Extant

We have now watched 3 episodes and this is the turning point for pretty much any new show we take up. Almost Human, Intelligence, these shows made it to exactly 3, they were good mostly and well done but there was no "Intrigue" to keep our interest so a 4th was never watched. The Strain, was bad enough 1 episode was enough, but we watched a 2nd just to be sure, terrible writing ruined that show.

So here after 3 episodes are reasons why we are still interested, its not as good as many other top notch shows, but it is "good enough" so to speak and better than many others:

STORY - So far its kept our interest, and that interest has been increasing with each episode not decreasing. I'm not going to give anything away here so will leave it at that, main thing is they give you some questions, and then slowly drop you clues to answers. I find without this element and something to link shows together, shows in general do not keep our interest. Blacklist is a prime example of a show that did a GREAT job of this, you always want to keep watching to see how things will unfold and have questions answered and so far we're on board here.

WRITING - Others have pointed out some flaws, and I see what they are pointing at but overall I think flaws are minor and writing and scripting is decent to good, certainly miles ahead of the Strain, but sure not up to the level of Dexter (very subjective however, I'm sure there are people who would point out numerous flaws in Dexter)

ACTING - Halle does seem a little "stiff", but overall we have found the acting to be good and believable from all characters, though the child really does not shows signs of his true self

DIRECTION/PRODUCTION - Good to very good, with SS (says exc producer, not sure how much he is really involved) in the mix you would not expect less, pacing seems good, budget seems decent, no issues that we found here anyway

SUMMARY - Like I mentioned in comparing two other somewhat new sci-fi type shows Almost Human and Intelligence, this one is done about as well but has the edge on them just for the reason of Intrigue. Its not as intense (yet) as something like Helix, but the ending of episode 3 ramped things up and shows it could be heading in that direction (tension-wise).

Other rating from me for reference and comparison:

Game of Thrones - 10 Dexter - 9 Blacklist - 8 Almost Human - 6 intelligence - 6 The Strain - 4

A vision of a not too distant future, slow to start but some interesting things start happening in the later episodes. Give it a chance please as we are lacking good Sci-Fi at the moment.

Characters are good but they need more to work with. Interesting concept with Ethan and Molly's child but don't want to give anything away about that.

I like the understated technology uses in the everyday environment, it is used well in order to improve everyday tasks (which is why we make things in the first place).

This is not Sci-Fi on an epic scale, it's about the human condition - it's not perfect but it's got potential.

I was intrigued at by the story and the series starts fairly well.

However, it didn't take very long to realise that not a lot was happening by the end of each episode.

It kept teasing that something would happen, but it never did. The pace of the story is too slow in my opinion and then a whole slurry of events happen all at once.

That wasn't a show stopper for me, just a minor gripe.

My biggest problem is Halle Berry's character.

She becomes increasingly annoying as the episodes progress. It came to the point where I just couldn't watch anymore as her character just became to annoying too bear anymore.

Lots of promise, but sadly poorly executed!

After two episodes, I was intrigued although not totally sold. There are definitely some logic issues, and motivations aren't always clear, but I was really curious to see where this is all going.

But while it's kind of held my interest, the season's has proven remarkably devoid of logic. People do hugely stupid things (like go exactly where people would look for you while in hiding), Berry, her husband and her boss seem to be in some emotional fog that prevents her from thinking at all clearly. They're all supposed to be science types, yet there decisions are not just based entirely on emotion; they're based on the id emotions you would expect from a teenager. By the end of the season it would be easier to list the few things that make sense than the vast number that don't.

It's still generally watchable, and keeps me more-or-less interested, but it's quite possibly the dumbest sci-fi show ever made.

I'm writing this review initially because my fear, with all the controversy over the series continuing, was whether the first season resolves itself sufficiently to stand alone. It does. In fact I found the ending to be the most satisfying part of the very fast and convoluted plot. The special effects throughout this series were also wonderful, and worth watching as a sci fi fan. There are comparisons with the robot series Humans (English and European versions both) which if looking to watch this show one should understand, as that is at least 40% of the story. Despite having an alien, this show does not compare with the Alien movies, but has more in common with Carrie. It's very good TV, but a little complicated.