Reviews

While I'm not a fan of the genre (nor am I familiar with the game), Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay (both deliver great performances in Game of Thrones) are most certainly names to watch out for. This is not a high budget, glossy HBO production, however. But it definitely holds up to many "big" shows, with a flair reminiscent of Stranger Things, a show I really enjoy. The CGI could be better but the creative story with a special focus on different new characters and topics each episode (at least over the past few episodes) makeup for the budgetary deficiencies. The show is not perfect, especially the first episode, but it's definitely worth and fun to watch and hopefully will get more budget next season.

TV shows are made from many different ingredients and in the case of The Chemistry... some are good but unfortunately it's the bad ones that give the flavor. The good ones: main cast is solid, cinematography nice and the overall feel one of a high quality production inspired by shows like True Detective. But the main plot and every second scene just make no sense, so much so that you watch with growing resistance. And it's not just the emotionally incredulous things like having flashbacks of your dead baby girl running happily on a beach while you're in a ruined cottage with a horribly burned and disfigured murder victim or technicalities like having a SWAT team on standby in a small village. It's even mundane things like people wearing rain coats in a storm but never zipped and not putting hoods on, professional police investigators leaving bagged evidence scattered all over the murder scene or knowing a big storm is coming but not securing a body in an already weather damaged shack. I really wanted to love this show. Instead I just grew more and more irritaded with each episode. A shame cause it could've been a really iconic show and Threadway has potential to pull off a complex, disturbed yet charismatic character, the likes of Sherlock Holmes.

The show is unusual in the sence of going beyond genres and combining elements of sci-fi, historical costume drama, mystery and crime elements. Which will also inevitably make it challenging for some audiences who prefer more conventional stories. The acting, the costumes, the sets and the screenplay are great altogether, making up a compelling high-end production. The storyline isn't overly complicated and the sci-fi elements remain in the background until the last episode with a twist I totally didn't see coming. I particularly enjoyed the overall authentic feel of the Victorian London, the acting that lets you root for the characters and how the show addresses the issues of feminism and diversity. Also the intriguing approach to enlightenment and the industrial revolution which seem somehow fantastic in itself when set across the background of the emerging 19th century with horse carriages, long dresses and the patriarchal class society. If you enjoyed the shows like The Carnival Row, The Alienist or The Irregulars, you're probably going to love this one as well.

I'm not a fan of the source story nor the typical target audience for such shows but I really enjoyed watching this one, up until the love story starts to take over the plot. What I found great was the visual side to the show, stunningly beautiful sets, altogether believable yet totally paradoxical futuristic world with an indie touch to it. Actingwise good performance from the lead actors and some supporting cast. However, as the story unfolds it starts to become chaotic and the main plot itself is not really original or even interesting, to the point that I wished they would explore side stories instead. Each episode a new adventure would've worked for me. Unfortunately, they won't get the chance as the show got cancelled.

I am a total fan of the books and the genre, so I was very much looking forward to the screening. And it did not disappoint. The first three episodes promise high quality TV: decent casting, good CGI effects, some beautiful scenery, a quick pace and a thrilling plot. Of course it's difficult to fully satisfy hardcore fans of epic fantasy novels and Jordan's world is far more vast and complex than Tolkien's and Martin's combined. So the challenge is serious and the expectations very high. Adaptation wise I'm content - there's enough details from the books to warm the hearts of the fans and while some alternations feel odd at first, the feeling quickly dissipates. Aes sedai are not ageless - great, we've got ageless in every other show and movie. The cast is ethnically more diverse than Jordan's vision of ethnically and culturally uniform countries, each however distinctively different from its neighbors. But after a very white Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, I actually think the diversity of the Wheel's cast is a great idea. And there's enough suspense and twists to draw in newbies. Don't get me wrong, like every fan of the books of course I'd love the show to go through the original material more slowly and carefully, to dive in deeper, to have at least twice as many episodes and a much larger budget. But when I saw the divided skirts on Nynaeve, it's when I melted. And while I am extremely happy with the casting of Robbins/Nynaeve and Madden/Egwene, with Pike and a few other familiar faces delivering a decent performance as well, I do have some concerns. I'm not quite sure if Stradowski has the bandwidth and depth to believably portray such a complicated and versatile character as Rand. He definitely has magnetism, though. And I couldn't get quite warm with Harris/Mat as well. Trollocs could look more bulky from afar and the Fades look far too artificial for my taste. But I am definitely looking forward to the next episodes and to see how it all develops. And I'm quite sure, even the most dissatisfied fans of Jordan's we'll keep on watching (and ranting) and watching.

