Ghost Wars

I have to be honest here. I hesitated, even reading a description of this series, based solely on my impression of the title.

Ghost Wars... Upon reading the title, I automatically assumed it was just another reality-based ghost hunter television show.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Its really well written, and the cast was superb. And despite the title fail, I've really enjoyed watching this series.

8/10

I'm rating it a solid 5, because I actually was entertained enough to watch the whole season. That rarely happens with bad shows. The first two episodes are pretty bad. But the show gets better and better after that, before it starts dropping in quality again at around episode 7 or 8. The last three episodes increased the facepalm-value and ended in a last episode that completely ruined the barely existing like I had going for the show. Despite some of the other reviews, I found the acting okay overall. With what script they had, all seemed to have done their best. D'Onofrio felt a bit off considering his other performances while Meat Loaf was doing great. The writing and dialogues seem to depend on the writer and episode. (one example of many: Avan Jogia tells D'Onofrio to not run away from conflicts because they just keep following you. 5 mins. Later in the episode he runs away from the group to avoid conflict...) The core idea had me watch it, and with a higher production value and proper, consistent writing, it could have been a good show. Not great, but good enough to stay in mind in a positive way. Sadly, the writing is inconsistent. Some episodes work, while most of them don't. Some even negate the progress from the episode that aired just before. I can get over bad CGI if the story is catchy and I'm entertained. Some of the caracters act clever or logical in one episode but completely dumb and cliché in the next one. The whole series jumps in quality and story from episode to episode. Also, while Avan Jogia is supposed to be the main character, he rarely even shows up or gets anything to say in most episodes. The last episode made me lower the score 0,5 points because it completely negated the character development of two people again. Give it a go if you have nothing else to watch. But you definitely won't miss anything if you pass.

Syfy opted not to pick up Ghost Wars for Season 2, Ghost Wars officially canceled on Syfy.

Melodramatic! Ominous! Almost monochromatic! Acting *way* over the top! ...but for some reason, it works! I'm digging it!

Just ep 1, so far, but I'm definitely sticking around to see how this story unfolds. It won't be in the top ten of anyone's list, but it entertains - and that's the main hurdle, eh?

A big plus, who can resist anything that Vincent D'Onofrio is in?! Big fan since "Full Metal Jacket", Private Pyle! Good actor.

...and Meatloaf?! Almost a god, and I'm glad he's still entertaining us!

Watched the pilot last night, so that's pretty much all my review is based on. Having sat through all the increasingly-rancid 'Sharknado' films (among others), being a SyFy production I hadn't much hope ... but am a HUGE Avan Jogia fan (think he's pretty underrated as an actor, actually), and I figured if Vincent D'Onofrio was on-board the script had to have something -

And was pleasantly surprised by a spooky, effective, restrained, well-acted, decently-written, and intriguing pilot with a WAY-cool cliffhanger ending that definitely left me hungry for episode two! Even the special effects, usually laughable on SyFy productions, are a step up here. Had SpikeTV put this kind of effort on quality with "The Mist' and given it a better cast, better writing, and better effects, it might have made it to season two.

Jogia is Roman Mercer, the social outcast of a small, remote Alaskan town mostly thanks to his mother (who's long-since took off) and her obsession with the paranormal. Roman sees ghosts, and wants to seriously see the back end of this town that hates him, and the pilot opens with him at a bus station and ready to leave it, even as he confides his plans (or lack thereof) to a friend who, herself, ends up being a ghost only he can see

A freak accident keeps Roman from leaving, however - and in fact gets him blamed for a few deaths of his fellow travelers via local weirdo Doug Rennie (Meat Loaf Aday himself, no less!) and a makeshift posse he starts putting together for revenge. There are residents - actual human ones - sympathetic to Roman's plight and the heavy burdens he bears (including D'Onofrio's Father Carpenter, who himself seems to be holding some demons - or secrets - within), and as the spirits Roman can see begin to take on a malevolent form, even attacking the town residents, more deaths are racked up and those left around realize not only are they up against a nasty gang of ghosts who are (for some reason) seriously ticked off ... but that Roman Mercer, the guy many of them have spent the kid's whole life torturing, may be their only hope of surviving.

I feel I need to watch the pilot again - it's so dark in spots (literally, as in the lighting), and there were a couple times I wasn't 100% sure of what I had just watched - but in terms of acting, writing, story, tone, atmosphere, effects, violence and retaining your interest, hopefully things will only get cooler and creepier from here.