The Girls on the Bus

Watch the first episode for yourself. At first glance an overall rating of 5.3 at the time of this writing would suggest one of the worst shows of all time. Click on the rating number and you see a huge number of 1s. How can this be? Simple. Certain people don't want you to watch. And then you will miss something worth watching.

I've only watched the first episode but I plan on watching the rest of the season. If you like shows that involve the political process then you should find this interesting. But if you are triggered by seeing one sort of character or issue you don't agree with then maybe you only watch one episode.

However you feel, it would be nice to give an honest rating. Almost nothing ever produced has deserved a 1 (or a 10). The people who hand out 1s likely do so often and somehow thinking their opinion reigns supreme.

Off course, it depends on what you were expecting, but as someone who did not have any expectations at the beginning, I actually enjoyed frist 3 episodes. They picked a subject that is enought serious and important, but not too heavy, and treated it with a dose of fun and colors which I really like. There is a need, in my opinion, for such shows for many reasons. First and foremost, because they can reach more people and make them hear different views without even realizing that, without breaking a sweat while maybe even having fun. Second, because it is much harder to make interesting content about serious maters that is not overly dramatic, pursuasive and/or pervasive. Most of them make you feel like somebody is pushing their point of view on you all the time.

I also like characters.

Well, So far😁

There once was a book - The Boys On The Bus by Timothy Crouse - about the wild road trip on the 1972 election. So now it's time for the girls to get on that bus, this one based on, Chasing Hillary by Amy Chozick, who also co-wrote and created the series.

This political satire (of some sort) gathers four women from diverse journalistic backgrounds for a bus tour on the democratic trail, where dirty silly games of getting that story at all costs will have one amused.

Don't fret, it takes a swipe at both sides of politics and journalism, with even the darlings of social media getting in the firing line. Enough to amuse one and all. It's no Aaron Sorkin or Julian Fellowes, but it has enough wit and snappy dialogue to carry the story along, revealing the true nature of political gaming and journalistic barbarism.

Most importantly, it has the ghost of Hunter S. Thompson who pops in for some words of wisdom, so it has my undivided attention!

In the past, I used to enjoy TV series and movies about elections and presidencies, not just the obvious "West Wing," but almost all of them (by the way, "Dave" with Kevin Kline is one of my favorite movies of all time). However, I don't feel the same anymore, especially considering the current candidates for POTUS and world leaders in other countries.

So, I was initially reluctant to watch "The Girls on the Bus," but I gave it a chance when I saw that Carla Gugino and Melissa Benoist were the two leads. So far, I've watched one and a half episodes and have decided to continue following the show.

I'm not entirely sure if I enjoy the plot that much, but I do appreciate the performances, especially Melissa Benoist's portrayal of an ambitious young journalist who can't catch a break. It's not an easy role, and another actor could have easily overdone it or created a caricature of the character, but she managed to keep it in control.

As I mentioned, I'm unsure if the plot will make sense in the end, but the script has managed so far to portray the personalities of the main characters with adequate complexity.

Overall: It is somehow interesting. Not deep as other well known series. Characters not paper thin. Good performances.

I just watched the 10th and final show (of season 1. The showrunner hopes for a season 2 - which is unannounced as of now.)

I love this show. I had to go back to watch the first minute of the first show - because it foreshadows the very end of the last episode.

Some criticize the characters as being stereotypes - and yes - but I quickly came to care about each character, even though there was one I looked down on and another I disliked because her politics were different than mine, but - the show did a great job of humanizing each journalist, and developing their history and motivations.

The show is so relevant to politics today.

Don't miss this great show. It deserves your attention.