I totally don't understand the moderate reviews. The show is deep, unpredictable, unique and the acting is superb. The story unfolds over several episodes, so be sure to watch at least 3. In my opinion the show belongs in the same category as True Detective and Fargo, with a unique approach to crime. Looking forward to season 4!

I read Sapkowskis books as a teenager so when I heard of a tv show coming, I immediately became curious. The show surpassed all of my expectations: the casting and actingis phenomenal, the plot is rich and adds a new angle to the books, the world of the show feels authentic and complete. Henry Cavill as Geralt is absolutely compelling and already in itself a reason to watch the show. The only thing that I was a bit disappointed in were the creatures/ monsters and the CGI effects, but of course the show doesn't have the budget of GoS to work with. Still both remain decent. By the way, I don't understand all the GoT comparisons. If anything, the Witcher reminds of Conan, both concepts centering on lone mercenaries with extraordinary powers who take up assignments nobody else can accomplish. With the difference of Conan being a human and a brute and Geralt having magical powers as a halfbreed and more depth. I can't wait for season 2!

Marvel Cinematic Universe TV shows are all different in style, some better than others, but usually solid in quality. Despite the same origin and a halfway decent cast, this show lacks in so many ways that it makes you wonder how it could come from the same source as Daredevil, Jessica Jones or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Even more surprisingly, how on earth it has been created and run by Scott Buck, who brought us TV jewels like Six Feet Under, Rome and Dexter. Even Iwan Rheon, the infamous captivating Ramsay Bolton of GoT, seems totally aloof in this show. Which proves that an interesting story, nice scenery and good acting are hardly enough, if the screenplay and directing suck. More - one has to be rarely gifted to make a show so bad while having so many good ingredients. I would be seriously surprised to see Inhumans go for a second season. The worst MCU show ever!

Like many others, I repeatedly devoured the books by Gerald Durrell as a child, especially the Corfu trilogy, and was very sad to discover that the author passed away in my late teens. I also read some of Larry Durrell's writing and watched a documentary "Gerald Durrell in Russia", however I did not see the 1987 TV show (nor the 2015 movie). I am not English, so the Durrellian universe was much smaller in my reality of a post-soviet CEE country; nevertheless I regard it a vital part of my growing up and it brightened many a day back then. So I was really happy when I stumbled upon the TV show on the Durrell's tonight, keen on being reunited with little Garry, mercurial Les, Larry the intellectualist, girly Margo and all the other strange, goofy and dear characters roaming the emerald Greek island . I understand that expectations are high when it comes to childhood favorite reads and after the first episode it's pretty safe to say the show did not overwhelm me either, but I really enjoyed the different perspective on the adventures and struggles of this eccentric family I feel I know almost like my own.

While in the books you watch the family story through the eyes of a young boy keen on nature, in this show it's the grown-up perspective of a mother trying to survive with 4 intense teenagers on a beautiful yet unfamiliar island with no electricity, little money and very basic language skills. It's not all blue skies, sparkling green see, dazzling sun and the perpetual summer holidays feeling the books enchant you with. But watching the show, it's easy to imagine the small and bigger dramas behind Gerald Durrell's lighthearted and funny family portrait, making it a more real and less funny account. The show seems to unravel in a somewhat bumpy and chaotic way, with some originally hilarious scenes becoming more awkward than funny and I can't help the feeling the actors are neither able to play to their full capacity nor do they seem to harmonize with each other particularly well. But slowly the familiar feeling seeps in and the moment you see young Gerry's (Milo Parker) bright eyes widen up in thrill with some odd wildlife, you know you will want to watch the next episode. As a sworn Durrell fan I wouldn't miss it!