Teacup

I watch for Yvonne Strahovski. There's something about her - a magnetism, a quiet force - that makes you think she should be headlining films, not locked into roles on TV. Still, she owns every scene as Mrs. Waterford in "The Handmaid's Tale," the kind of role that gets under your skin and stays there. Then there's "Teacup." It wants to be eerie, unsettling, even grotesque. Instead, it drags, provoking yawns where there should be tension, eye-rolls in place of chills. Like the moment they buy the kid's story, then start throwing around the title "Assassin" like it's a game. Sure, the show is reaching for a place alongside the heavyweights of dystopian drama, but it misses the mark - plot, dialogue, even the characters - just shy of hitting the right notes.

It seems like the director put all of the effort into the pilot episode. Well, to be exact, the first 2 episodes are really great, the show starts off very promising and sets up an intriguing and mysterious situation.

We're left wondering what's happening and is it really happening?

But then comes episode 3 and after minute 27, things start to fall apart. As soon as they try making sense and explaining what's going on, all of the magic and excitement and mystery that the first 2 episodes built up evaporates. Because it all becomes so boring and predictable.

Which is a real shame. I really wanted this show to be more, but this isn't Lost. And it certainly isn't From. It's just... bland.

Maggie Chenoweth (Yvonne Strahovski) and James Chenoweth (Scott Speedman) run an animal clinic on a rural Georgia ranch. They live with his mother Ellen Chenoweth (Kathy Baker) and their two kids. Ruben Shanley (Chaske Spencer) and his son Nicholas Shanley bring over their injured horse. Donald Kelly (Boris McGiver) and his wife arrive hunting for a rabid dog. A man in gas mask sprays paint on the ground around the Chenoweth ranch. Lights go out. Cars don't work. Somehow everybody is trapped within the painted circle.

The premise is reminiscent of Under the Dome. There are some interesting choices. Some are awkward. Some are interesting. One or two things are annoying. At the end of the day, there is not enough new and compelling to overcome the derivative feeling. It is one season and done.

If it was renewed for a second season I don't think Im gonna watch it. It's been promoted as it's good as From series or Lost. It's nowhere near that. It has some light at some points but it drops everytime so it kinda bores the s**t out of it. It's not scary or gives you chills or anything. Could've been great. I love Sci-Fi but this is not the thang. I think Episode 2 was the only good episode so far in the series other episodes are so boring that you might fall asleep for sure cause I did. Im just watching this so I could finish this asap and never continue to watch it if they green lit season 2.

I wasn't sure about the show until the end of the second episode. No spoilers, but the sound effects alone were so visceral as to make me excited to see more! The visual effects also were also quite grotesque! The gore reminds me of the fun practical effects of 80/90s horror, but blended with CGI.

The show finds it's footing by the end of the second episode. I think it's absolutely fine for showrunners to take their time to work into the story - in the past we gave series a lot more time when 24 episodes was the norm.

I'll be interested to see what direction the show takes from here. Fun new show :)