I didn't know of the show but just recently seen a promo. It just so happens that I started reading the book. It's very interesting and the series looks like it could be very true to what I've read in the book so far. The boards show me that not a lot of people are interested which is scaring me. We all know how NBC likes to pull the shows that are out of the ordinary. Have any of you read the book by Daniel Defoe?

Delighted to hear you're reading the book, TVf, though I suspect you'll find vast differences in the TV version - not the least of which being a wife and children for Robinson! Defoe wrote the story as a cautionary tale for young people . . . an encouragement (if you will) not to seek to rise beyond their station, not to disobey their parents or defy convention. I doubt that the "Crusoe" will spend much time with any of that, don't you?

Still, I suspect they've managed an interesting tale - and it's always good to see television make a brief stab toward costume drama; so much more entertaining than endless, mindless hours of reality crap.

If you like Defoe, you might consider reading his fictional account of the London Great Plague of 1665 - A Journal of the Plague Year. Very, very interesting read.

I live in the UK and am currently mired in one of the worst autumn seasons ever! US viewers watch out for total turkeys such as the appalling Bonekickers (don't ask), dreary Lost in Austen and cheapskate Merlin. I was therefore dismayed to discover that Crusoe has been made in the UK with English actors but is being shown in the US!

Does anybody know if or when this show will be screened in the UK please? Ditto Knight Rider, which I didn't see first time around but sounds like a good show.

The series will keep alive the pirate craze, but just like the Disney movies, do not look to this series for anything of historical value. Defoe fictionalized a TRUE story (Alexander Selkirk was rescued in 1709), but he did so within the historical period. No doubt that CRUSOE will offer up lots of modern politically correct issues which probably are in direct opposition to the truth of the times. But mainstream Americans would never palate that kind of truth in primetime TV. Either way, should be a fun series if they can keep it on the air. Hard to get excited - seems they dangle carrots like this all the time then fizzle out when there's not enough mainstream interest.

Where is this being filmed?

I believe that most of it was filmed in Yorkshire, England and South Africa.

IMDB - Film Locations

I didn't see the credits, but the "leader of the pirates looked like Hugh Laury (sp?) from Fox's House.

I don't think so. It's not listed on IMDB anyway. He does kind of look like him, though!

Actually House was on at the same time so we would switch at commercial time and compare faces....same eyes, cheak bones and facial creases....

The only thing I could find about a showing in the UK was a little blurb from an online article in The Mirror about Sean Bean landing a role which said "The series could be snapped up by a UK channel if it is a US hit."

Not much to go on there unfortunately. I did see that it will be shown in Canada in concurrence with the US run on Citytv.

So I guess just keep your fingers crossed that viewers like it on this side of the pond so that it gets picked up over there sometime soon!

Basically I found the show almost entertaining. I have never watched a show that had so many commercials. Other post were right, they should have shown more about how he developed the island to a liveable status. I may watch one more time, but if the commercials aren't cut back, I'll turn it off in the middle of the show.

I have to agree, there were an abundance of commercials. The reason being, the network knew that a lot of viewers would tune in to see what the show was about. which meant lots of money. I know my son was getting frustrated because of all the commercials. Limited commercials would be great. But with a new show that might not happen for a while. we can only hope they will read all the replies on this forum and make decisions based on the viewers input.

Really? I was surprised at how much we actually got to watch the show inbetween commercial breaks.

I agree. There were very many commercials... maybe about 35 minutes worth, considering that the actual show was about 85 minutes long.

Then again, we must remember it was the pilot episode.

However, it was not as bad as it could be when it comes to commercials. I've seen much worse, especially during popular television dramas such as Lost or Heroes. But yes. Fewer commercial breaks would be nice.

I think I may begin reading the book, now that I've seen the premiere. It looks like it could be very interesting, and Defoe's book is a classic, after all.

The island beach scenes were filmed in the Seychelles and I believe the island interiors were filmed in South Africa.

Lynch was played by Jonathan Pienaar. I don't know why he wasn't credited. I thought he was terrific.

Who cares for them, Georgina Rylance was the main discovery on the show.

Yeah, I thought he was great!

Because I thought he was great in the role I googled around until I found out his name. He is from South Africa. If anybody read Stephen Kings Dark Tower series, I read that he is up for the part of Roland. Think that he would be a great choice!

I read the book when I was nine years old. Believe it or not, McDonald's was giving away a book per happy meal in the early 80's. I wish they would still do that to spur the young people to read instead of unbalanced hours with a joystick in front of a video game. I liked the book and I can tell the series deviates from the book slightly, however, I think the series is more entertaining than any other adaptation than I've seen so far, including the one with Pierce Brosnan (I think that's him). A little screen play pizzazz and I hope it's a long standing hit! Keep it on NBC!

