There's a world of difference between the season one and two. I was getting really frustrated with the way all the characters were saying and doing dumb things in season one but kept watching 'coz the series was shot really well. The locations, the ambience.. like that gothic rockstar's place.. were all great.
Season two has kicked things up by quite a few notches. I had no complaints about VFX in S1, yet it feels so refined in S2. The camera angles, the vampire encounters like the one with lights out in the storage shed.. it just feels like watching a different show altogether. Except for the kid Zach (which I'm 100% certain will get on your nerves), everyone has started to talk more sense. The main plot - the plan about how to get rid of the vampires - as well as the little things - like how that woman in-charge of Staten island has no problems convincing the public that the infected must be exterminated but has a hard time putting her own relative to sleep - they all make sense. Even the characters don't fail to surprise you. That whole sequence with Dr. Goodweather taking a train to Washington D.C. was great.
It's hard to believe how much a show can improve with the same cast just because some thought has gone into its writing too. So, if you couldn't bear to complete season one, persevere.. binge watch if you have to 'coz you're in for a surprise when you start the second one.
I wish I could say this show is entirely out of character for FX, but after season 3 of American Horror Story.. The Strain feels right at home.
Piss-poor acting, awful writing. The tone of the show is nice and the effects are great but that can only ever be the icing on the cake, not the cake itself. After watching 3 episodes it's clear the cake in this instance is made of shit.
MY THOUGHTS ON THE STRAIN:
-WARNING: Spoilers Below-
As much as I enjoyed this show I also disliked a LOT of it. Some portions were amazing and some were very disappointing. This wasn't enough to put me against watching it though. My main frustration with this show was the cast, some of the characters are absolutely depressing and some of the worst actors I have ever seen. (looking at you Zach).
I don't think there was ever a show where I have hated a character as much as I have hated Zach, he literally ruined the show for me and I will never ever rewatch it simply because I do NOT want to see his stupid face again. He made every scene unbearable to watch and unfortunately that almost ruined the show for me.
The plot of the show was at times incredible, especially the first 2 seasons. Other seasons were good but not as good as the previous ones. I found that at times it kind of lost it's footing and became a bit stale and stagnant, like they didn't know what they were trying to do anymore.
The Vampires in this are a brilliant idea and I loved seeing them. The idea of it being an parasite was extremely interesting to me and I'm glad they went with that route, it was refreshing to see that. I loved the image of the Vampires too and how they fed on people, absolutely brilliant designing on that front.
Overall this was a decent show with great potential that sadly got ruined by awful actors. At times it was absolutely brilliant but at other times it was disappointing. It is definitely worth watching and it's worth the time and effort, especially if you're a fan of horrors and Vampires.
Overall rating: 7/10
Slaps roof... This bad boy can hold so many cliches and bad dialogue.
The TV series managed to keep a steadily inferior quality of writing compared to the books. The characters made worse decisions, the writers picked the wrong characters to live and killed off the best ones, the setpieces lost their atmosphere and the main backstory (the backbone) was thrown away.
If the books were kind of average and maybe enjoyable (around 6-7), the series went on to be just bad, at maybe 3-4 with some good moments of some mediocre characters and a lot of bad dialogue and bad writing. I love Del Toro, I am fan of his work. Some of his movies are some of the best I've seen in my life, but the Strain was... annoying.
The deviation from the books was definitely for the worse and besides some minor details, went to all the wrong ways. Zack is definitely one of the worst characters ever. His motives, his stupidity, his decisions, even in the books and even more so in the TV series. The ending was insulting to the viewer.
I would recommend the books to the fans of the genre and I would recommend avoiding the series. Maybe only watching the first season. Setrakian, Quinlan, Eichhorst and the Master are great characters and deserve better. Eph and Nora had potential too with different storylines (though the two actors did a good job). But... that's it.
First season = great!
Turned out to be boring show and...just awful
Awful ! I loved the pilot and the first episodes...but then it just slips into incoherence and bad acting. The characters are empty or annoying and sometime both.
As the season pass the story just get worse...such a shame I really enjoyed the pilot and had good hopes for this show.
One of the best new shows of the summer '14. A great mixture of horror, adventure, mystery and drama.
I just want the son to get lost, worst character of the ENTIRE show.
I don't know what's wrong with you people, it's just fictionally tv show. You guy must be horrible to watch a tv show with nitpicking any little thing. These tv show are he to take you from your boring realities. So you can relax and get lost and forget about your boring life's.
So sit there and relax and enjoy.
such ruined potential! Horrible characters, horrible vilain, horrible casting, an annoying kid... The worst being Abraham! Oh my god, stop talking, and moralizing every one!
The show had a tremendous potential. But there are no good characters in this male dominated story. The acting is bad and unbelievable. There is no logic in the characters actions. I am surprised this lasted for four years.
Characters are everything! If you don't care about them, there is no story.
