Salem

Not sure why some are bringing up history to judge this TV series. It's on WGN not the History channel. We saw the previews for Salem & it turned out to be exactly what the previews made it out to be. It's not going to be sweet & silly, we've had those. It's not going to be campy, had those. Not really for the young teens, we still have those. If you're absolutely against this series, OK don't watch it anymore. If you are giving up on it after 1 episode because it was too slow, maybe give it a few more episodes(if you have the time). You don't want them to give too much away, in the first episode. Sometimes people give up on a show too early, when the best is yet to come(I know with some shows that never happens). I'll be tuning in. It's different than the other "witch" series.

When you get any show with supernatural overtones you generally get a bunch of girly romance twilight / vampire diaries-esque bullshit, a rather heavy tax you have to pay in order to get to the actual story.

This starts out fairly slow, and very cliché. Perfectly normal people being oppressed by the zealously religious authority, needlessly tortured for silly ideals. Then we skip forward 7 years and the story develops a new angle.

I didn't have to sit through any overtly poor acting, the storyline is very dark and adult which is an extremely refreshing change from the usual CW light and fluffy nonsense, and the effects in the woods were pretty believable.

There's a love story, an unrequited love story in fact but its interesting, even IF the leads get together romantically which you have to assume is somewhat inevitable, there's also the feeling that the 2 lovebirds will each captain, or champion if you will, the respective sides of good / evil. I even thought that had some room for exploration, the main witch isn't outright "evil" in a black and white sense, but at the same time she's torturing and corrupting people, literally devouring souls.

The only negative thing i could say that i picked up on, was that one of the effects at least of the devils / witches / occult was quite disappointing. Its brief, but the reflection when the beautiful and enjoyably naked primary witch blows out her candle after succouring her familiar on her thigh teat. It was almost identical to pretty standard effects that have been used in B grade horror films for years, Roald Dahl's "the witches" comes to mind, but its probably been used almost identically in a hundred films.

All in all really promising, strong pilot. The production values, costumes and effects were all good and the story had a refreshing take on what is often an unoriginal genre. This is only the first episode but i'm actually quite excited for a slightly more adult, supernatural tale with more robust, complex subject matter. There were no huge errors that took me out of the story which led to it looking and feeling authentic. The witches themselves were both seductive and disgusting, and i can't wait to see more.

This is a great show! A great twist to one of the most tragic events in American history. We get to see some wonderful actors of past and present. I love the music open by Marylin Manson. They could not have picked a better musician. The character Mary Sibley is truly a scary one as is Mercy. I cannot wait to see what Lucy Lawless character will be bringing us all. We love Cotton, whom in real life was a very smart man. I am glad they are showing a different side of him in this show. This show is not slow and has been very fast-paced since it started. We hope they keep this on long enough for a great ending and thank you for airing an exciting super-natural show.

"Salem" had a lot of expectations to live up from on my account, and I must admit now that I have watched 10 episodes of season 1 that the show more than does deliver.

What makes this TV series work is the intriguing storyline and how nicely it is executed and brought to life on the screen. Given the fact that I have very little knowledge of the actual events of the witch trials that took place in Salem, I can say that there is at least a very nice sense of authenticity to the show and a good feeling of realism as well - well, as real as things get when you mix witchcraft and the Devil into the picture.

The characters in the show are very, very important for the show to keep its appeal and keep it fresh and interesting. And I must admit that the various roles and characters is interesting. The townsfolk are not just fillers in the crowd, and there are lots of layers to those whose stories are shown in the show. And much of this is also of course credited to the talents portraying these characters.

Without a good cast, "Salem" wouldn't stand out as strongly as it does. They have managed to put together a great ensemble of actors and actresses to fill out the various roles and characters. Stephen Lang, once he gets into the show, really carries his role so well and he is so well cast for that particular role. Despite only having a supporting role as Tituba, then Ashley Madekwe really shines on the screen as well, and she needs to be brought more on the center stage, so to speak.

The dialogue in the movie is good, as it is not diluted with cussing and lots of inappropriate bad languages, that would most certainly not be time accurate, such as seen in other TV shows that were supposed to take place in the past.

A key essential to the show is the set and the props. And wow, they really put effort into this. It is really like being back in time, as if walking around that darkened town in those troubled times. Lots of great details in the sets, buildings, costumes and environment.

One thing that didn't really go well with me was the choice for intro music. As much as I used to enjoy Marilyn Mansons music, then his song is a poor choice for the intro. While the song, in itself is good enough, it is just misplaced for this show. And it would have worked better with a more ambient and atmospheric theme that would be more time appropriate to the period of time the TV series is set to take place in.

"Salem" is a good show that is fueled by a well written storyline and well detailed characters, and it is definitely a show that I will continue to watch. While it is no "The Walking Dead", it sure does deliver good entertainment.

This is quite a ride. Bingeable on Netflix, whereas the original run was less available, and not well advertised, on WGN. Strong characters, acting and writing, and a consistent, dark look. I think it just gets better as it goes along. Too bad we didn't get a fourth season, but WGN stopped all original programming...