Actually, it hooked me the moment I saw the excellent production values -- even though great writing (think the early Dr. Who) can transcend cheap sets and props, a beautiful, well thought out and deeply detailed setting can only enhance the good. This is good. I love the way the writers use the bare minimum of back story to really delineate the characters, and leave the iffy parts of the premise pretty much up to us as to how we wish to explain them. They just plunk us down in the world and let 'er rip. Nice! The little flourishes are great, too, though probably wasted on most Americans. I have read the Alatriste series of books, so the moment Julian snarked "Why is Alatriste here?", my jaw dropped and I laughed myself off the couch. Those references are pure gold, as are the other occasional pokes at the vagaries of bureacracy, governmental austerity programs, football fanatics, and cultural idiosyncracies. This is a clever, clever show!
Review of The Ministry of Time
