The Hardy Boys

Growing up in 1960s Britain FW Dixon's (nom de plume) Hardy Boys books were not recommended by teachers, who considered them vulgar. Just the information we needed to secretly read them ALL, along with Blyton & WE Johns. So it's delightful to see the Hardy adventures at last dramatized for a more diffuse market, though these stories will always principally be for a younger audience - and correspondingly tactful in the portrayal of sensitive issues, which is commendable. Compared with 1960 Children's TV or Odeon/Gaumot Saturday Cinema Club (aka the flea pit) this production's not bad, but it'll probably not get an Oscar either.

So far I am enjoying the show but there are a few issues with the 80's set dressing that needs to be corrected. The story takes place in the 80's but there are pieces of technology in the set design that break the illusion. In episode 1, the boys and their dad move to their aunts home in Bridgeport. The TV in her living room is an early 2000's Samsung Dynaflat CRT TV. In her attic there's a early 2000's VHS-C camcorder in the background of one of the shots. Also in the attic the boys use an RCA VR546, silver, center loading VCR from 2002 to watch some old home videos. All CRT TV's from that era have a very distinctive bump in the front and flat CRT's didn't arrive until the early 2000's. All VCR's from the 80's (if front loading and not top loading) always loaded from the left side of the VCR and not the center. A simple google search by whoever is doing the set dressing could help them avoid these mistakes. Overall if you can overlook these and some other errors the show is entertaining.

I don't want to rate this show yet because I want to see more. I read at the very least half of the book series when I was young including well into my teenage years and beyond. When you go to HULU and you read the description it says inspired or based off the book series............it's NOT. Even beginning from the very first episode it is NOT inspired or based off the book series. Being somebody who has read the books if I had to give this show a rating based off the few episodes I've been watching so far it would NOT be a good rating at all. I don't want to rate it yet unless I'm forced to because I want to finish watching the rest of the episodes of this first season first.

This rating is for season 1 only, as season 2 is just idiotic with a lot of scenes hammered into the screen, not making any sense. The plot is just stupid and even the actors that seemed ok in season 1, well, the ones that were not changed, now seem to be bad with the forced dialogues they have to say.

I just hope season 3 is as good as season 1, if there is going to be one after the complete failure of season 2.

It's a good show for what it is a thriller. But I've been a huge hardy boys fan my whole life. Read my first hardy boys in 3rd grade and got hooked on reading. Before that I hated books. As I said the show is good but it's not the hardy boys. EVERYTHING has been changed from the books. I've waited for so long for them to be on screen and as a fan im disappointed. Again I like the show but it should have been called something else