itsokkatie

I read most of the series and these are short books as well so I guess the producers thought to mirror that? Or decided a sitcom style length was...smart? I don't know but it just doesn't work.

Pretty production (1 star), not surprising since Apple can throw so much money at anything to make it shinny (though that's about it from most of Apples' series in general), and can bring in high level talent (another star) but that's about it. Nothing else is good about this series.

In any case, the dry, witty humor (that did get old as you read through the series) that was in the books is totally lacking in this series. And that literally made the series (even though I wasn't a huge fan of the series and only read the first 4 when the one-liners plot were constantly recycled).

The writing of this series is TERRIBLE. I can't believe the author, was part of the production, was okay with how this series was executed and if she was happy, then I'm glad I stopped reading her books. The 'jokes' are so cringey and bad, I feel sad for the actor who plays Murderbot, which should have been fun. And because the writing and joke are so freaking horrible, the delivery of them is also fairly bad. If a world class actor like Alexander Skarsgård can't manage to sell what he's saying, than that says it all.

I will not be continuing. I tried half the season but overall, the plot of the season is disjointed and lacking anything interesting. The hippie cast, which was in one of the books and as bland as the cast of people in the series, I was hoping for an elevated version of the book and making the weaker aspects of those books BETTER, not...worse.

I think for fans of the books, they will likely see no wrong, which is to be expected. For those of us that read some but not enamored with the series or didn't read at all, will see the series' faults more than its pluses.

Watching a series about natural disasters in the US was very fascinating and harrowing.

Different types of disasters are featured from eye-witness accounts and you can clearly see that most, if not all those that survived, are still haunted by their survival.

As one viewer also noted, there does seem to be an over-emphasis on nearly all those interviewed or part of the series praying to God or talking about God/Jesus, which I found odd and also really, really irritating. Like, did the producers only select heavily religious people for this series???? It got really grating and just not necessary if this was intentional. And it honestly felt intentional. The 2nd season is just starting and it's not as heavily religious-focused, thankfully, but it's still there. I just don't want to hear (literally) every single person going on and on about God or listening to them praying in endless clips... It's not subtle. It's pushed at you really hard.

One of the other aspects that this show reveals is the utter idiocy of people. Or maybe just Americans. People so intent on 'getting that shot' and 'being able to tell people later' is mind boggling. Is your life worth a pic of a tornado literally in your face and about to kill you or watching a flood happen and you choose to stay and drown? Also, I love animals, I have cats and adore them, but they are not worth my life in a disaster! These people who risked their lives to go find a missing pet or chase after them while there is imminent threat right upon them is just absolutely ridiculous.

Anyway, overall, watching these disasters unfold from different POVs, some of which involve eyewitnesses with interconnected stories, was truly interesting. If you can get over people being really, really, epically stupid and the religious overtones, especially in S1, then you'll enjoy it for the action and human-interest aspect of this series.

Three, well-to-do, clueless American families are tasked to experience the frontier and all that the 1800s has to offer.

Like other viewers, the families are all well off though diverse enough. I'm not sure non well--off families could afford a 3-month vacay experiment so it makes sense why all the families are rich (who knows if they are compensated or not). Furthermore, I'm not sure what their expectations were or what they were told, but from the git-go, they all seemed flabbergasted the couldn't wear makeup or bring their phones or thought there would be indoor plumbing or even a house to live in (not just have to pseudo fix up a house) or freak out over dirt/bugs and having to eat meat in a can.

The worst person in this show is Stacy--this woman cannot stop whining and crying about how 'hard it is' in every episode and she's catty and rude and annoying AF. What did she expect living on the frontier in the 1880s would be like??? Starbucks in the back yard and a maid at the ready? She's constantly surprised and overwhelmed and shocked by how hard it is. I'm no expert but DUH. Luckily, she is offset by her mother-in-law, who is freaking AWESOME and she makes Stacy less dumb and immature and annoying. The gay dads and their twin kids were the most interesting, not because the family dynamics, but the dad's ability to adapt and they really worked together and didn't whine or go on about how hard it is. They were probably the most well-off and the most out of their depth but the dads continued to push themselves and each other and they're just so darn likable. The other white family--the dad is a major JERK and he takes up too much space. I suppose it adds some spice/drama but wow, what a major jerk.

Anyway--the sheer ineptitude and cluelessness of these families is probably the point and part of the fabric of this 'reality' show. One, it showcases how ignorant all 3 families are of American history, though that's par for the course in general when it comes to education in this country but it just showcases their lack of awareness in general. Two, at least from my take, this show is to really see if these families can find a common, human and humane ground with each other versus drowning in the distractions of 21st century luxury where they are disconnected from one another as a family and a small community.

Whether this is intention or not, I do think seeing these families and individuals start to grasp what it is to be just people in the same boat and what struggling really is (though this setup is a mere concept as these families aren't really struggling at all, they just don't have the common luxuries) is the most interesting aspect of this series.

Do I wish this was more realistic? Yes, but also, realistically, you can't put modern families in the true rough and tumble for that long or they'd probably die...hahaha. I'd love to this series evolve to more realism, with more diverse families, and an entire year. The show has experts in homestead/history/frontier life so that makes this show somewhat education and informative vs just...whatever else this show is about.

Overall, it's escapism and we've got a whole season left so I have hope it develops more and more but we shall see!