What started out as a brilliant thought provoking Sci Fi show slowly unravelled in latter seasons with uneven plotting and weak dialogue. Great actors giving great performance gave way to confusion and unsatisfying character arch's. I understood why it was cancelled. Like many shows with promise before it it suffered cancellation, but deservedly in this case. It could have been the best TV show ever but perhaps COVID killed it with its lingering brain fog, and burnout to all those involved. Brava to the 4 key actors Ed Harris, Thandwe Newton,Jeffrey. Wright and. Evan Rachel Wood, plus many other smaller parts that made season 1 & 2 so satisfying to watch. Perhaps it would have been a better mini series than trying to run longer as a series as it did. I chose to see the beauty in Westworld for as long as possible but in the end the beauty was lost.
Reviews
13 Reviews
Finally some quality drama returned to TWD
24 November 2022
After 11 seasons, the first 7 so very good, and a rare scattering of good story arcs since, the woeful season 11 ends with a quality episode that brings us back a moment of why we watched TWD in the first place.
It was the drama that made TWD so good. The suspense and horror meant nothing without great characters immersed in authentic drama. This episode brought it back after straw-figure characters and the comic book-like endless pointless action, weak scripts and superficial characterization of the rest of the season. Thanks for finishing it off on this high note that the rest of seasons 8 through 11 could have done with just a bit more of, more often, despite the excellent whisperers storyline. I hope the ending of this series does lead to more quality drama for the teaser we got in the end.
It was the drama that made TWD so good. The suspense and horror meant nothing without great characters immersed in authentic drama. This episode brought it back after straw-figure characters and the comic book-like endless pointless action, weak scripts and superficial characterization of the rest of the season. Thanks for finishing it off on this high note that the rest of seasons 8 through 11 could have done with just a bit more of, more often, despite the excellent whisperers storyline. I hope the ending of this series does lead to more quality drama for the teaser we got in the end.
The Wilds
(2020– )
Cancelled? Why?
21 August 2022
I enjoyed this show's first season and was looking forward to more. But I find it's cancelled so no point watching season 2. What a waste of time for everyone involved and especially us, the audience. Who makes these stupid decisions?
The Man in the High Castle
(2015–2019)
I would have given this 10 but for the last 60 seconds o the series
20 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
99 % great seasons. Wonderful story, deep and complex characters, great world building., one of the best shows in years. But for the last 60 seconds. It just did not land it. The main cast was brilliant, especially those who had begun and finished the journey of this show.. if only they hadn't left us high and dry, confused and disappointed. It was so close to Making my top 5 best shows ever, but just another amazing project that ultimately felt unfinished.
40 years later JJ Abrams keeps Star Wars true
27 December 2019
Action, adventure, fun, sorrow, good vs evil, hero's and anti-heroes, nostalgia and freshness. JJ Abrams and the energetic cast bring this cycle of Star Wars to a fitting close. A tribute, a fresh take, and a well crafted story, providing an enormously satisfying closure on this arc. Familiar faces and new faces merge into one with this epic series leaving a genuine legacy and foundation for new generations of storytellers and audiences to build upon. Thank you from someone who saw the original over 40 years ago and is still amazed that this story keeps entertaining and telling us about the force. May the force be with you.
Game of Thrones
(2011–2019)
From modest beginnings to masterpiece.
18 June 2019
I just again watched GOT from start to finish. This binge only reinforced the joy I felt watching it through the years, especially the last 4 seasons. When I first saw season 1 I did not rate it highly, I judged it as another sex, sandal and blood soaked HBO show. But I persevered and also read the original material from GRRM. The rewatching and the brilliant art of the past few seasons made this series truly memorable in all the good ways. Amazing world building, tense, emotive yet sometimes subtle drama, superb acting, beautiful and haunting music, special effects with no par and a extremely satisfying story conclusion. Thanks to everyone who brought this story to life on our TV screens. I can only hope it opens doors for other amazing fantasy stories to be told with the same excellence. Brilliant series.
