Post by beren44 on May 26, 2017 9:22:32 GMT
#1 statement: Thanks for clicking! This show was absolutely awesome in many ways, yet had some deep flaws as well. Obviously, this is an 'opinion' post. And I am curious about what all of you that watched the *whole* show, thought about it. I'll warn you right now, this is going to be a long post, so read at your own risk. If you aren't interested in reading the whole thing, I hope you will at least read the first few paragraphs or so, and offer a reply. I'll try hard to avoid spoilers.
Before starting this thread, I went back to IMDb and read not all, but many of the reviews there, which seem to be divided into a roughly 65/35% opinion of love/hate. I know its not a reliable source, yet it IS at least a pulse to take. I found it curious that a very large percentage of the negative reviews were from people who had only watched part of the pilot, or just the pilot, and hardly any of them had given the show as much as 4 episodes, much less all 4 seasons, before posting their hate for it. I feel sorry for those shallow-minded/impatient people. They missed some good stuff.
I think this show had the potential to be one of the very best Sci-Fi efforts ever put forth. I just began a re-watch of the series, which prompted me to write this. Currently, I am at ep. 2x05, and have to say, I wish I had suggested this as another summer time-killer live-watch for all of us, while we wait for January 2018. It is lots better on the second go-round, so far anyway, and I would love to see your comments as we re-watch it.
For starters, I want to give some oscar-worthy credits to some of the actors.
1. Ian Tracey portraying whacko-supreme Jason Sadler. Absolutely stellar performance. Not an easy character to portray, and he knocked it out of the park.
2. Stephan Lobo portraying Matthew Kellog. A villain you hate to love, and love to hate. Sort of reminds me of the whole Dalton/Ward vibe. Without spoiling, I'll just say I liked the way his story played out. What a smarmy guy, yet undeniably brilliant, and not all bad.
3. Jennifer Spence portraying Betty Robertson. She was a favorite of mine from the very beginning.
4. Roger Cross portraying Travis Verta. Such a great effort, especially when compared to his lame role in Dark Matter. Writers certainly have an influence in an actor's performance. He had a worthy ending part to play in the story as well.
5. Brian Markinson as Inspector Dillon. What a typical jerk of a boss to have! again, without spoilers, a classic trope on a cop-boss.
6. Kudos to Lexa Doig as Sonya Valentine, Luvia Peterson as Jasmine Garza, and Magda Apanowicz as Emily. All deserve mention as well.
What a shame for me it is, that the three main leads, were probably the lesser actors in the series. (in order, starting from best...Carlos, Kiera, and Alec. I'll spare the actors names, out of respect)
Now, on to the <flaws?>.
1. Any show that deals with time travel has problems built into the very premise. As far as I know, not a soul on our planet knows how all that would really play out, in regard to alternate time-lines, multi-verses, etc. Its been a fascinating subject to visit in many sci-fi shows, and there are lots of interesting theories out there. I think the show did a decent enough job of addressing this impossible-to-answer question. I remember a particular poster from the IMDb board, who would argue VEHEMENTLY against anyone whose opinion differed from his own, regarding time-travel...the guy really thought he actually knew how it all worked! ..sigh..
2. The first two seasons are just great..A long term arc that too many people didn't give a chance to develop. First half of s3 was good as well, but the introduction of
3. The audio track, overall. The dialogue was often buried in over-loud background sounds, such as cars going by on the street, as well as the music. Which was often very inappropriate and poorly timed. Too bad that they just had to include a 'song' in lots of episodes, when it totally was not necessary.
4. Other critics have faulted the trite dialogue. While I don't feel that it is too pervasive, it definitely exists from time to time.
And finally, I found it curious from reading the various reviews, that some found it pro-corporate, some found it anti-corporate, and some hated the fact that it was actually 'grey' in almost every character written. To me, that was the brilliance of the show! I got sick of the apparently political slant of the show in the beginning, yet it made great statements about the condition of humanity before it was done.
