After watching the first half of the first episode, I thought I must stop as it did not really speak to me. But I kept watching and after finishing the third episode I was very intrigued, in a good way, and couldn't stop anymore. Forever is a (beautifully shot) meditation on life and relationships, in a not very conventional way. Especially one certain scene (no spoilers here, but it's in one of the last episodes) is so beautiful, I could watch it on repeat for the rest of my life.
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may19714 September 2018
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LLgoatJ27 September 2018When I started watching this I really thought it was rubbish. I would not under any circumstances find out too much about it before watching. I knew it was about a couple with no kids who want to try to liven things up a little and that was it. This made it a surprise when you get to the end of episode 1 and an even bigger shock when I got to the end of episode 2. I nearly gave up by the middle of episode 2. However I am glad I watched. It is good. It is a little different to the normal married couples getting bored scenario. Don't find out anything about this. Watch to the end of episode 2 before you decide to commit or not. You will be rewarded.
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lhcarman14 September 2018This series started out, as the previous reviewer highlighted, as quite slow-moving, and yes, I can see how that could turn off viewers, and even myself, who are used to much more fast-paced shows and series. But I think that reviewer did this show a disservice in dismissing it out of hand due to the slower pace.
The premise is all sorts of fun and each episode builds on the last (with the exception of that seemingly non-sequitur but still compelling episode 3/4ths of the way in, which I am assuming will be tied in at some point). I am only halfway through episode 7, with only one more to go, and I honestly could not imagine abandoning the series at this point. The plot keeps thickening and I find myself intrigued and entertained. What more could one want?
I think this show is a bit of a gem and worth getting stuck into. -
ryankolby15 September 2018This is definitely not everyone's cup of tea. In order to understand this fully you have to be an appreciative existentialist. I read a few critic reviews remark that the theme is centered around relationships and marriage but I think you can read much more into it than that. It's about the big essential choices we have in life and perhaps after. Do we choose to accept what is around us for the sake of comfort and security? Or do we sacrifice security in search for deeper meaning... for more? How far are we willing to go to see what's beyond the horizon? Would you take from another? Would you leave behind something or someone you treasure? One moral I could concisely derive from this series is that every time you make a choice to be brave your life will change and even if it seems like the result might be for the worse at first it will always move you forward. It seems like it could take many turns if the series moves forward. Will it become about good v evil like Dante's inferno? We are talking about the after life here and I love the ominous appearance of "the traveler" (Peter Weller.) Or will it veer more to the full circle type journey like that of The Odyssey or The Alchemist. It might go over many peoples heads but I loved this series. I could go on and on discussing the thought provoking themes throughout the series and I thought it was beautiful executed by Maya Rudolf as well as Fred Armisen. I also love that while the story is cohesive, each episode has its own moral and thematic questions and everything is tied together so nicely that, while I would love to see where they might take it, the season altogether stands on its own.
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sandygromalo30 December 2018The consensus opinion is that the show is slow. And it is. But I still like it. I'm only five shows in and I like the show. For me the star of the show is Maya Rudolph. I've thought that if she could a vehicle that displays her comedic talent, her career would take off. Unfortunately she's not funny in this show. But she still crushes it. Her character, June, is a woman who loves her man, but is tired of doing the same thing. She wants more. Her husband, Oscar, played by Fred Armisen, is a nice guy, but he's happy doing the same thing day after day. I like Fred in most other things he does. But I feel he just brought one of his Portlandia characters to this show. He's fine, but I'm waiting for him to show me a new Fred Armisen. Something different.
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andahl-8619525 September 2018This review is for the entire first season of Forever. A must watch!
Early on, you detect a sadness within June and Oscar's marriage. In the first episode, Oscar appears to be slightly controlling, OCD, and passive aggressive in his dealings with June. He loves her, but he's the kind of guy who just naturally assumes he's always right. Then Oscar goes and dies on the very first episode.
Next episode. June doesn't fare very well on her own. She turns to alcohol to numb her pain, she's unsure of herself when it comes to pursuing her goals (job interview), and she's not entirely kind to her friend who tries to help her. Another flawed human being. And then she dies at the end of episode 2.
That's our setup. Two flawed human beings entering the afterlife.
Riverside, CA is where they end up, something's not right. Everyone in this small community are given the chances to continue living their lives as they had done before they died. Mark, a teenager who died in the 70's, continues to live life as if he's never left 1977. He meets an older lady who recently died, but she attended the same high school as he. Together they have a date and gossip about classmates, play 70's albums, and even dance to these same albums. In the end, that relationship doesn't work because she's expecting her husband to die, and she's going to continue living her life as she had on Earth. With her husband. We also meet the oldest resident of this community, Josiah who's a seven year old kid, who has wisdom but insists on his schedule of snacktime followed by a nap.