Such a shame.
Finished season three with a bang. A must see show. Also Fu*k Zach! Fu*k Zach! Fu*k Zach!
GREAT SHOW!!! Season 2 was even better.
Well what can you say at this point? i guess i love vampires..
The worst protagonist since that waifish dude they had play King Arthur in Camelot.
Really, really bad. if this is the sort of quality we can look forward to after sons of anarchy finishes then FX is gonna turn into the next "The CW". god damn I expected so much more from GDT at least...jesus
Not greatness, but it is summer-blockbuster B-movie fun. Best enjoyed with popcorn.
After watching the first 2 episodes ... i wonder what the hell do people look in a TV show. This is a prove of how terrible shows can have multiple seasons and good shows get canceled.
There is absolutely nothing good in this show. Terrible acting, terrible writing, childish plot holes. a pathetic mess.
Go out there???..with them THINGS runnin around?! ..you can count me out
Awesome series, especially season three. Also fuck Zach.
I forced myself to watch this for a friend. The first 6 episodes were torture, but if you watch the 'previously on's and start watching from episode 7, you'll be alright.. I don't recommend anyone watch this show before episode 7
Watched the pilot and the second episode. The pilot felt super rushed. They were too eager to expose a lot of the details already and the second episode felt like they were trying to fix it by slowing the pace down a lot. I didn't feel any of the characters, they came across as flat and dull. There were little to no secrets left which felt like watching a movie that kept on going so I quit watching after those two episodes. I like how they are trying to bring back the scary vampires instead of the sparkling twilight version of vampires but everything was so predictable and on the edge of boring that I couldn't bear to watch more.
This show is strangely... gripping.
You've got to take the show for what it is; everything is on the surface. It's campy and fun and chock full of ridiculousness. A terrible blast.
its not bad enough for me to drop mid season but I am pretty sure I won't be sticking around for season 2
I agree with other commentator that under the hood does look goofy rather than frightening, not scary in the least.
The longer this show drags on the more apparent it becomes that this would have been much better as a movie than a series. I enjoyed the pilot and the first few episodes were pretty good, but it's really starting to drag on. Not to mention, the majority of the characters are overwhelmingly dull and/or annoying.
And let's just say, if you were waiting to see what The Master was hiding under his hood, don't even bother. If you were expecting something genuinely creepy then you're gonna be disappointed. It's not only incredibly pedestrian, it's so goofy looking that it makes the vampires on Buffy look fantastic.
pilot was great, im a big fan of guilerme del toro so i had high hopes
I even didnt mind and thought some of the first season was good, but by the time the "monster" shows itself its already bordering on mediocrity and seeing just how bad the thing was, i had to turn it off, its a shame as it really showed a lot of promise in the beginning but then the acting and plot just seemed to deteriorate fast
by the time you see the monster as it looks so bad you geninely have to laugh at just how bad, its like a 70s or 80s prop in a time when CGI is unreal
I’m usually 100% against any form of media that has anything zombie related. But I have to say, this show took me by surprise. Very entertaining storyline. This is 1 of only 2 zombie type shows that I actually approve of. The other being IZombie
Although this show is a few years old now, I had it on my to watch list bc it sounded worth checking out. I am not even halfway the pilot episode, and this show is already getting on my nerves. Looked like someone was challenged to get every cliché possible crammed into a single episode. And if I have to believe the comments, this is supposed to be one of the BETTER episodes of the first season? xD Hard pass.
First season was very good and intense.. But unfortunately, it turned out to be a boring show... damn!
Great show although this site says season 5 coming soon and um yeah it's not 4 was the last season.
that is NOT how vampires are suppose to look like!!!!!
Am gonna miss this show....
A very good end but it could be better !!!
This is a very good vamp show with a touch of "zombie" in it. Loved the story, good actors (incl. women ) despite "ffreshtv"s nonsense comment. Too bad it ended, but it ends well and closes the story.
This show has grown on me. I didn't mind watching it if it came on, but wouldn't be checking for it.
If you think about it, if they killed the Master, then the show would be over. It'll be hard for them to introduce a new monster.
Superb vamp universe dread and apocalyptic with a rat catcher NY style
This show is slowly but surely losing its appeal to me... Sure the first season had us on the edge of our seats with the whole city turning into vampires and what not... But now its just a yawn fest of forgettable subplots, and origin filler nobody cares enough about to remember. Here is a an idea show... HAVE A POINT!!!
Its science fiction at its greatest. Gripping episode by episode. Love most of the characters - yeah some of the acting is sub-standard but its ok, its sci-fi. Imagine those strigoi wandering the streets at night.............and those worms..........danger lurking even when you kill them. Now thats a powerful foe I dont want to come up against. Wash the splashback people!
great show, but the re-cast of the son was a horrible decision
New York City: omg we're being plagued by a physiology altering viral infection of an unknown strain somehow transmitted by worms with bacterial properties because of their aversion to silver. And oh, which turns people into zombie-vampires!
