Station Eleven

The first episode was a bit slow for my liking but the story is interesting enough to keep my attention. I particularly enjoyed the third episode. Would like to see where this goes. I say give it a chance, watch it for yourself since most the reviewers here want the same post- apocalypse show/movies that we already have a thousand of.

This is first class television. The orchestration and use of sound is phenomenal. The writing while not quite avant-garde does push the envelope for creative thinking and wonderful story telling.

Utterly engrossing and unexpected. Phenomenal storytelling, world-building and character studies. HBO has created something special. Extraordinary casting, beautiful cinematography, and a magical score raises this series well above the ordinary television landscape. Through masterful directing and editing Station Eleven is a slow burn, surreal, and enigmatic. It's clearly not going to be for everyone, but its an intelligent piece cinema worth seeking out .Station Eleven rewards patient viewers with an insightful and thematically rich assertion that , even in the post-apocalypse , the show must go on.

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.

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.

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.