Can anyone tell me where to find the entry page for the Crusoe sweeps? I've looked everywhere on the NBC web site, but cannot find it! I found a page that says "vote in the poll to the right" but there is no poll, and no where to vote!! Got any info on this?? Thnx...S

I believe it is over now. I went again and it said sorry but sweepstakes is over. sorry

Well, that is just not right! Last week it said on the NBC homepage that it started on Friday after the premiere! Dang it!! But thanks for the reply!...S

The first episode was great - everything you want in an adventure - pirates, history, survival!

What the H*** happened tonight? The skull figures are alien-inspired. We don't need UFOs in the 17th century!

Does history not hold enough fascination for anyone these days? We have to have aliens & mystic crap that spits in a Christian's face (no matter what YOU believe, I promise you that Crusoe was a Christian).

They got me with the first episode. This one nearly lost me. I'm giving the benefit of a doubt. Next week will make it or break it.

I totally agree. I happen to be a Christian, but I don't really expect pop culture to agree with me, so I don't agree with you there, I guess I expect them to be politically correct and all that, but with all the mystical-ness going on in this show... I don't know, I was really excited about Crusoe, I got caught up in all the hype, but now it looks like this show limiting its audience to kids. I mean, ya, Robinson is quite attractive and they are both good actors and I like the look of it and all that, so I'll give it perhaps one more try, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

I'm a Christian too, though it's irrelevant (in this case). It's a matter of HISTORICAL FACT. Anyone who's read Defoe knows how pious a puritan Crusoe was, & indeed WOULD HAVE BEEN in real life in that time & circumstance. The REAL LIFE Crusoe, Alexander Selkirk, admitted to Woodes Rogers when he was finally found in 1709 "that he said he was a better Christian while in this Solitude than ever he was before, or than, he was afraid, he should ever be again."

HISTORICAL FACT: Selkirk was a stubborn Scotsman who had argued with his captain over the seaworthiness of their leaky ship, & demanded to be put on the island - which he immediately regretted (Turned out it was the right decision - later the ship DID sink, killing most & putting the captain to a wild adventure elsewhere in the world...)

Truth is SO much better than fiction, especially if the fiction comes from godless Hollywood punks with no reverence for historical fact.

I too was realistic to expect them to Hollywood it up & make it "PC" but to deny documented facts & re-write history goes too far! Hollywood almost always goes too far.

Keep it real, & it will be more fun than any sci-fi junk

ya, I don't know... I hear ya, in terms of historicity and all that, and I know all about Selkirk, but with what's going on in our culture, making this show too 'Christian-y' would cut out SO much of their potential audience, so I definitely see where they are coming from with that. Also keep in mind that Crusoe actually IS a Christian, at least culturally speaking. And if you are a Christian, then you know what I mean when I talk about the difference between giving your life to Jesus entirely and being a "christian" just like everyone in certain cultures were/are "christians".
But anyway, I agree with you in that I would have liked to see more "reality" and less hokeyness like, showing more of the hardships of their life instead of presenting this perfect clean mini-civilization to go along with their perfect pecks. (haha)
Anyway, obviously the show isn't really based on the book by Dafoe or ANY of the themes in the book (except the making of a mini-civilization I guess), but really only loosely based on the same IDEA that Dafoe had - that is, writing about some dude on an island. So I feel the same way you do, that it would be nice to have a show that is actually about Robinson Crusoe, and not some dude who can't stop talking about his family.

well said!

I still like a lot of what it has to offer - especially in POTENTIAL. And I'm definitely enjoying the visuals - I don't just mean the island. Crusoe's pretty hunky! (yes - I'm a female, though dad Sean Bean is more my age, which is good that he looks EXACTLY like young Crusoe)

THANK YOU!!!! I have been looking everywhere and couldn't find out who that was. I agree - he was excellent, and I'm sorry he wasn't the one who survived instead of the other leader.

I'm playing the Adventure game on the site and can't figure out how to get my name on the High Score list. If you've figured it out please let me know.

alone

Okay, great show, but what is it with the voice over commentary tonight (Nov. 7, 08)? It is just awful. Please stop it!!

I'm enjoying the show a lot and like the friendship between Crusoe and Friday. I hope they vary it each week and not get predictable too early. I think it's a great show for Friday night and right after Ghost Whisperer. Fun for fantasy fans to enjoy. The guys are great in the show and I like their chemistry. I saw the actor that plays Crusoe in the Fly Boys just this past weekend. I knew he looked familiar. Great show over all and glad the ratings are doing pretty good.

I liked the book and I like the show.
Not exactly the same, but if they just sat there surviving as they do in the book, with the very limited amount of human contact they made (I dont think there was any until the very end) it would be a bad show.

Of course they make up all th epirates and ships landing there.
I think after a while, it will get awfully boring, seeing one ship after another come and go without them leaving he island

I suppose that is why eah boat coming there is stretched into multiple episodes, taking weeks to a month to complete

Anyone know where the series is filmed? Thanks.

