The Terror

Based on the book by Dan Simmons, The Terror gives a somewhat fiction account of the real-life doomed 1845 Franklin Expedition to find the Northwest passage - with an added element of supernatural danger.

Having watched the entire season I feel a little cheated by the final episode. The atmospheric tension throughout the first 9 seemed to vanish as episode 10 progressed, in a race to get to the punchline with the little screen time they had left - and the rushed punchline became a total anticlimax. They strayed a little from the book, which happens, but, you can't help but think that with a little more time, and some better editing, the finale could have been so much better.

This is a remarkable (first) series, which takes on a journey of suspicion, disaster, tragedy and terror. The first episode didn't exactly captivate me, but by episode three I was obsessed, and subsequently had to binge watch the whole series.

There is a curiosity to this series, I've read people compare it with several things, and I agree with some, Taboo definitely being one, the tone, and bizarre series events made me think of Fortitude, don't get me wrong it's a totally different style, but the whole sense of mystery and intrigue is similar.

It's Ridley Scott, so of course there's the element of terror that rears its head around about episode three. There is so much more to it though, the human element is ever present, you will see hatred, jealousy, love and strength, all manner of emotions are present.

The cinematography is incredible, it looks better than many films, and has terrific music.

First rate acting, it's hard to highlight a specific, as everyone plays their part, however, Jared Harris and Adam Nagaitis stand out.

It is hugely atmospheric, it's one of those that will keep you in suspense, you won't know which direction it will take you, just expect the unexpected to happen.

I loved it, 9/10.

I'm a massive fan of the novel and, two episodes in, I'm a massive fan of this show.

They needed to spend A LOT of money on this to make it work, and I think they did. The actors are great, the costumes are excellent, the sets are mostly convincing and the pacing is just about right.

Although there are already some major differences to the novel, I think the changes were mostly due to the transference to a visual medium, so I am happy to forgive them.

I'm looking forward to the rest of this series.

The first season of "The Terror" is superb. I binge watched it over three nights and I regard it as essential viewing. There are many great reviews here so I won't bother with much detail but it is brilliant TV. Marvelous characters and a great story set in the eerie Arctic. However, I must say the second season is a completely different story that is poor viewing and is so bad that you should simply give it a miss. So as far as ratings go, season one deserves 10/10 and season two barely deserves 2/10, but the first season is so good it makes the average 9/10.

I really can't understand why AMC decided to use the same title for two completely different series without any relation between each other (new plot, new directors, new actors...) - it's confusing, misleading, totally pointless. Given the above: the first season is a masterpiece. One of the top 4-5 series of the year. This second season is a very average product, deserving 6, maximum 7/10. Pointless to rate them together with a shared vote.