Emperor of Ocean Park

This show is not perfect.

The pacing of the story is a bit off, and as other reviewers have said the constant time jumps are annoying and could have been handled more creatively without losing the plot.

It is a slow burn, purposely so, not just to build tension but to have the viewer invest in the characters. This pays off eventually.

One big problem is the script. It's not the best. Pace is erratic and content variable. I get the feeling this was a very hard novel to bring to the screen but so feel it could have been done better.

The good things, and there are plenty.

Great acting, especially from the three siblings and 'Talcott' in particular. Forrest Whittaker is a class act (I'll forgive him Battlefield Earth).

Very good delivery of a variable script, dialogue is clear and has emotion.

Production values are evident in every scene.

I do think this series is better than the sum of its parts and encourage potential viewers top give it a chance. Having said that, I also think it's a binge watch rather than an episode every night.

I'm writing after having seen the first episode, that aired last night. And, it's very good.

This show is about POWER & FAMILY--and a mysterious DEATH. Led by the always-good Forrest Whittaker as a very powerful judge, who appears modeled after Justice Clarance Thomas.

But "The Judge" (as he's frequently called) has a very extraordinary tv family--especially for an African-American family. They are ALL accomplished, very bright & competitive. They also are being drawn, unwillingly, into a possible murder.

The circumstances and "supporting" characters are all involved in government, business, and the intelligence worlds.

The future episodes may be subpar, but the premiere was a definite 10 out of 10.

BTW, this series on MGM+ tv had almost NO marketing; and lots of people who would enjoy it, don't know it exists.

Again another series that started off well but deteriorated rapidly, into a looong drawn out angst fest with very little happening. You put together a good cast that can act, then gave them a weak script.

Worst of all is the idea that jumping backwards and forwards in time for literally each scene one after the other, episode after episode, makes for a watchable story! What were you thinking???

To fixate on the phrase "do you have the arrangements" repeated ad nauseam all the way through like an 'omage to the Olivier/Hoffman "is it safe" scene from Marathon Man, only succeeded in irritating to the point where I was shouting at the screen.. NO and I don't care either!!!

The pacing was very good, for a drama. What starts as a mundane family tragedy steadily becomes more and more complex. Usually dramas are too slow for me, but this one kept it interesting with the quickly evolving plot lines.

The aspects involving race and class relations contain little commentary, but are primarily a portrayal of political climates over the past several decades. Some insight is provided on conservative Black politics, with acknowledgement of the nuance, complexities, and backlash involved.

The Judge himself is an excellent stand-in for a dramatized Clarence Thomas, but perhaps with stronger moral convictions which take him down a different yet still troublesome path.

I had high hopes for this show with its solid cast but I was quickly let down.

First off, the lead actor, Grantham Coleman is a bland boring monotone actor with zero range on his acting skills. I saw him before playing Ronnie on Raising Kanan and unfortunately, on this show, he is still playing Ronnie just dressed up as a lawyer. His demonor is the same. His look and over grown mustache are the same. Even his portal of both characters are exactly the same.

Secondly, this show has a plot that just isn't entertaining and does a horrible job of keeping the viewer enthralled. There isn't much action, its mostly 85% dialogue between two mid range actors continuously discussing "the arrangements" which after 7 episodes I still have no clue what these "arrangements" are.

Save yourself the time and take nap. It'll be more entertaining than watching this.