Sinbad (TV series)

When street rat Sinbad accidentally kills Lord Akbari’s son, Akbari kills Sinbad’s brother Jamil in revenge. Sinbad escapes, but his grandmother Safia places a curse on him that until he atones for his sins he can’t stay on dry land for more than 24 hours.

The crew are captured by water-thieves, a feral tribe. Sinbad tries to seduce their fierce leader Razia (Sophie Okonedo) to save himself, but despite satisfying her, he learns she will kill him that night. Sinbad escapes with the help of Razia’s chained Roc, a giant mythical bird, and creates a diversion allowing his friends to escape.

When Anwar loses The Providence in a bet to merchant Abdul-Fahim (Ashley Walters), Sinbad confides in Anwar about the curse – he will die unless they get the ship back.

Running low on water with Cook severely dehydrated, the crew find a strange old man on a deserted ship. They are unaware it is Death come to reclaim his bride, Nala, who ranaway from their ritual wedding.

Gunnar and Sinbad are ambushed by the Khaima, a band of warriors, who avenge injustice. Their leader, Obsidian (Carsten Norgaard), sentences Gunnar to death for his brutal Viking past.

The tables are turned this week when it’s Sinbad who requires rescuing. Following a far from friendly encounter with a snappy sea creature, he awakes in the company of his mysterious (not to mention aesthetically-pleasing) rescuer, Roisin (Georgia King).

Life at sea is lonely so you can’t blame our hero for falling for Roisin’s charms, but don’t go expecting a soft-focus romance. No ordinary girl, Roisin has a penchant for pinching memories and has set her sights on Sinbad.

Sinbad is back in Basra to rescue his grandmother, unaware that it’s a trap set by Akbari and Taryn. Our hero’s hometown has undergone a few changes since he set sail, and they’re not for the better. Akbari’s tyranny has forced many residents to flee and its scholars and scientists are being rounded up in witch hunts to make way for the return of old magic; by old, read evil.

Worried about his doctor father, Anwar races off with Rina to find his parents and get them to safety. Thankfully, they’re fine. In fact, despite everything that’s happening around them, they’re acting normal – suspiciously so.

While Sinbad and co rush into action with scant regard for the consequences, Anwar feels his more thoughtful (some would say sensible) approach to perilous situations is mere proof of his lily-livered uselessness. It just so happens that the Doc is having these doubts on his birthday, which none of them have remembered.

Things look up, though, when the gang enjoy a spot of treasure-hunting on an island, with Anwar making the biggest find in the form of a great big box. Counting their chickens, they imagine riches beyond their wildest dreams so are surprised when the box reveals itself to be a teenage girl called Kuji (Hannah Tointon).

Following Kuji’s couldn’t-be-vaguer musing that he must prepare for a big journey, Sinbad is eager to find out exactly what the future holds. Handily, a stone exists that predicts just that. Not so handily, the mythic MacGuffin is hidden away in a deadly maze protected by a group of guardsman known as the Order of the Stone and some poisonous darts.

Somebody else hungry to get their hands on it is Riff (Lee Ingleby, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)), the son of Azdi (Mark Lewis-Jones, Stella)head of the Order. Tired of his dad’s reluctance to share the predictive powers of the stone, Riff bumps into Sinbad and the gang and agrees to get them into the maze using a key stolen from his father.

Tiger is proving to be a worthy addition to the team. Not only does she have information on how to get to the Land of the Dead, but the bounty hunter has secured Sinbad and co a lucrative deal to transport a professor to her desired destination. Hand luggage is permitted and hers is a giant egg.

Any hopes that it’s a chocolate one are dashed when the professor reveals that it requires regular washing. Anwar probes a little deeper and discovers that she’s planning to use the object to bring life to a barren island, but suspicions arise after the island is revealed to be inhabited already.

Sinbad and the gang make their way to a monastery in the hope that Tiger’s friend, Brother Angelico, will point them in the right direction of the Land of the Dead – unsurprisingly, an awkward place to find. Wanting no part of the mission, Gunnar turns his hand to silk trading instead. Even that proves troublesome when the Providence’s toughest crewmate falls for the charms of Lara, a new widower whose husband met a grisly end courtesy of the Fiend, a beast which, according to the islanders, comes with the wind. And it’s about to get decidedly breezy…

Bitten by an altogether different monster of the green-eyed variety, a jealous Father La Stressa (Dougray Scott) spots Gunnar and Lara kissing and weaves a tall tale that frames Gunnar as the Fiend. It falls to Sinbad and his friends to prove their comrade’s innocence by finding the real culprit.

Flashbacks help explain even Taryn’s most morally dubious/diabolical actions. A grieving mother, the sorceress will do anything to reach the Land of the Dead and bring back her daughter Alehna, played by Harry Potter favourite Evanna Lynch. On board the Providence and Taryn – still in the guise of Tiger – is closer than ever to reaching the destination when Sinbad and the crew find the entrance: the vortex of a whirpool. Well, it was never going to be a simple rat-a-tat-tat on your everyday door.

Finding themselves in the City of Limbo, they soon realise that they’re not alone. The City is monitored by gigantic creatures called Guardians, who latch onto and ‘enlighten’ lost souls, forcing them to recognise the truth of their death. In our young hero’s case, this involves a disconcerting trip to an alternate, much more unpleasant Basra, where friends Gunnar, Anwar and Rina, and even brother Jamil, have no idea who he is.