Welcome to the first rung of Purgatory: Where people can't get passed the fact that they've died, and they do everything in their power to try and continue living their lives as if they hadn't. They can't let go of life.
Within a few episodes, we meet June and Oscar's next door neighbor, Kase. A grumpy woman who'd like to avoid meeting her neighbors, and one not very interested in repeating her previous schedule she lived while she was alive. Slowly she and June start to recognize similarities in each other. They become unlikely allies.
As Season One progresses, we eventually meet the two groups of people who inhabit this portion of Purgatory: The people who can't give up their past lives, and people desperate to forget their past lives in Oceanside. Perhaps two groups of people wanting to or unwilling to forget their past lives, but still stuck in place.
In Oceanside, everyone wants to forget their past lives and live again in a never ending parade of parties and activities. After a short while there, both June and Kase gush about how they are starting to forget things (which Kase seems particularly happy about)
In between Riverside and Oceanside, we meet (I believe) the counterpart of Dante's Virgil in the form of Peter Weller who intones, "all roads lead to Oceanside". I suspect Peter Weller's role will grow as he eventually becomes the tour guide for Oscar's and June's descent through Hell.
At the end of Season one June reaffirms her love for Oscar, and he for her. Originally, Oscar had tried to return to Riverside without June, but he was stopped from going backwards towards Riverside by Peter Weller's Traveler character - Like Dante's Inferno, the only way out is down through the depths of Hell. Instead, Oscar decides to build a boat along the shore of the ocean where Oceanside sits. It falls apart, so June and Oscar decide to walk across the ocean bottom (could this be the River Charon that leads out of purgatory and into Hell?).
I hope this series lasts. I really do. Back in the mid-70's Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle co-wrote their own retelling of Dante's play ("Inferno"), and it was a very entertaining tale. Dante's Inferno has 34 Cantos (sections) spread across 9 different levels, and watching these two (Oscar and June) navigate each progressively worse sinning area will be priceless. I think Maya Rudolph and Fred Armison are the perfect muses to hang this project on. -
I see what writers and producers of "Forever" were going for, but to me they largely missed the mark. As Ebert wrote in his review, it's hard to discuss "Forever" without giving away the one thing it brings to the table, and that is a sort of hidden charm that you have to experience for yourself. The problem I have with it is that in trying to be perhaps avant guard (for lack of a better term) some really important rules of television and cinema were not just bent a little, they were shattered. As other viewers have noted, you have to get to about the third episode before you can even really enjoy watching this series. Before that, the lethargic pace can only be tabled as self indulgent. There is scene after scene of exactly the same thing, meant to reinforce how boring June and Oscar's life is. Yeah, we got it the second time, guys. You don't have to show us again, again, again, and again. That's kind of rude of you, actually. Then there is this whole bizarre non sequitur with two entirely different characters that was delightful, but fits in absolutely no where. What the? And the purpose of that was? To me, "Forever" is like a really great rock ballad that you love but when you read the lyrics, no matter how you try, they make no sense. Then you see the artist on some chat show and they shrug and say, "yeah, I don't know what it means, either." It leaves me wanting more and wishing there was some kind of rhyme or reason to the whole thing. But still, I don't think I wasted my time watching it. I loved the way it was shot, the characters and what is attempting to say. I just wish whoever it is could be said with more clarity.
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natburkardt16 September 2018Watching this show is like having a good dream. Visually beautiful and light, but conceptually deep and imaginative. Every aspect of it is excellently done, from the writing to the costumes to the music & performances. Each episode is more rewarding than the last.
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fopfopfop15 September 2018This show has alan yang involved. who worked on "master of none"(a personal favorite)and "the good place." It seems like he took the style of master of none and applied it to the premise (sort of) of the good place. The result is a really weird show, that I am not sure what to think of. It is well cast, good production, very interesting, but... well, the shows that come to mind, to compare this to are the remake of "the prisoner"and "john from Cincinnati." Two shows most are not familiar with. They were, interesting, original, well cast, good production, and made absolutely no sense to anyone. Oh and they were cancelled quickly. If "forever" makes it to season 2, I will check it out to see if it goes anywhere. If not the ending of this season can serve as some sort of ending, because based on general consensus it might not make it. And maybe shouldn't, or maybe should, it depends on your tolerance for the truly bizarre, and if there is a point to it after all. So in the end all I can say is if you like things that are outside of television for the masses, maybe you should at least check it out. Maybe you will love it, or hate it, or just shake your head in confusion, I know I feel all those things somehow. P.s a television 7 for me is a movie 6 (mediocre).
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The show starts off slow - but in episode 2, it takes a twist that could have been interesting but was handled extremely poorly.
One entire episode is devoted to a random couple (Andre and Sarah) that I thought was because they would be introduced to the main cast in subsequent episodes - but nope. Never saw them again and the plot was not advanced at all by the episode. Might as well have skipped it.
