User reviews

I'm impressed that the majority of reviews so far have been from outside New Zealand - good on you for giving it a go! The storyline is interesting, most of the acting is great - if a little flat from some of the younger guys, especially Odin.

I recommend it, if you're not from NZ you may not understand all the humour (it is similar in a sense to Outrageous Fortune - another Kiwi production) - but it's enjoyable nonetheless.

I'm not going to go into the plot, as others before me have summed it up nicely. I'm just going to add a few comments.

With regard to Odin not being charismatic - he's a 21 year old male, part of the storyline is for him to find himself, to grow up if you will. I don't know exactly what it's like in other countries, but I think this is one of the best depictions of an average 21 year old out there. He's awkward, still trying to find his place in the REAL world and now he has the 'you're a God' thrown in on top. Given the acting is a little flat at times, I think it often fits.

Also, I'm glad samiester is enjoying the show, but Netball is not the Kiwi version of Volleyball - it's a completely different game. Called Netball :)

The Oracles are brilliant. I think Olaf brings a life and humour to the show.

All in all the show is not about Gods and Super powers, it's a drama about how the family reacts to each given situation. It brings it down from the likes of Heroes and Supernatural and gives it a life of it's own.

Other reviewers have compared it with several other shows - I think the most relevant comparisons are with Misfits and Northern Exposure. Don't expect a Heroes style epic adventure, the stories are on a smaller (more human) scale, but very engaging.

The character development is nicely handled and by the end of the season I was really interested in all the characters - even the ones that annoyed me at first.

Some of the acting is a bit soapy hence my lower rating but it's a great concept, well executed and the story gets better and better as it develops. I can't wait to see where they take it next season!

UPDATE: Having watched and re-watched all the episodes of the first 2 seasons and having just finished and digested watching season 3, I felt I really needed to update my review, written after watching season 1. I have upgraded my vote from a 7 to a 9. I only marked it down (from an 8) originally because I thought some of the acting a bit soapy, but on reflection it wasn't the acting, it was the lighting, and this improved by season 2. The stories are creative and compelling and human; the actors play their parts really well. It just gets better and better as the seasons progress. I was worried at the end of season 2 that it would jump the shark if it continued, but season three was just utterly AWESOME! That is what pulled it up to a 9. There are very, very few shows out there as good as this one. It ended beautifully, but with a sneaky little something to leave a door open to continue and I really, really hope they do.

As a Kiwi ex-pat, I occasionally watch some TV programs from back home to see what is happening. Sometimes they are OK, sometimes dire, but this is a real gem.

Great Kiwi humor, acting and story-line. I love this series! I have even introduced this to a few other Kiwi ex-pats, as well as other foreigners (including an American mate, who actually gets it)

To the Nay-sayers who dislike this program, I don't know what they are expecting or what they want. Perhaps another mass-produced American series ? there are loads of those.

This is original, and brilliant. I am so happy there is going to be a 3rd series!

Cheers

This is a fun show. Where did the Norse gods go? As far from Europe as possible, of course - New Zealand! The unlikely premise, and the typical NZ down-to-earth way of dealing with things are a great combination.

This show is hard to classify - sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's dark, sometimes exciting, sometimes intriguing. Various mysteries pop up. Enemies become friends, and friends, enemies. Alliances are made & broken. Everyone has their own agenda.

At the center of all this is Axl, the youngest Johnston brother, just turned 21, feckless, reckless, unassertive and a bit slow on the uptake. Which makes it at first hilarious, then very very interesting when he discovers that he's the greatest Norse god of them all.

This is not a show you can watch 5 minutes or even 1 episode of & make a decision. It'll make no sense to you. You have to watch a few episodes, pick up the storyline & get to know the characters. Then it's worthwhile.

If you like your shows formulaic & predictable, it's definitely not for you. But if you like a character-driven story line with the occasional laugh and supernatural thrill thrown in, it's great. The characters react very naturally, like normal people in an extraordinary situation.

Love it.

Why on earth does IMDb display one of the few poor instead of the many positive reviews of this series on the main page for this show?

I came to the Almighty Johnsons after watching an ad for the show on Sky and thought "why not? I'll check it out". The show easily lived up to all my hopes and expectations. Starting off lowish budget but with brilliant acting and storytelling with action and comedy easily worthy of the Norse legends it parodies.

Olaf and Anders provide the comic relief whilst Mikkel and Axl provide the main, straight performances that move the story along. Ty is the dark one of the brothers, whose character becomes so much more so in the second series.

Don't believe the haters, try it for yourself. If you are looking for intelligent drama/fantasy with a dedicated, well acted cast then you could be in with a winner here.

So basically it does not have the production values of Supernatural or some other show from the US but I have been brought up on the cheap sets of Dr Who which requires a more interesting storyline and in that respect if you go into this show with low expectations you will actually end up impressed.

