Earth Abides

The series offers a refreshing perspective on post-apocalyptic life, which I truly appreciate. However, the pacing feels rushed, and the characters lack sufficient development. For example, Evie's trauma is introduced but not explored deeply enough, leaving her arc feeling incomplete. Additionally, new characters are introduced frequently, but the audience isn't given enough time to connect with them or fully appreciate their roles in the story. I also wish they delved more into the children or what happened to Evie's family-their stories feel incomplete, leaving me hanging. Slowing down the narrative or focusing more on character development could significantly enhance the experience.

Going into this as an avid apocalypse fan, I was excited to see a long a fruitful world building into the narrative which upon learning it was only a mini series then left me "insert cliche" of wanting more. The main characters are left with shallow to no back story preventing the watcher to become invested in them emotionally which for the genre is a grip factor.

Failing that the entire story feels rushed and at times outlandish, a specific scene seems utter nonsense in reality .

When it came to wrap up of the series , I was left feeling as though it was quickly scrubbed together . A brilliant performance from the leading cast let down but rushed screen time and shallow writing .

I'll give kudos to the producers who generally kept to the original characters and storyline from George R Stewart's novel. However, as great as the novel was with building the characters and telling a gripping story, this mini-series felt extremely shallow and bland. The actors seemed either empty or over-done, and a lot of things just seemed be contrived and glossed over. Perhaps it's too much to ask for some basic technical accuracy to be used, but too many things were just used as plot devices and the watcher is expected to just think that's how things work. I understand the desire to set the story in modern times with modern technology, events, etc, but even with hours of TV time to burn, the story just falls flat. In 1950, one year after the book was published, the novel was adapted for a one-hour radio program that did more in sixty minutes to capture the spirit of the novel than the hours and hours of the 2024 adaptation.

Will be interesting to see where they go with this apocalyptic near-end of humankind. The first episode was better than the preview. It is a quiet and solitary show since (almost!) everyone but the main character has died from a pandemic, but uses that quiet to ask worthy existential questions about loneliness, whether you should strive to live if your loved ones are all dead, hope, and how to move forward. There is a famous book with this title/theme and we'll see how much this series complements and parallels that novel. The first episode is good enough to watch more. It has a Walking Dead sense of desolation and despair but without zombies, and instead the personal struggle of living in a vastly changed world.

As someone who read Earth Abides 20-25 years ago, and remember the book fondly, I was pleasantly surprised to see a show being made.

There's always a bit of trepidation when this happens, as you hope they stay true to the book and meet your visual expectations, aware that it's hard for a movie or show to match what you have imagined when reading.

-With that in mind, I'm watching the first episode with a bit of bias, but trying to see this both as a "new" story as well as a welcome reminder of one of my favourite books in the "Dystopian/Post Apocalyptic" genre.

The book was written and set in the 1940s while the show is a modern take so the technology and general "feel" of the environment is different from the book. After Covid there's a place for a good pandemic narrative

Pacing is naturally brisk and notably rushed to fit character development and main plot into the first episode of a mini-series.

Episode 1 successfully sets up an engaging story that looks to honor Stewart's themes. It invites both fans of the book and new viewers to contemplate humanity's place in a changed world. The acting so far is good, production and effects look decent, maybe a bit on the sparse side (You'd expect pile-up of cars etc.).

Looking forward to the rest.