This show was very interesting right out of the gate in the first season. It continued this through the second season -- despite feeling a bit slow and weighty in terms of plot direction.
I would give the first two seasons a 7.5 out of 10.
The third season is something of an enigma. The underlying plot outline is very interesting. The qualify of visual effects and filming is very good. Yet, some of the acting and subplots are a bit annoying.
I would give the third season a 3 out of 10.
The third season picks up shortly after the end of the second. A major subplot involves how American Nazi John Smith's son turns himself in because of his genetic defect. This makes him a Nazi hero -- someone who places the party ideology over self and even family.
This happens just as John Smith is enjoying the repercussions of his acts at the end of Season 2. Meanwhile, Mrs. Smith is trying to come to grip with her deep sorrow of having her son do something that, deep inside, she probably feels was unnecessary.
The West Coast subplot involves Juliana's discovery of her "sister" -- alive and well -- at the very end of Season 2. The West Coast seems to drag on the longest as it seems like a slow-burn rehash of the first season but without the suspense.
The other characters -- new and old -- suffer from meandering in subplot purgatory. So, some characters are stuffed with tired and somewhat ridiculous cliches. For instance, the third season offers two different over-the-top gay subplots that just feel...forced.
Other characters are introduced simply to be killed off within a few episodes. Some subplots are so over-the-top that they seem straight out of an old soap opera.
I feel a bit let down by Season 3. Whereas there are some fantastic story elements in this third season, the unnecessary elements and drawn-out subplots seem to muddy the overall feel of the third season.
The science fiction aspect is probably the best part of the third season -- but it isn't fully amalgamated into the series as cleanly as it should be. It is perplexing when people see the inter-dimensional "traveler" subplot only to quickly (and mostly) go on with life as usual.
There was a lot of missed opportunity in the third season. The acting isn't really the problem. It is the writing that makes this feel a bit long and drawn out with little (or no) payoff.
Rufus Sewell is fantastic as John Smith. Joel De La Fuente is very good in his role as the leader of the Japanese Kempeitai in San Francisco. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is also very good as the Japanese Trade Minister who comes to know the interdimensional "travel" himself. Brennan Brown (as antique dealer Robert Childan) is a standout in every scene.
In the end, however, I am not left cheering for anyone on the show. None of the characters have caused me to feel any sympathy for them (which was a novel part of the first season and, to a lesser extent, the second season). I suppose that the only guy that you come to really sympathize with is poor antique dealer Robert Childan (played by Brennan Brown).
The show certainly sets up a fourth season. I just hope that they learn from their mistakes in writing from this third season. Otherwise, I just don't know who will want to keep watching.
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