''Sinbad'' is an

action-adventure An action-adventure game is a video game genre, video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements f ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

family saga The family saga is a genre of literature which chronicles the lives and doings of a family or a number of related or interconnected families over a period of time. In novels (or sometimes sequences of novels) with a serious intent, this is often ...

television series that aired on

Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989 ...

from 8 July to 23 September 2012. It was produced by Impossible Pictures, the same company who made ''

Walking with Dinosaurs ''Walking with Dinosaurs'' is a 1999 six-part nature documentary television miniseries created by Tim Haines and produced by the BBC Science Unit, the Discovery Channel and BBC Worldwide, in association with TV Asahi, ProSieben and France 3. ...

'' and '' Primeval''. The series stars

Elliot Knight Elliot Knight is an English actor. He made his acting debut as the title character on the Sky1 action-adventure series ''Sinbad'' (2012). Continuing to work on television, Knight appeared as a series regular on the BBC One crime drama '' By Any M ...

as the eponymous hero

Sinbad Sinbad the Sailor (; or Sindbad) is a fictional mariner and the hero of a story-cycle. He is described as hailing from Baghdad during the early Abbasid Caliphate (8th and 9th centuries A.D.). In the course of seven voyages throughout the sea ...

. On 27 February 2013, Sky announced that they had axed the show, saying its "story has now been told".

Premise

accidentally kills the son of the powerful Lord Akbari in a fist fight. As recompense for the blood debt, Sinbad's brother is killed in front of his eyes. Sinbad escapes, but his grandmother uses a magic

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

to curse him for the death of his brother. The curse prevents Sinbad from staying on land for more than one day; if he tarries the talisman will choke him to death. This prohibition against remaining on land leads to a life of adventure at sea that holds many wonders. Sinbad is unaware that he is still being hunted by Lord Akbari, who does not consider Sinbad's brother's death as sufficient payment of the blood debt.

Cast and characters

Episodes

Production

In August 2010, the

director of programmes

Stuart Murphy Stuart Neil Luke Murphy (born 6 November 1971 in Leeds) was the Chief Executive of the English National Opera (2018–2023). He was educated at St Mary's School, Menston and Clare College, Cambridge. From 2012 to 2015, he was Director, Enterta ...

announced the commission of several new television series, including a 12-part multimillion-pound

Sinbad the Sailor Sinbad the Sailor (; or Sindbad) is a fictional mariner and the hero of a Literary cycle, story-cycle. He is described as hailing from Baghdad during the early Abbasid Caliphate (8th and 9th centuries A.D.). In the course of seven voyages thr ...

adaptation in August 2010, with Impossible Pictures, a production company known for producing the ITV

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

series '' Primeval'', on board to produce the show. The announcement was made as Murphy wanted to shed Sky's reputation for broadcasting primarily foreign imports and "shifting the budget" to put "terrestrial levels of spend" behind the shows. The series was also intended to have "the ambition of '' Lost'' and the pace of '' 24''". Filming began in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

in February 2011.

Broadcast

The series was originally set to air during Autumn 2011, however, for unknown reasons, the series was delayed until the following summer. The series began broadcast on Sky1 weekly from 8 July 2012 during the 7:00pm

time slot Broadcast programming is the practice of organizing or ordering (scheduling) of broadcast media shows, typically radio and television, in a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or season-long schedule. Modern broadcasters use broadcast automatio ...

Ratings

The first episode received overnight ratings of 1.06 million viewers, and an

audience share Audience measurement calculates how many people are in an audience, usually in relation to radio listenership and television viewership, but also in relation to newspaper and magazine readership and, increasingly, web traffic. The term is sometim ...

4.7 percent. Peaking at 1.25 million at one point, it became the highest-rated

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...

programme for the night. The first episode saw significant gains according to the final consolidated ratings, averaging 1.91 million viewers. However, over the following weeks ratings saw a gradual decline.

International broadcasters

''Sinbad'' has also been sold to networks around the world from

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...

. In

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, premium pay channel

Canal+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

pre-bought the rights to air the series in February 2012.

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (Canadian French, French: ) is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc. (also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company Bell Canada). Its operations include nati ...

, a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

broadcaster, bought ''Sinbad'' and showed it on their

Space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

channel.

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

also bought the rights to air the series in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. However, the BBC later took back the rights from Nine and sold it to the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

instead, premiering on 8 September 2012. Syfy has picked up the series in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In Italy, state-owned network RAI broadcast the show in its original version, also displaying English subtitles in order to help viewers familiarise with the foreign language.

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, 68% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.40/10. The website's consensus reads, 'Sinbad has the swashbuckling adventure to liven up Arabian Nights at home, although the sailor's adventures can be often teeter from thrilling into corny.' Allison Keene of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' commended the 'fast-paced editing and snappy dialogue', and praised the diversity of the cast.

Home media

The series was released on DVD & Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 22 October 2012 and in the United States on 3 September 2013.

References

External links

* {{Sky1 2010s British drama television series 2012 British television series debuts 2012 British television series endings British fantasy drama television series British supernatural television shows Sinbad the Sailor television series Epic television series Sky UK television dramas