Kareneo

A brilliant series! Highly recommended! I never thought I could watch Eddie Redmayne in anything, turns out he's perfection in this role, and the cold-hearted woman hot on his trail is also brilliantly portrayed. After seeing such consistent criticism of her performance I had to come here to say - what the hell? She's fantastic! I have not read the book, so perhaps they're mad that she's an unlikeable character? For someone who hasn't read the book, I think her cold hard cruel nature is perfectly portrayed, and it's my guess that's exactly what the actress is going for - for me it makes you realise you are on the side of the bad guy, and rooting against the 'good guy' - isn't that the point? Am open to the idea that she may be different from the novel and that's maybe why all the hate. I'm the first person to be upset when an adapted character doesn't perfectly match the book, but if you think you can cope with that, or if you haven't read the book, then I highly recommend this series as well done on all levels, and some of the cinematography is breathtaking.

Opening scene, two sick guys growling gutterally at each other - yawn. Do not care. Boring. Next scene - guy on rocks watching ship arrive through dire and dour mist with ominous music. Yawn. Do not care. Boring. Next scene. Soldiers board wreck to check things out. Bash up some rotting dudes. Yawn. Boring. Do not care. So - how long do I have to wade through this tedium for the story to start? How long do I have to wait for the scriptwriters and the director to show me who to care about? Or will it be dirty men growling gutterally at each other for the rest of the journey? Of course, at some point they will introduce the young flawless Japanese beauty, and she will be a cookie-cutter 'strong female character', on her own journey to fight the patriarchy while being weepingly beautiful, but more growling, speaking to one another in low or gutteral voices, machinations, yawn yawn yawn, infinite yawn. The high ratings on this show can only be attributed to the visual beauty, the good settings, the good costumes, but beyond that it is more tedium from cookie-cutter writers, who mistake dark themes for intelligence. The emperor has no clothes. How endlessly tedious shows like this one get 8.6 star ratings will never cease to amaze me. Perhaps it is tweens watching a TV series for the first time or something - teens and tweens who have not yet learned how to say the lines before the actor says them, because it's all so predictable. Shame on you America for having so much money to make these series but putting zero effort into the writing and directing.

Not a bad premise, some good lines, some good actors, but in the end, it's really a tedious melodrama about relationships. Imagine Love Actually, with no attempts at humour, and a vague background of sci-fi, where none of the relationships ring true, and none of the people who are meant to be in love have any on-screen chemistry. An interesting premise is squandered on never ending love triangle-ish thingies (yawn) and -- the old story -- "suddenly ... *dramatic music* ... nothing happens!!" If any of the relationships rang true, if any of the friendships felt real, perhaps it might add some tension and some interest, but the best thing I can say about it is that it is watchable, and that the premise was an interesting idea - and - some of the clothes and settings are good. Sigh. Five stars.