Welp….. I do love a good paradox. I’m frustratingly happy.
The best thing about this season, and hopefully its show, was when it ended.
Had low expectations for this show, mainly due to the network that was producing it, however, I couldn’t be more surprised. The show is more drama based than anything, but that said, it’s been awesome to watch the director and writers take the show in a direction that’s based more on the family dynamics of the Kent family than it just be another action-superhero bit, which is where I think CW has a tendency to fail when trying to cash in on our iconic DC and Marvel characters.
The show isn’t spectacular by no means, but it absolutely has me coming back for more. The teen actors are growing into themselves — thank, God — because it was rough there in the beginning acting wise for some of them, but they got better, the writers tweaked their characters, the director tweaked their takes/perceptions on their characters’ scenes and over time it was easier to watch them help carry the show.
Can’t wait for season 2!
I’m utterly dumbfounded that this show has an average rating of 6. I gave it a 4 (quite generous, IMHO), later a 1, and then I proceeded to remove all notifications of this show and ensure it was hidden from my feed. Good sci-fi is hard to come by these days and it infuriates me.
This show is an utter train wreck and I can’t understand how TPTB read the script(s) and thought this was anything else but pure garbage.
THEM was terrifyingly perfect. Yes, as others have pointed out, it has that Jordan Peele feel written all over it, but that’s not a bad thing. Peele has absolutely created a game changer in intermixing the horror genre and social issues in a way that is profoundly provocative and this particular anthology demonstrates Peele’s influence and brilliance, in my opinion. That said, in no way does this diminish the writers’ own brilliance and creation with this series.
It was an excellent call on Amazon to fund it, brilliant casting, fantastic acting. It was entertaining, it was horrifying, it was incredibly sad and yet oddly satisfying all at the same time. Lucky’s last straw, b:asterisk_symbol:tch slap was glorious, the writer’s play on (and appropriately edited) Ruby’s “I wish you would,” had me busting a gut. And it’s moments like those that made this so entertaining for me. It wasn’t just the fact is was a horror anthology (though that played a big part for me), it was how satisfyingly good all these little gems were that was written in and encompassed a family’s reaction to encounters with a social injustice that is undoubtedly a terrible blot on our country’s history; and unfortunately, yes, to a lesser but still just as damaging degree even now — hence why this series was made when it was and others that have preceded it in the past few years.
In summation… It perfectly intertwined some of the most poignant, social injustices this country has ever known with a terrifyingly good spin on horror and a mythos well worth sitting through for. Bravo to the entire cast and crew of THEM. You made something that you absolutely can be proud of.
I’ve been getting pretty disappointed with Netflix lately, but this.... this did not disappoint. Very, very good series. Easy to binge. And like most other fantasy-based fans, I wager, I’m already itching for season 2.
I wanted to so badly enjoy this but I just couldn’t. I watched the entire season because I’m a HUGE sci-fi fan and will watch anything sci-fi at least once. But, it was hard to get through this. And I can take bad sci-fi when it’s purposefully written that way, and watch it for what it is and not get irritated by it. But when it’s clear it was meant to be something else altogether than some purposely, and rigidly, bad sci-fi ..... it makes it hard.
The first episode.... semi-decent. But it was like the story had zero direction. It jumps all over the place in a non-sensible way — Guzikowski and the writers throw in so many knockoff elements it made my eyes roll. Prometheus, Alien, to name a few, and perhaps they were even trying to garner some Easter Egg with Travis Fimmel’s character in Vikings, but my God, if that’s the case it was WAY overdone. The ending didn’t make much sense at all. And overall, especially the last half of the season, it was too much of an attempt at artistry and not enough sensible story arc to drive this to where it needed to go, which.... honestly, I can’t figure out where they’re wanting to go with this story, and I’m wondering if they even know.
Standards during and post-Covid have severely gone down hill. Things are being rushed, and networks are putting too much into lazy writing and production just to get something out there so they can keep that money moving.
Personally.... I would prefer to wait and have good sci-fi, than be force-fed junk. If there’s a second season, I hope they throw out the old book, so to speak, and re-write the story arcs and try to salvage the craziness from the first season.
I came late to the game on this one, but I’ve spent the entirety of my afternoon marveling at the masterpiece that is Chernobyl. Everything I’ve heard was true, the writers, the cast, the production, the producers; they championed the heroes, the bravery and sacrifices of the men and women who stood their grounds against immeasurable odds and the men and Statesmen that buried their heads in the sand out of fear and arrogance — that thrusted the Soviet Union and really the world into a global catastrophe which ultimately amounted to politics of the most grievous nature being the cause of such a preventable loss. Chernobyl was a mind blowing incident and the writers of this series did a remarkable job in conveying that. Well worth the watch.
I tried, Lord knows, I tried. But this.... this is total rubbish. The acting is horrid, and when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, you can’t shake the disgust of just how bad the direction and editing is for the show.
I’m unsure if they tried to do too much, or they did too little. But it’s just downright a slap in the face to Stephen King, his fans and this cult-favorite in general.
Absolutely loving everything about this show, though I have to say, it’s a little disheartening, yet not surprising, that it appears many reviewers are not understanding the true meaning behind the show’s title. Hopefully they’ll stick with the show and get the deeper meaning behind it’s perfect play on words.
I hope this show has a long, long life and continues to uncompromisingly retell some of the most defining moments in black history while maintaining its colorful use of sci-fi and horror to drive its stories along.
The writing and acting is just short of being simply pure perfection in my book. 9/10
Sort of reminds me of a paranormal version of Touched by an Angel.
Joking aside, sort of, I really liked this show. Far far far better than some other related shows like Medium (the most hated show I’ve ever had the privilege of turning off).
Super surprised by the mixed reviews and lower than expected ratings on this. I thought this season was far more deserving than an average 6/10 rating as of Oct ‘20.
I thought it was loads of fun and quite amusing, and that the writing overall was very witty. I personally can’t wait for season 2. It takes a lot to get me to a point where I’m laughing out loud while watching a show, and this show repeatedly delivered. Very few shows are capable of doing that for me. Well done!
I’m 7 episodes in at the time of writing this and since episode 3 I’ve only had one thing on my mind to say to the writers of this show.... I want whatever you’re smoking.
I was really hoping this would get picked up for production. They style of the show reminded me of Richards’ British show Outcasts — another show with a ton of potential that disappointedly got cancelled in its first season. It’s so hard to convince TPTB that good sci-fi shows can thrive if they trust their audience to be the driving force behind it. Sometimes it takes our community to get on the bandwagon a little longer, but any potentially good sci-fi show has a chance of becoming a cult favorite in the community, leaving networks and streaming services better for it if given the chance.
I’ve always been a fan of King adaptations. And UTD’s premise may seem cliche at first glance, but in true King style, a story can take a turn and introduce you to the wild side of King’s world. The show started out great in my opinion, but then it lost momentum after the first season. Did too much, in too short of time, and too little when it should have mattered most to keep the story arc alive. There’s not very many sci-fi shows you’d catch me saying I would bail on, no matter how much it would start to drag or turn into a backwood disaster. This show, by season 3, started to do just that for me though. I made it through to the end, but it was hard to do and the ending left me feeling greatly unsatisfied.
I think anyone giving it a try for the first time would enjoy season 1, but after that, I’m unsure they could say the writers successfully stayed on track with this show, and the direction all throughout season 3 was virtually nonexistent which I feel would be evident to just about anyone that would watch.
