The Way

A very strange drama.. I started watching the first episode and almost gave up as it made no sense, was full of plot holes, inconsistencies, impossibilities, non sequiturs etc. But then i persevered as it became car crash tv... i had to watch just to see how it would pan out.

I can see from the other reviews that it is marmite tv. People either love it or hate it. For those that love it there is an element of "emperors new clothes". There was some good acting, some poor overacting. Loved Sheen's cameo. The whole thing seemed to be a dramatic equivalent to Sheen's speech to the Welsh football team from a couple of years ago (check it on you tube).

Worth watching - you might like it. If you forget about the logic of the plot and appreciate the visuals it is interesting... the equivalent of eating magic mushrooms.

The Driscoll family are forced to leave Port Talbot, and forced to leave Wales itself, after they find themselves heavily caught up in protesting a potential shutdown of The Port Talbot steel works.

A very poignant drama for this point in time, the works is indeed the very heart of Port Talbot, and right now where its very future is in jeopardy, it's relevant.

Episode one was very straightforward and easy to follow, episodes Two and Three however are very much off the wall. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, and I understand why some people have disliked it, I however, really enjoyed it.

As I watched, it put me very much in mind of a sketch The worm that turned, in which men Did all made to wear dresses, ruled over by women, and try to escape into Wales. It really is that zany.

The acting is tremendous, and there are some big names, Aneurin Bernard, Luke Evans and Sheen himself, but I'd argue it's Mali Harris and Steffan Rhodri that steal it.

I honestly think this is one of those shows that will garner further appreciation years down the line. One of those I'd like to think that's ahead of its time.

7/10.

There have been some great Welsh dramas on tv in recent years such as Hinterland, Keeping Faith, Hidden, The Accident and Bang but this isn't a scratch on any of them.

With some of the top actors from Welsh tv in a prime time slot, I thought it would hold much promise but it soon began to lose the plot (or maybe it was just me!).

I am sure some of the incidental music was taken from Tales Of The Unexpected but this was far from what I expected!

It felt a bit like 1984 at times (or maybe that was just due to the reference of the miners strike!) but, like that film, it didn't deliver.

I endured the whole series mainly because I loved Mali Harries in Hinterland, and apart from a underwhelming role in the first series of Keeping Faith, this has been her biggest role since and such a let down.

Disappointingly giving it a generous 5.

Love letter to 80s-style socially relevant sci-fi realism, especially Alan Moore and John Carpenter (the score and camera choices are Carpenter all over) and it's delightfully WEIRD. The fact that two of the main characters have unreliable grasps on reality let's them couch certain scenes in surreal imagery and concepts and it works really well.

People are either going to love it or hate it. I'm 100% across it's vibe. Tories will loathe it of course. They've done something utterly bonkers and ambitious and unique and I want more of it on my telly but I don't know how it'll be received being so niche and left-field.

I've only seen the 1st episode and honestly don't know if I liked it or not. The only thing I'm sure of is that any Welsh actor who didn't get a role in this should fire their agent!

It would be easy to dismiss this as a Michael Sheen vanity project and 'jobs for the boyos' (and girlos) but it's much more than that. In a world where our evenings are usually filled with crime dramas written by people who think having a female lead is 'edgy' and 'innovative' (where have they been the the last 10 years?) this is a welcome change.

So will I watch the remaining episodes? I'm not sure, I suspect all the surprise, magic and innovation was in episode 1. But if you are looking for something different: This is it!