestly, it is something you don’t want to miss.

In its complex tale of Wilkin Brattle, played so well by Lee Jones, the ethos of Bastard reminds me a lot of the Christopher Nolan-directed Batman trilogy — with its heroic nuance and almost overwhelming sense of sadness. Forced to take on the identity and death-bringing profession of another, Brattle is a man at battle with himself in the court of his most hated enemies. That battle takes place against the often bloody backdrop of the nasty and brutish world, to paraphrase Thomas Hobbes, he lives in – a world, at least from the episodes that I’ve seen, Sutter has fully formed.

- SF Chronicle review: (behind the paywall)

The series is not for the squeamish. But, as with “Game of Thrones,” the violence is not gratuitous but rather a necessary tool in telling the story. The Bastard Executioner not only hits the mark, it sets the bar very high for the rest of the fall season.

- Forbes review (contributor)

The Bastard Executioner is a show worthy of the eye-balls it’s sure to receive upon its series premiere (FX is one of the only basic cable networks still scoring worthwhile Nielsen ratings on its scripted dramas). The biggest thing to worry about, however, is a lingering question of whether or not viewers will be willing to sit through a lackluster nearly hour and a half of air time to get to the goods. But, if they do, it seems fair to say they’ll be rewarded on the other side of that journey.

- Time review

Just as that show [SoA] took a while to get in gear, The Bastard Executioner may need time to sharpen its storytelling. But by the second episode, when

Spoiler

Brattle is ordered to give a rebellious 16-year-old tomboy the ax and Sagal’s sorceress yanks a demonic snake from the throat of a dismembered corpse,

it’s already starting to exhibit signs of developing into a bloody good show.

- LV Weekly Review

The political machinations, led by True Blood’s Stephen Moyer as a devious chamberlain, are more interesting, especially when they delve into the complex dynamic between the English ruling class and the Welsh peasants. But Sutter seems more interested in severed limbs and mysterious pronouncements (he also gives himself the role of Annora’s disfigured, hooded companion, prone to delivering cryptic dialogue), at least so far. It doesn’t help that Jones makes for a bland protagonist, and Wilkin’s agonizing over carrying out his executioner’s duties isn’t particularly interesting. 2.5 out of 5 stars

- Philly.com review

From Kurt Sutter, creator of FX's often savage "Sons of Anarchy," we get a show about an executioner in 14th-century Wales. What could possibly go wrong?
FX exacted a promise that it wouldn't just be "a head in a basket every week," and Sutter delivered a mix of mystery and history - starring Lee Jones as the reluctant title character that had me hooked by the end of the two-hour premiere.

 

[Spikematic]

Looking forward to this, although I can't help but wonder if it'll continue to devolve into an unsalvageable parody every season like Sons of Anarchy did.

 

[NYR]

I'm good, thanks.

 

[shugdaddy]

Surprised he has cast himself again. /sarcasm


I'll probably try it, but sons went really of the rails and put a massive dent in my faith of his ability.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

Loved his input on The Shield and SoA started strong, but holy shit at those lost few seasons... :/


I don't think I trust Sutter to pull this off without the show burying itself up its own ass, but I'll definitely watch the pilot and give it a fair shot.

 

[inki]

Very excited to see this show. I'm also very excited on the prospect (see what I did there) of a SOA show but following the Mayans. Could be really good.

 

[Cornballer]

I'm good, thanks.

 

[Tim the Wiz]

Looking forward to this, although I can't help but wonder if it'll continue to devolve into an unsalvageable parody every season like Sons of Anarchy did.

Exactly. Hopefully Sutter learned from how badly Sons fell off midway through.

 

[Currygan]

Katey Sagal is a main character again, ughh. I could bring myself to give it a shot, but Sutter definitely has me worried, like, a lot. Tackling such an alien subject might be painful, but who knows

 

[Hagi]

This is set in Wales? huh

 

[IronRinn]

I know I'm going to subject myself to at least the pilot. I shouldn't but I hate myself, so fuck it.

 

[hobblygobbly]

I liked The Shield and haven't watched Sons of Anarchy, will take a gander at this when it's out. The premise is interesting to me.

 

[Entropia]

I guess I'll check it out.

 

[Spikematic]

Haha, it has Bill from True Blood in it. Every time he speaks I'm gonna hear 'SOOKEH'

 

[Troy]

Sons of Anarchy was great. I'll give this a shot.

 

[Shock]

DVR is scheduled for premier. I'm going in with an open mind.

 

[Vert boil]

This is going to be glorious.

 

[Rollo Tomasi]

Does Kurt Sutter have his wife star in all his shows? Also, himself I guess as well?

Anyway this looks good, I will have to check it out. TV has been shitty lately.

