This is an update to my original review of Matador:
Now that we are six episodes into the series, I thought I would take a moment to say that I am right about this show being great. "Matador" continues to get get better. What initially appeared fun but shallow has started to deepen with colors and vibrancy that only hint at the deeper mysteries that are beginning to reveal their existences. Now that we are six weeks in, it is apparent that the initial simplicity of the show was a device to lay an easy foundation to understand the primary players in the primary organizations. But the story is a lot more complicated, and as each episode reveals, there are more players with more plots and more origins than have yet been revealed. I am enjoying the unfolding of this complexity because the pace allows for character interaction and relationship development. I really like Matador and where it's going. I like the intensity of the melodrama when drama is happening, and I love that the show isn't afraid to lighten things up with humor.
~~~~~~~~~~~ This is what I originally wrote when I first reviewed Matador:
So, since I don't want to be the guy with a bat up his ass comparing everything in the world to Game of Thrones, as though you could possibly compare summer beer to winter wine, I'm voting in the fashion of trying to keep what I enjoy on television. I find nothing as aggravating as finding out that a show I liked got canceled because a few constipated people decided to compare a Mercedes to a Harley and raced to vote low before they even finished 20 minutes.
"Matador" is straight up fun, and it's nice to have a change of pace from all the cop and spy shows that are totally serious about their serious missions. It is light and action-packed and entertaining and on a scale with "Chuck." It should not be compared to "Burn Notice" or any other smug series with a self-important air.
"Matador" is good action fluff with a sense of humor, predominately black and white (good and evil) characters, and excellent filming quality. I like that comedies are moving away from sitcoms and into action series. Today's sitcoms are almost entirely impossible to watch because of how dumbed-down, shallow and emotionally stunted they are. Every action series does not have to be a melodrama to be entertaining.
So, yes, I am giving this show a 9 for its own merit of keeping me ENTERTAINED! No, it's not "Game of Thrones" and I'm not going to spend hours gossiping at a water cooler about it, but I will enjoy the hour I spend watching it and I will go searching for it again a week later, especially since each episode has gotten progressively better.
I like the main actor Gabriel Luna (who is totally hot) and I like the various members of his family. I like the interplay with the soccer team. I confess that I don't like the two primary CIA operatives, as I kind of feel like the actors were plucked out of a cheesy sitcom somewhere, but I get the feeling I'm either not supposed to like them or that I'm supposed to like their replacements somewhere down the line. Maybe that's just my own wishful thinking.
Either way, when the next episode comes out, I'm going to grab a beer and enjoy the show.
