It's very hard to review or rate Alphas, given the show's genre and actual content: It had several weak moments, and not always did I find it in myself to relate or like the characters.
Despite that, the worldbuilding was rich and full of potential. There you have those very difficult and different characters, with their abilities and conflicts.
Unfortunately, it seemed like the creators and writers weren't always certain what to focus on the most (or failed at it) making it hard to build up an involved viewership.
None of the characters got the attention they would have deserved over more than their respective episodes, which is quite tragic, given how their abilities could very well be translated to actual mental diseases and conditions like PTSD, clinical depression, mania, Compulsive Obsessive Disorder, ADHD, Autism, and so on.
Truthfully, the show played it very straight: The obvious ships, the obvious (inter/re)actions, the obvious conflicts. Few subtle remarks, that lead to even less subtle discussions and missions. The most interesting antagonists never appeared again, and the protagonists couldn't quite manage to redeem themselves.
Yes, Alphas was a good show with a remarkable concept, but I feel as if the writers tried too hard to please a mainstream viewership and eventually forgot that the show might have sold itself, with the great cast (oh, Mennell and Cartwright, how I miss you two), solid worldbuilding and almost crazy potential to play around. - Or maybe the blunt and grey atmosphere was intentional. If so, well.. I understand why some people might not have enjoyed the show enough to watch it every week..
In short: They didn't do bad, but they could have done better. While I feel bitter about it at the moment, I can somewhat understand Syfy's decision to cancel the show. Though the cliffhanger was evil and I demand a Moonlight-ish post about what would have happened in Season 3. Thank you. ;)
Review by PatriciaBlockedParent2013-03-12T21:39:09Z
It's very hard to review or rate Alphas, given the show's genre and actual content: It had several weak moments, and not always did I find it in myself to relate or like the characters.
Despite that, the worldbuilding was rich and full of potential. There you have those very difficult and different characters, with their abilities and conflicts.
Unfortunately, it seemed like the creators and writers weren't always certain what to focus on the most (or failed at it) making it hard to build up an involved viewership.
None of the characters got the attention they would have deserved over more than their respective episodes, which is quite tragic, given how their abilities could very well be translated to actual mental diseases and conditions like PTSD, clinical depression, mania, Compulsive Obsessive Disorder, ADHD, Autism, and so on.
Truthfully, the show played it very straight: The obvious ships, the obvious (inter/re)actions, the obvious conflicts. Few subtle remarks, that lead to even less subtle discussions and missions. The most interesting antagonists never appeared again, and the protagonists couldn't quite manage to redeem themselves.
Yes, Alphas was a good show with a remarkable concept, but I feel as if the writers tried too hard to please a mainstream viewership and eventually forgot that the show might have sold itself, with the great cast (oh, Mennell and Cartwright, how I miss you two), solid worldbuilding and almost crazy potential to play around. - Or maybe the blunt and grey atmosphere was intentional. If so, well.. I understand why some people might not have enjoyed the show enough to watch it every week..
In short: They didn't do bad, but they could have done better. While I feel bitter about it at the moment, I can somewhat understand Syfy's decision to cancel the show. Though the cliffhanger was evil and I demand a Moonlight-ish post about what would have happened in Season 3. Thank you. ;)