Going through the list of actors you can see that there is not much experience but they all pull together really well, I especially like Anders character as he adds a certain amount of lightness to the darker back stories and the Thor character from one episode was laugh out loud funny. I would certainly not classify this as a comedy but more of a light hearted supernatural drama.

I have just watch the first series through in three day and can't wait for the second season to air and really hope the good story pace and sharp writing is continued.

I came across this program by accident and what a find it was. I had been watching No Ordinary Family at the time and when I saw the synopsis of what this was about I thought it would be similar. Boy I was wrong. This is more true to life , out with the main subject matter, than most things on TV. There is swearing, but no more than in normal life, nudity, the same and plenty of adult humour. You could also say informative as it does educate about Norse gods. It's difficult to say much more without spoilers but I'll try to say briefly what it's about. There are people living in NZ who are the basically the Norse gods. They currently don't have all their godlike powers and so begin a quest to regain them. If you liked Heroes, No Ordinary Family and especially Misfits then you'll most likely love this, baring in mind this is decidedly adult with swearing, nudity and drug taking.

The Almighty Johnsons is one of my all-time favourite shows. It's just so good.

It's filled with heart and great writing, and drama, and comedy, and everyone plays their role so very well.

It's definitely a product of New Zealand, but that's by no means a bad thing; in fact it's a wonderful tale of sex and drugs and finding love (sort of) in the most twisted way possible.

All (and I mean all) the characters are just fantastic, with some stand-outs from the bunch (Olaf and Ingrid are just hysterical).

What sets this apart from other shows is that, yes it's a family drama, but all the drama is magical in nature which is a really awesome take on something quite mundane.

While I gave up on hoping for a fourth season years ago, I will love this show forever for all its heart.

This show gets by with minimal special effects and has a lot more of a sitcom kind of vibe, only without the laugh track and its actually watchable. The show is about a dude who finds out he's the reincarnation of odin by being dragged out to a forest by his brothers, but the god powers come second to the situational comedy and dialogue. In the end its basically a show about a dude trying to get laid, only complicated by the fact that he has to get laid by a specific girl, the reincarnation of frig, or he and every other one of the gods will die. Of course some of the other gods have other priorities and play mindgames trying to meddle with his affairs, and there's the whole thing about adapting to human life and trying to stay under the radar with their powers, combined with the fact that some of the gods are arrogant and think they should be just ruling the puny humans, its all quite a bit of fun. Some of it is almost like a retelling of classic myths in a modern setting, like there's the point where Sjofn makes a bet to Uul that she can get anyone laid, even the most hopelessly unattractive so she gets Odins roommate laid by the goddess fulla who gets like full on over the top embarrassingly freaky with him and that convinces Uul to finally sleep with her and make a power alliance against Loki. Its a nice mix of light comedy and drama and it does well enough without a bunch of fancy special effects. Not that i'd be complaining if there were more.

This show is really well put together. It is a perfect blend of fantasy and reality and explores Norse mythology in a compelling way. The main premise is that four brothers belong to a family of people that are living reincarnations of Norse gods. Upon his 21st birthday, Axl finds himself being told that he is Odin the All-Father, and is given a quest to find his Frigg. All four brothers - Ty, Mike, Axl and Anders - have distinct personalities. Alongside the main story line, the show also deals with how Gods interact with mortals and the grey-area that is prophecy.

This is a great show that is witty and quirky. There is quite a bit of nudity, but overall the characters drive the action forward and the mythological elements keep things interesting.

Update: binging 3seasons, somewhere in the 2nd season it lost some of it original appeal. 3rd season felt mostly like couples tv drama wt sex happening all the time and fastforwarded some...i give it a 7 +1 for a conclusion that terminated the series properly.--------------------------------------------- Recommended. good cast. not a children friendly show( sex,drugs...) interesting take on the Norse mythology . humor is quirky, sarcastic, misognistic .give it 2 episodes ....you may end up binging like idid. Too bad budget was low for locations and special effects . yes it ca have been better but also worse. thanks .

It took me ages to get to see this show and it has exceeded my expectations. As a comedy drama it works on both of those levels. The main characters are likeable and as a fan of Norse mythology, I like the dilemmas they face as modern day Aucklanders who happen to be the vessels of gods and goddesses. I can't praise the cast enough but Shane Cortese as Colin/Loki is wonderfully sleazy, and Ben Barrington as eternally young grandfather Olaf/Baldur is believable as the Johnson who uses getting stoned as a means of coping with immortality.There is pretty good character development and the myths are used as a good inspiration for some of the storylines. I'm almost through all three seasons and I will miss it when I have finished watching it, although I very much feel that it is a show that will go out on a high. Earlier episodes show that the budget may not have been huge, but everything else makes up for that and you can see it has been made with love.