Greatest single episode of Television ever
11 June 2019
This final season has been criticized by some. Not by me. This season and the last, are some of the best Episodes of any show I have seen. But this episode blows the rest away. Acting, visuals, music and action combine brilliantly. This is high art. So very thrilling and satisfying. Thank you to everyone who brought this story, and especially, this episode, to life.
Where's the magic?
14 November 2018
A dark and confusing story filled with exposition and hampered by terrible editing makes this a dull affair. While Newt was able to be understood in this one, most of the other characters are so superficial that it's very difficult to care about their story. There's no magic - just lots of bangs and whistles from the FX department.
Disappointing finale after a terrific first half of the season.
1 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Season 4 started so well but the second half was a great opportunity wasted by poorly devised plots, dialogue and storytelling. Great acting from the cast could not overcome the stupidity of the second half. One of the worst villains ever written also featured before Morgan put her out of her misery at last. I, like other reviewers, was looking forward to a journey towards Alexandria and the great crossover. Difficult to see me continuing to watch this again after it blazed beautifully, abeit briefly, early in the season only to return to the bottom of one of Augie's beer barrels by the end.
Subtle emotional depth comes to FTWD.
14 May 2018
This season has flipped this show into quality TV and this episode captured a tenderness not often seen in a Zombie flick. The story of Laura, was intriguing and I am sure will continue to be across the rest of the season, and I hope longer. The team behind this show have demonstrated quality story-telling across the first 4 episodes this season, something it ama mater,TWD, seemed to lose its way in the past two seasons. I applaud the creatives behind this show for reinventing it into something I now look forward to each week, after fast forwarding my way through seasons 2 and 3. I hope this show maintains and extends the quality it has demonstrated in casting, writing and pacing so far. The season opener, 'What's your story' seems to be the mantra of this show now. And what a fine mantra it is.
Drama returns to TWD at last
19 November 2017
After the first few Season 8 episodes of stilly comic-book like shoot 'em ups, human drama, fragility and conflict returns to The Walking Dead last week and especially this week. At last.
Last week and this week were centred on character. It has been these character-centric episodes which have helped make this show one of the best ever. Father Gabriel has never been one of my favourite characters despite the great performances, but this episode contrasted strength and weakness beautifully using TWDs most powerful performer right now, JD Morgans' Negan, with the difficult and haunted Father Gabriel.
Great drama and emotion in this episode. And the near-unravelling of the Saviours was also well played and makes for interesting times in the coming episodes.
Hope there's' more like this for the rest of the season. 8.5/10
Last week and this week were centred on character. It has been these character-centric episodes which have helped make this show one of the best ever. Father Gabriel has never been one of my favourite characters despite the great performances, but this episode contrasted strength and weakness beautifully using TWDs most powerful performer right now, JD Morgans' Negan, with the difficult and haunted Father Gabriel.
Great drama and emotion in this episode. And the near-unravelling of the Saviours was also well played and makes for interesting times in the coming episodes.
Hope there's' more like this for the rest of the season. 8.5/10
Exodus: Gods and Kings
(2014)
Poor casting, lack of emotional depth
5 December 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Why would Ridley Scott cast an Englishman, an Australian, an American and an Irishman in the biblical story of the Exodus? Does the previous line sounds like the start of a joke? Well unfortunately the joke is on the audience with this visually stunning but shallow 3 hour flick. While the performances were good, the casting was way off. I like Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton and Sigorney Weaver but they are just wrong for their roles and so was the Irishman within Ramses' group of advisor's. I could not get past this miscasting (why not cast Middle Eastern actors in these major roles?). Character development was almost non existent and in the end I cared more for those being smited than any of the main characters which came off as petulant war mongers (including the child representing God to Moses). Perhaps that was Ridley Scott's point. A disappointing ticket purchase from this respected Director. Barely DVD fodder.
Tell Your Friends