It was fascinating seeing how much Western influence there is, but Thai culture is interwoven all through the show. Now I'm really curious how well this portrays life in Thailand, or at least a slice of it.
It's difficult to discuss the plot without spoilers. The basic idea is a bunch of rich high school kids go to school on a remote island. The last day of school some of the students remain for a party. A tsunami hits the island and leaves them stranded. Then really weird things start happening. Tensions build and drama ensues. Much more and you get into spoiler territory.
The series isn't a remake of Lost, but borrows heavily from the concepts and ideas of Lost. It attempts to build foreboding but never gets there. Instead it's more of a cross between Lost and the Goonies.
Some of the stereotypes are likely lost on audiences outside of Thailand, and there are likely a few cultural references that are also. Nothing that interferes with watching the series. Generally though the main characters are interesting and not too heavily stereotyped. Secondary characters are cardboard stereotypes. The camera work is right up there with Hollywood. The soundtrack is pure Asian type Pop, but very well done. The acting varies greatly with some of it first class, some of it kind of slapstick. Which is part of what destroys the foreboding.
The overdubs were so so, some pretty good, but some were really badly done. The voice actor quality and directing was much lower quality than the acting for most of the characters. At times though it really does throw away all the visuals.
Overall it's slow, not exceptionally original but interesting enough with enough bright spots and interesting twists to be worth watching and has the potential to develop into something special, though they've written the series into an interesting corner that will make it difficult to sustain it through too many seasons. The writers have their work cut out for them next season if there is a next season.
There is constant references to homosexuality but it's almost all implied or spoken of rather than shown. A third or more of the characters are gay. The technical aspects play really loose with science, history and physics. The cast is about as savvy as Gillian's island's inhabitants minus the professor's contributions. So don't expect ideas on how to survive the apocalypse. These fools wouldn't survive a week.
Enjoy the peak at a world similar enough to ours that sometimes you think it was shot in SoCal and at times jumping strait into traditional Thai culture and the light hearted sometimes funny apocalypse. Great way to kill a few hours.