The concept of Norse gods using New Zealandeers(?) as vessels is fun, really. It attracted me partly because I'm a Swede and I've always been interested in the mythology. Acting is pretty good, story lines aren't always so predictable, which I like (although it was very obvious who was Frig). The only thing about this show that really bothers me is the insane amount of drinking. I'm not against alcohol per se. I drink it myself. But it is glorified like it's holy water in this show. EVERY SINGLE character drinks beer/whiskey in just about EVERY SINGLE episode.

What the hell are the writers/directors thinking? The more alcohol the cooler a show? Having watched two seasons in just a few days it becomes very disturbing and remarkable how people are drinking in just about every scene.

But, the alcohol aside, it's a good show and I recommend watching it.

Extremely original and creative. Extremely down to earth in the personalities. Quite funny, and the story line is captivating. The acting? Right on spot. Some have panned a few characters, but hey, that's the kind of character that is being portrayed. It doesn't mean that the acting is bad. Just the opposite. It's a breath of fresh air to see something so enjoyable culminate from all of the above (and not forced CGI).

...so you're going to wind up with either the likes of a Siobhan Marshall or Michelle Langstone.. take you're pick and you are a huge winner in both instances (Gods and mortals alike). Siobhan might have come out on top had she not shortsightedly been given such limited screen-time (she is no doubt something truly special). But Michelle wins out, and there's no such thing as second place with this woman. Extremely beautiful and possessing talent that shows throughout the entire production (you just cannot take your eyes off her). As far as the overall production.. it has it's ups and downs, as with any such quirky a script. And to wind up after thirty-six episodes right back where it all started leaves such a letdown. They say that after two seasons, it was to be canceled.. but seriously, that third season came off as soooo totally planned. It's not one for another viewing, but Michelle and a couple other actors no doubt will pull you through at least once.

I, like many here, stumbled upon this show without knowing anything about it. I am intensely grateful for that bit of luck, as I have ended up loving it. It really doesn't matter to me that sets are reused, etc. as some have mentioned in their reviews, because the writing is so clever and the cast is obviously committed.

For much of the first episode, I found the characters unlikable and felt like I just didn't connect with them. Something magical happened by the end of that episode though and I began to understand that I was in the hands of some VERY capable writers. I am now so hooked on this show that am in the third series after binge watching. The characters (and their messy family dynamic) have been masterfully developed. The tone is a wonderful mix of jaunty fun and pathos. I love that the production just doesn't take itself too seriously. These guys are not afraid to breath fresh air into plot lines or to smash typical expectations (and the show is all the better for it). There are so many "throw away" jokes that make me chuckle. The plot is full of unexpected moments and twists and turns, something that is difficult to find in today's corporate TV land. It is rare to discover a series where, as a viewer, I can just sit back and enjoy the journey. The makers of this show have taken me on a fun and unexpected ride and I'll stick with them through as many episodes as they care to make.

Just finished the 3rd and final season and watching from the U.S..

Going into it I didn't expect much as it looked pretty cheesy and it was really cheesy at the beginning. The first couple of episodes were quite awkward but it got a lot better over the course of the remaining episodes.

If you're expecting action, special effects, and the typical fantasy genre, this show is not that. It is more of a drama/comedy and it can be charming at times. Most of the acting is pretty decent, save for the main character who, in my opinion, was quite poorly cast. Additionally, the main actor's character is so incredibly hard to watch - cringe-worthy in fact. Extremely awkward, creepy, weird, lacks charm of any kind, and has the physique of a birch tree rather than that of a god, let alone that of Odin.

If you can get past the plot holes and overall drawn out story lines that go no where, and the annoying Axl, then it's an enjoyable, fun show to watch.

The ending was quite anticlimactic especially after spending 3 seasons attempting to accomplish the goal that was established in the first episode. This show is like a bag of potato chips, which are tasty and hard to stop eating but lacks substance and ultimately unsatisfied.

I've noticed a lot of positive reviews and a lot of them mention the few poor reviews, mostly blaming it on the person not understanding shows from New Zealand. That may be the case for me, I don't know but, while I did enjoy watching it, I don't see how so many people gave it such stellar ratings and reviews. If your expectations are very low, especially after watching the first couple of episodes, it definitely makes the rest of the show seem much better but not as fantastic as so many reviewers keep saying.

I rated it 6/10 because it's above average but not by much. Again, it's entertaining and worth watching if you don't have anything else interesting to watch but don't think you'll be blown away by it.

Thought this had been filmed in the 70s, it's so outdated and barely five minutes go by without some crude sexist remark. I'd definitely not want to be a woman (or a girl growing up) in New Zealand if this is what the men are like. Has it's fun moments, solid acting, but I totally cringe at the terrible way the men talk about and to the women in the show.