bluesquirrel2004

The problem with this show is simple... The production team failed to leave the audience wanting more and end the show. Instead they pushed ahead with more seasons, each filled with 22+ episodes.

When we started watching this show, we were hooked and really enjoyed the storylines. The casting of actors were great, although I have personally found Emilie de Ravin a bad choice for the role of Belle as I find her acting mediocre and forced. But our biggest gripe with the show is that in later seasons (5 and onwards), the stories were stretched too thin in an attempt to fill 23 episodes.

We absolutely loved Jennifer Morrison (Emma Swan) becoming the Dark One and her persona carried it off incredibly well. But by about episode 12 we though her story was not developed well at all and we did not understand why they were still scrounging around in the Underworld. So many chances of fixing the problems and leaving but just more pointless obstacles falling in their way to fill 23 episodes.

By about that time, we began mentally tuning out. We were simply watching movement on the screen rather than understanding the storylines. Season 6 was more of the same, and while we watched the season, we didn't really follow what was happening. Again just vacantly staring at the screen, or having it playing in the background while doing other things.

Season 7 was the worst and completely pointless. We barely had the patience to watch it and ended up skip watching the episodes. It was just a silly gender-reversed repeat of season one. Why wasn't this split off as a separate show?

A great show in the early seasons but let down by too many episodes in too many seasons.

By the end of the second episode, I was on the verge not continuing, but I thought it best to get to episode 6 before deciding. Am I glad I waited!!

The first couple of episodes were a bit rocky, and I wonder how many viewers dropped out at this point which resulted in IMDB's low rating. My initial thought was this was going to be storylines driven by selfishness, greed, in-fighting, backstabbing and power struggles. Some of the characters were susceptible to over-acting, and Stacey Read as Alicia Evans became extremely annoying with the incessant babbling.

But by the fourth or fifth episode, all those issues calmed right down. The characters all found their pace, the storylines matured and became intriguing, well planned and executed. I especially liked the story format of a crisis cliffhanger at the end of every episode, which is the lead into the next episode. Just like watching one long movie.

I ended up binge watching this over 4 days, and actually clapped at the final episode of Season 2.

Not since The Expanse (2015) have I been this excited about a new SciFi tv show.

Please, do not cancel this show. Keep up the fantastic writing and acting.

It is a good thing the days of 20+ episodes per season are a thing of the past. While they do work for episodic type tv shows, I believe it can very quickly and easily ruin a serialised tv show.

And that is the case with Invasion.

While the story had merit and intrigue, and a fairly good and likeable cast, it was let down by the need expand the story to fill 22 episodes. The problem with this is that after the high of the first 3 or 4 episodes, the story stagnates and goes nowhere. Writers then need to invent minor story-arcs to maintain suspense and keep the viewers interested. But it becomes repetitive, and consequently annoyingly silly at times. Personal relationships are revealed in greater, and annoyingly greater detail for no purpose... apart to fill another episode.

There were plans for another 4 seasons, which I find astonishing. Where could this story have gone to fill another 88 episodes? I cringe at the thought.