The series was filmed in South Africa ;-) Read the credits at the end of every episode and you will see this. Something you might not read in the credits is that they filmed in and around the town of Plettenberg Bay, which is on the Garden Route of South Africa.

I, and several of my friends, absolutely love this show! All week we do the kids-work-humdrum thing and Crusoe gives us each an hour to escape into the fantastic...and it doesn't hurt that both Crusoe and Friday are easy on the eyes.

I've read the book and, althought I enjoyed it, I'm relieved that the show isn't following directly in it's footsteps. If that's what I was looking for I'd be watching the History Channel, not NBC! And it's also appreciated by our little group that they're exploring Friday's life and beliefs, not just centering everything on Crusoe.

What's been bothering me though, is that everyone seems to think that Philip Winchester (Crusoe) is English. I just want to shake them and say, "He's from Montana, you nut! The accent is fake!!"

I dont know if this is true but i heard that this show was getting canned after just one season. I think that is because NBC continues to fail at putting good shows on the air. Their ratings started to drop after they took Las Vegas off the air. Their ratings will continue to drop after the NFL season is over. If you enjoy watching NBC shows i would strongly consider supporting bringing back las vegas so that silverman can keep his job and keep a few show he wants and they may be a show you like. So please send your letters to NBC and bring back Las Vegas.

Even though the show is dropping in the ratings dept....it is in the top 20. I hope it picks up.

RATINGS

I would be totally disapointed if Crusoe gets canx'd. I am loving this show. There are so few historical pieces done this well.

So, I'm not sure if I understand the new schedule, but as of this week NBC is moving Crusoe to Saturday at 8, and then in January they're replacing the show with reruns of Law and Order...
is this for real?

I just returned to the US from the UK. It's pretty consistent that your versions of our hottest shows are always at one season behind (CSI Miami, etc), & vice versa (Robin Hood). Because this is a good show, it will soon be off the air thanks to the incredible genius of network jerks. I would not expect it to ever air in the UK. Seriously. Same goes for Knight Rider. 90% of new shows that are GOOD get cancelled mid season 1.

As for Robin Hood, I'd watch it when it returns here if they didn't get stupid & kill off & chase away the main characters. Are all TV execs on the planet really that dumb & money hungry?

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. We can watch Crusoe here online, but I noticed it was not available online to the European servers. Bummer.

I guess they are dropping this show. Wow....it was nice to sit down with my boys (h&s) and watch this.


As another posted commented, Crusoe has better hurry or he will be stuck on that island forever with Friday

It is a great family show! Three things we can do to SAVE CRUSOE!
1. Write or call NBC (You could send them so rope asking them to pull Crusoe back in - or just email)
2. Contact their sponsors, for instance Orville Redenbacher backed this show at first - let them know you love the show. I mean it's a perfect popcorn show right?
3. If NBC is so stupid not to see the potential for this show then contact other stations (particularly those on cable like the Turner group (TNT), or other options: CW, BBC America, ABC Family, etc...Since the show is actually produced by another company than NBC it may be a great option for easy programming for certain channels not looking to beat out ABC and CBS. Fox might like this show too. There is also the possibility it will continue to air new episodes overseas and then we can buy it on DVD. Let's help save Crusoe!

What did Olivia say -- at the end of the show -- after crusoe gave her the letter & left? something about your second life will come sooner than you think?

Wonder what that means.

Also, IMDB has a photo of Mia Maestro in fancy dress on the streets of (London). Perhaps she gets back and makes contact with Crusoe's wife?

She said, "You may yet have a another life Robinson Crusoe, perhaps sooner than you think"

You know what, I've never ever seen a commercial for Crusoe or seen it live on the air.

I've gotten into the habit of watching most of the shows except for Heroes and Life online. (I work into the evenings so don't get home till about 9PM Pacific.

Even when I am watching other NBC shows live I've never seen a commercial for Crusoe. Had I not seen it on the list of shows that can be seen online I would not have known it existed.

I am positive that many others are just as unaware that this show exists.

that is such a great point

I have NEVER EVER EVER seen a commercial for Crusoe. I'm not big on network TV during the day, but I sure do see zillions of commercials for all the other shows - heck, I see network show commercials on other cable stations.

NOTTA for Crusoe. And the network wants us to believe it's just a lack of interest?

I see in the logo on this page as I type "FRIDAYS 9/8c" - they don't even bother to change the info on their own site to guide people to the right night & time. NBC is a bunch of corporate jerks. They could care less about their viewers. Just dollar signs.

I saw it's moving to Saturdays in two weeks but that was two weeks ago. I'm wondering when it will be on again. I hate to hear there's a petition to save it already. I thought it was doing well on Fridays. Love this show so I will sign the petition to save it. Saturday isn't a good night for shows already. I read shows get low ratings that night to begin with. Hope this show is saved and stays on. They always do cancel the ones I get excited about early on anymore.