Treasure Island (2012 miniseries)


Treasure Island is a two-part British television miniseries adaptation of the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. The screenplay was written by Stewart Harcourt, produced by Laurie Borg and directed by Steve Barron. It was made by BSkyB and first shown in the United Kingdom on Sky1 on 1 & 2 January 2012.

Plot

Young Jim Hawkins discovers a map to a legendary island of treasure belonging to the infamous Captain Flint and embarks on a journey aboard the ship Hispaniola to find it; however, the enigmatic Long John Silver and crew have other plans.

Cast

The series was moderately well received by critics, with praise towards its production values and cast, but some criticism leveled at the direction and changes to the original story.
Sam Wollaston of The Guardian wrote, "They've changed it, not just unnecessarily but unquestionably for the worse, and that's a travesty. Robert Louis Stevenson, Captain Flint, Davy Jones, will be turning in their graves/lockers." Rachel Ward of The Telegraph, however, called it "an imaginitive take", said "Izzard excels as both villain and hero, and brings his trademark humour to the role, though it would have been nice to hear a few more squawks from his pet parrot", and praised the action.