Ok, my diatribe is done. If you are still with me, talk on!
Before starting this thread, I went back to IMDb and read not all, but many of the reviews there, which seem to be divided into a roughly 65/35% opinion of love/hate. I know its not a reliable source, yet it IS at least a pulse to take. I found it curious that a very large percentage of the negative reviews were from people who had only watched part of the pilot, or just the pilot, and hardly any of them had given the show as much as 4 episodes, much less all 4 seasons, before posting their hate for it. I feel sorry for those shallow-minded/impatient people. They missed some good stuff.
I think this show had the potential to be one of the very best Sci-Fi efforts ever put forth. I just began a re-watch of the series, which prompted me to write this. Currently, I am at ep. 2x05, and have to say, I wish I had suggested this as another summer time-killer live-watch for all of us, while we wait for January 2018. It is lots better on the second go-round, so far anyway, and I would love to see your comments as we re-watch it.
For starters, I want to give some oscar-worthy credits to some of the actors.
1. Ian Tracey portraying whacko-supreme Jason Sadler. Absolutely stellar performance. Not an easy character to portray, and he knocked it out of the park.
2. Stephan Lobo portraying Matthew Kellog. A villain you hate to love, and love to hate. Sort of reminds me of the whole Dalton/Ward vibe. Without spoiling, I'll just say I liked the way his story played out. What a smarmy guy, yet undeniably brilliant, and not all bad.
3. Jennifer Spence portraying Betty Robertson. She was a favorite of mine from the very beginning.
4. Roger Cross portraying Travis Verta. Such a great effort, especially when compared to his lame role in Dark Matter. Writers certainly have an influence in an actor's performance. He had a worthy ending part to play in the story as well.
5. Brian Markinson as Inspector Dillon. What a typical jerk of a boss to have! again, without spoilers, a classic trope on a cop-boss.
6. Kudos to Lexa Doig as Sonya Valentine, Luvia Peterson as Jasmine Garza, and Magda Apanowicz as Emily. All deserve mention as well.
What a shame for me it is, that the three main leads, were probably the lesser actors in the series. (in order, starting from best...Carlos, Kiera, and Alec. I'll spare the actors names, out of respect)
Now, on to the <flaws?>.
1. Any show that deals with time travel has problems built into the very premise. As far as I know, not a soul on our planet knows how all that would really play out, in regard to alternate time-lines, multi-verses, etc. Its been a fascinating subject to visit in many sci-fi shows, and there are lots of interesting theories out there. I think the show did a decent enough job of addressing this impossible-to-answer question. I remember a particular poster from the IMDb board, who would argue VEHEMENTLY against anyone whose opinion differed from his own, regarding time-travel...the guy really thought he actually knew how it all worked! ..sigh..
2. The first two seasons are just great..A long term arc that too many people didn't give a chance to develop. First half of s3 was good as well, but the introduction of
Kiera's new boyfriend, Brad Tonkin, and the 'traveler' character, in the second half of s3 really dragged the show down.
Season 4...at least it happened, sort of. They were given 6 episodes to wrap up the story, and did a decent if rushed job of closing it out.3. The audio track, overall. The dialogue was often buried in over-loud background sounds, such as cars going by on the street, as well as the music. Which was often very inappropriate and poorly timed. Too bad that they just had to include a 'song' in lots of episodes, when it totally was not necessary.
4. Other critics have faulted the trite dialogue. While I don't feel that it is too pervasive, it definitely exists from time to time.
And finally, I found it curious from reading the various reviews, that some found it pro-corporate, some found it anti-corporate, and some hated the fact that it was actually 'grey' in almost every character written. To me, that was the brilliance of the show! I got sick of the apparently political slant of the show in the beginning, yet it made great statements about the condition of humanity before it was done.
Ok, my diatribe is done. If you are still with me, talk on!
