netdcon

It's not awful; a bit heavy on the "Harper Valley" small-town drama and teen angst (..especially for what looks to be a British-produced series), but it's still developing characters and story. It doesn't kick straight in like a "Penny Dreadful" but it held my interest.

For only one episode the acting is very passable, writing as well, and I like that they don't give up the whole season in the first ep. Post-episode previews are flashy, but this first one is subtle on the special and practical effects so not a whole lot of "eye-candy" on the way in. It may be that they're going out of the way a bit in terms of suspending disbelief, but it's still a fun watch so far.

If this was such a compelling story, it would stand on its own without having to usurp the luster of characters from a true master storyteller. But it's basically a horror story wrapped around a misfit drama with almost nothing to do with Tolkein's original history of Valinor and Middle Earth; it "borrows" character names and plot elements with no respect to the originals. In short, it plagiarizes just enough material from the Silmarillion to falsely advertise a pedigree it just does NOT possess. It shamelessly rides on the coattails of much better creations and previous art because without that, it would be just another boring visual effects fest. It is callow an uninspired.

If, like me, you were expecting a brief history of Valinor leading into how Sauron and the Rings of Power came to be, maybe even get to lay eyes on a quick visual of Morgoth or Ungoliant, you can safely give this a pass and avoid the disappointment.

Like "Lost", this is just yet-another "shared nightmare" schlockfest. Tried to like it - very presentable acting and a few mildly interesting "backstories", but the balance of the story and writing is incredibly lazy, going from one dead-end plot to the next without attempting to catch a breath in-between (..which may be the whole "point"..?).

The "mysteries" are pointless, poorly presented, and often cliché. Despite the decent acting, exactly NONE of these characters are relatable or loveable. The character stories, despite good acting and some potential, end up being rambling, uninspired, and long-winded exposés. You can fast-forward though largish chunks of most episodes and not miss a single thing other than gobs of meandering melodrama.

In short, this looks like a bad concept for a "reality" show akin to "Survivor" or "Big Brother" but with some supernatural elements added to stir up drama. It's crap.