The Strain 2014

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)

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.

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

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.

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.