Ellen Gray's weekend TV picks
This week, she features "Black Sails," "Lizzie Borden Took an Ax," "Sherlock" and "Mitt."
* BLACK SAILS. 9 p.m. Saturday, Starz.
Not your kids' "Pirates of the Caribbean," this swashbuckling drama - co-created by Cheltenham native Jonathan E. Steinberg ("Jericho") - proves to be more than the sum of its premium channel blood and boobs, with a story that's part history, part "Treasure Island" prequel.
* LIZZIE BORDEN TOOK AN AX. 8 p.m. Saturday, Lifetime.
Lizzie Borden, acquitted more than a century ago in the ax-murders of her father and stepmother, was lucky not to have lived in the age of Lifetime movies. Christina Ricci's gleeful performance brooks no doubt about the character's guilt. Clea DuVall ("Argo") stands out as Borden's sister, Emma.
* SHERLOCK. 9:58 p.m. Sunday, WHYY12.
Can Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) deliver the best man's speech at the marriage of John Watson (Martin Freeman) and Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington) while catching a killer? What do you think? This one's ingenious and endearing.
* MITT, Netflix.
Couldn't make it to Sundance? Netflix has posted Greg Whiteley's Mitt Romney documentary just days after its festival premiere. A look at the 2008 and 2012 campaigns, it's more personal than political, reminding us that real people lurk behind the soundbites.