Station Eleven

Himish Patel and David Wilmot are both exceptional in this. While the stories of the initial collapse of society are interesting, the silliness of the "Travelling Symphony" really detracts from the the show and really ruin it for me. I was drawn into to flashback stories and then annoyed every time I had to endure the present story line with the Symphony.

I managed to last through 5 full episodes, but I kept nodding off due to the glacial pace of this series. The metaphor of watching paint dry might be applicable, but the paint will finally be dry in an hour or two, while this just seems to go on forever.

NYfree says it gets better by Episode 7. Well, it's only 10 episodes long, so it looks like it must be 60% filler. If it was cereal, it would be banned from the grocery shelves.

Station Eleven (now 5 episodes in) is a slow burn, surreal, and enigmatic. It's clearly not going to be for everyone, but any review under 5 stars isn't doing justice to what is going on with this show.

There's a slightly ominous aspect to it that provides a foil for its seeming lack of coherence (which is really only surface deep). It's coherence lies in the themes it follows rather than any fixed and characterised point of view.

This is a very carefully constructed and intelligent piece with a haunting sound track and an at times brilliant interplay between characters left traumatised by their experience of a world coming apart at the seams and their non-volitional survival - in various ways they are all in shock. There are some quite sensational performances from some of the cast, but they also have some great material to work with.

This is intelligent and thought provoking TV, delivered with passion.

Station Eleven is at its best when it focuses on the stories set during the outbreak of the flu and immediately after. The storylines featuring the traveling troupe just aren't good. The troupe is made up of unlikeable characters who can't stop making stupid decisions and acting dumb (including the insufferable adult Kirsten).

However, when this show does decide to focus on the outbreak storylines such as Jeevan and young Kirsten, Miranda, and Clark and Elizabeth the show is fantastic. You feel the intended emotions during these parts because the characters are relatable and you actually care about them. I really wish they would've spent more time on the earlier stories and less on the traveling troupe of boredom.

The first episode was fantastic but #2 jumps years into the future with slowed down pacing and struggles to create emotional connection or a coherent storyline. If you get past it, episodes 3, 4, and 5 are major reveals that must be watched before you pass judgement on the show.

This post apocalyptic series is delivered through a jumble of flash forwards and flashbacks. Anyone who has not read the book will be confused for the first few episodes. Episode 4's little inside joke about nonlinear delivery methods brought a smile to my face.

Like Murai's Atlanta, it gets better with time. This is a trippy series that rewards the patient.