 

[RPGCrazied]

I'm in. Can't get enough fantasy shows. The Last Kingdom is next month, then Vikings, Game of Thrones and The Shannara Chronicles next year. Am I missing anything?

 

[Arkeband]

Stephen Moyer as...

SOOKEH!!!

 

[ruxtpin]

Are unnecessarily long musical montages in, cuz if not I refuse to watch.

Oh lordy. I just saw that Sutter is playing the "Dark Man." Can't wait for Iron Maiden's Fear of the Dark to play while we get a montage of Dark Man walking alone and being scary.

I can see Sutter now...

"At the corner of the room, you've sensed that someone's watching you." ... And then Dark Man will walk out from the corner of the room and his victim will lift up her head, sensing his presence!

 

[TheJollyCorner]

Are unnecessarily long musical montages in, cuz if not I refuse to watch.

Sutter put Stallone to shame with the amount of musical montages in SoA.
It was hilariously impressive.

 

[GavinUK86]

 

[Troy]

Sutter put Stallone to shame with the amount of musical montages in SoA.
It was hilariously impressive.

What I found impressive is that not only did he do them so often, but that he consistently did them so well and with such great taste in the music he selected.

 

[ruxtpin]

What I found impressive is that not only did he do them so often, but that he consistently did them so well and with such great taste in the music he selected.

Not sure if joke post.

 

[Troy]

Not sure if joke post.

Not at all. Great show. And I loved most if not all of the musical outros. I also have a Spotify playlist of many of the songs they chose to use and it's awesome. Opinions, how do they work. You won't find me in the show recap thread bitching and moaning about how Kurt likes to do things. If it bothered me, I wouldn't have made it past season 1.

 

[TripOpt55]

I will give it a shot.

 

[Erevador]

Love the concept, but am I the only one who thinks this looks kind of... video-ish?

What's up with the blown highlights and weird color correction?

 

[Jag]

Love the genre, but kind of wish he adapted an existing book like, Gene Wolf's Book of the New Sun or something like that.

 

[harSon]

Is that my boy Senbene from Penny Dreadful?! And what kind of name is Berber the Moor? Weren't the Moors initially of Berber descent lmao?

 

[Clevinger]

lollllll

Can't wait to see this.

 

[Cornballer]

- WSJ: FX’s ‘The Bastard Executioner’ Is a Medieval Epic With Mystical Touches

The two-hour pilot episode, set to air Sept. 15, cost about $10 million to make, and the per-episode budget is twice that of “Sons of Anarchy,” which cost roughly $2.5 million each. On sets in and around Cardiff, Wales, the production team needed to make period costumes and weapons, build a castle set and populate a village.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

I hope this is good.

 

[metalslimer]

- WSJ: FX’s ‘The Bastard Executioner’ Is a Medieval Epic With Mystical Touches

Shiiiiit. As much as I hated the end of SOA it did really well so I guess FX owed him

 

[strafer]

will there be swearing?

 

[harSon]

will there be swearing?

Probably. There's also bound to be a lot of man ass

 

[EloquentM]

Probably. There's also bound to be a lot of man ass

And musical montages

 

[metsallica]

Will try.

 

[ivysaur12]

nope

 

[Cornballer]

nope

You aren't even a little bit intrigued?

 

[ivysaur12]

You aren't even a little bit intrigued?

One of my very best friends works on this show and I hope for its eternal renewals.

But good lord.

 

[WarrenMax007]

First seasons of SoA were good, but the last 2 were just terrible. And season 7 was even worse than 6.
I will watch this, at least the pilot. Let's see if this is terrible or not.
Even though it says tha pilot cost $10 million, and each episode costs $5 million, it looks cheap to me judging by the trailers.
All episodes will be 1.5 hours again. And musical montages. And Katey Sagal singing. Lol.
Also i made a remake of this classic GAF image.

 

[dead souls]

Nice try but no one would ever really believe that was a Sutter quote. It doesn't even use the word cunt once.

 

[WarrenMax007]

Nice try but no one would ever really believe that was a Sutter quote. It doesn't even use the word cunt once.

FX censorship.

Picture in The Hollywood Reporter article is hilarious.

 

[Qvoth]

Hey that's sembene from penny dreadful!
And I heard ed sheeran is on this as well?

 

[Decado]

I want this to be awesome. I want to see more shows like this and Vikings.

 

[Tubobutts]

That guy's name is really Berber the Moor?

 

[ezekial45]

He looks like a rejected Mortal Kombat character.

 

[TheOddOne]

You aren't even a little bit intrigued?

Now I kind of want to hate watch it.

Dammit, Cornballer.

DAMMIT.

 

[billy beane]

SoA spoilers:

Spoiler

Sons of Anarchy died when Opie died.