The rest of the United States: meh.
The rest of the world: Whole world: meh.
First episode was promising and the reason i started watching the show. Later it got little uninteresting but after, with the new plots and the development of the events it got intriging again. I recommend it!
Season 1 was a disappointment, but Season 2 is totally awesome! You guys should give it a shot and watch Season 2. It's solid.
Although there are some annoying characters behaving strangely and making things far from the common sence,there is an interesting battle between the Master and pretty much everyone else...The best part is that you really see that the characters are in danger from the strigoi you feel the tension and threat in contrary to other shows that zombies or monsters or other creatures are ridiculusly easy to kill...Cant wait for season 3!!!
After a weak and disappointing season 1, it seems that the show has found its track. The practical and special effects are quality Del Toro, cinematography is very strong and memorable. Replacing the kid actor was a terrible choice, as the season 2 kid is even worse than the one from season 1. Definitely worth a watch for the body horror.
Great second season, even better than first.
This was such a surprise. The first impression was bad - but I ended up binge watching, and rating every episode over 7 (which is pretty rare for me).
It's not really original, and not really great production values...but this has gone straight to my "must see" list. I loved it.
started watching season 02 and I will be awesome
I really enjoyed the entire Series. Loved the sceens with the Master. This is a true sci-fi classic and i can't wait until season two.
(via TV Blaze for WP)
Wow, now this top shelf. Grounded, yet whimsical. Del Toro triumphs with TV as much as he does in cinema.
Cannot be missed.
Чудовий серіал! Гра акторів, то як знятий серіал, спецефекти, сама інтерпретація вампіризму ... все на вищому рівні. Динамічність розвитку сюжету в серіалі змушує з нетерпінням чекати наступного сезону.
Всім раджу :)
Google translate: A wonderful series! The game actors, how to lift the series, special effects, interpretation of vampirism itself ... all top notch. The dynamic of the story in the series makes to look forward to next season.
I advise everyone :)
at first you're like, oh okay this looks promising.
by episode 3-4 it feels like it's going nowhere and it gets super boring.
i actually dropped it there. but i had nothing to do today and decided to give it another chance and i have to say i regret nothing. after episode 5 it got really interesting and i wasn't even disappointed by the finale, i will certainly be sticking around for season 2. i really want to see what's next.
I like this show - it is an interest spin on vampirism. The story is well developed and the character development has been good. I think this show will continue to grow in popularity over time and should get the numbers to continue.
as a horror/scifi/thriller fans, i luv it. they need to make this serie tighter and tenseful and not to stretch plot in an episode. and.. need to kill unnecessary character who only whining, crying. this show needs badass char, smart scientist, and cruel villain.
Seems pretty generic so far and the acting also has not really pulled me in. I am going to watch the first season and that will probably it for me.
FX has its hits and misses in terms of tv shows and I think this is one of their misses.
Damned if I know why I'm liking this show, the genre is not something I would normally watch. The history of IT as I don't think it has a name yet, is rather sketchy & the thing itself and it's effects when bitten or slashed, a little over the top. Anyways I'll stick with the show and see where it goes.
Yea I also think this is a really good show me and my mate are really pleased wiv this once I've looked trough everything on net this was a really good find compared to some of the s### out there
great episodes totally creepy and keeps me waiting to see more
I really like the first 6 episodes. Could be a little bit faster. The story could be great in the next few seasons. I hope they not mess it up.
Yessss it just got renewed for a second season!
this show needs an mst3k track
can we get another image for cover image? She is the worst caracter to be there!!
like it but not love it yet...but it is getting better each amd every episode
It'll end up being an X-seasons show...of that I am certain.
It could have been exciting and brainy. Gush, I just can't watch something I know will become a pile of shit.
Ooookay, screw that.
I'll get back to it, when I'm like really bored, in a week maybe! laughs
Acting is so-so. The plot is a mess. But, I've seen worse. It's brainless and entertaining and I wouldn't dare give it 9-10/10 hearts, never!
It'll probably get a second season, so it's a must-see for bored peoples waiting for their TOP shows airing once a year over a period of two months. >.<
Disclaimer- in case the show gets cool: reserves the right to update the shout anytime. X.X
Love it with all my heart
I don't really like horror or suspense tv shows or movies, but this show is growing on me. I think it's really good, but if they make a lot of seasons I think the show will became boring.
Perfect and grisly...
I see alot of potencial in this show! Not everyday we get shows like these.
Love it! Suspense, horror, fantasy. What else could you want for a Fan on this genre?
good but not great pilot but still really pumped up gor the series...I think this is an ideal show for binge watching
my most anticipated show of the summer...cant wait
Shout by Denis NjorogeBlockedParent2014-10-11T19:51:19Z
Great first 3 episodes then it's downhill from there... Shitty episodes