The mysterious fountain? Never explained it's significance. The mysterious man on the road? Never explained who he was or why he approached people. The long walk across the bottom of the ocean? Never showed where they ended up! Back at Oceanside? Back at Riverside? Someplace new? Thousands of people die every day. How come only a handful end up in Riverside/Oceanside? Where do the others go?
This was a lazy effort and a boring watch. I wish I had skipped the whole series. -
atomiccomandant8 September 2019I went into this show without knowing anything about it, and thats the way to do this. The series was haunting and beautiful also soul crushing in all the best ways. If you came to this show expecting comedy or more of the same sitcom crap then you will find nothing of value in it. But if you value character development and a deep meaningful story this should be right up your alley. You may notice that the negative reviews are typically posted by people who mix up then and than so disregard them. Take a peek for yourself.
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This show is the slowest moving snail of a series that I have ever seen, but at least it's well acted and artfully done. I watched the first episode, and sort of had to continue thinking it would get more interesting... it really doesn't. It just plods along at the exact same pace the entire 1st season. In that way, it was very consistent, with good acting and directing, and due to the mood it creates, I would call it more of an art piece than anything. I really had trouble trying to figure out how many stars to give it, and that's unusual for me. My 7 star rating is for the overall production quality and excellent acting.
As far as "deep" and "existential" mentioned by other reviewers, I would have to give it a big fat NO. The representation of the afterlife is too similar to being alive, with food, sex, clothing choices, activities, sleep, etc., therefore one cannot expect to be elevated to a higher plane of understanding if we are still burdened with the same feelings, possessions, and even spouses. There can be no transcendence of our natural lives if we are to simply suffer the same burdens and feelings "forever". However, it is an artful view taken with the writer's own poetic license, and the quality of the production is top notch. I think it could be mildly thought provoking, but I'm sure that the lack of real depth would cause some to miss the pleasant ride and would polarize reviewers to give it 10 stars or a 1 star.
I think that if you are looking for something that's very different from anything you've seen, with great production and acting quality, then I would recommend this to pass the time with a good cup of coffee on a cloudy afternoon. If you're looking for something to move you and carry you through, having to watch the next episode because you cannot get enough, this is not it. Perhaps the only reason to continue with the story is mild curiosity, and that will not be satisfied. But it will not be unpleasant. -
sofialagesma26 June 2021At some point you would expect a little change on the way she was living. She died and went to live in a community even more boring. Hope there's a twist, she is not dead and wakes up and goes to Hawai. So boring till episode 4.
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Felonious-Punk17 September 2018Really it is. It's quality. The writing, the acting, the editing, the unpredictability of each episode. The complex moods of sincere longing and silliness, boredom, and compassion. It makes me hopeful and grateful at how far we've come that people have made a show this perfect.
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dianem-3884811 June 2019What was the point of these two characters? They had nothing to do with June and Oscar.
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sclafunk14 September 2018By No means bad. I could watch Fred armisen all day, I just love the dude. This show really impressed me with its first few eps setting up the story. It posed a lot of questions I would've liked to have seen addressed which woulda lead to better world building. There are a lot of deep existential themes in here, or rather attempts that don't always land, would probably be a more accurate way to state it. I can respect the effort tho, as it's not overly condescending or preachy like a lot of other Amazon shows. Sometimes the chemistry bt the leads didn't feel believable as a forever type thing. Ending was a cop out, and honestly not a lot really happens in the last half of the season, which I guess is kinda the point within the context of stagnance of marriage, but they set up a bunch of intriguing mystery and just don't really answer it, it's like the show was filmed by 2 different ppl who didn't know what the other was doing sometimes. I would've liked to have seen the reality they're in further addressed. It's like the creators had all this ambition to start with and kinda burnt out by the end, it felt kinda rushed at times. Having said all this, I don't wanna poop all over it, there's a genuine creative and artistic effort here: it's defiently shot well, it just misses as often as it hits, in my humble opinion. It's still worth watching. A second season that addresses some of these issues would retroactively make the first season better, but seems unlikely. Honestly it's better than a 6, it's more like a 6.9, but i didn't feel right giving it the full 7.
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thesuthernman27 September 2020What moron executive was in charge of cancellation? This might have blossomed into a cult classic--making them lots of money. Too short sighted to think long term.
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Cilica11 October 2019I understand that this is about the extensiveness of acceptance. Boring couple alive, boring couple afterwards. I do appreciate what is being, not being - simply be. This is such a strange concept that after we die we are confined by the same controlling thoughts, drudgery as in life (their lives); basically the same confinements of society.
The acting is great - it is the plot in living through a narrow lens of imagination. Sure show us how controlling and narrow each human can is (even the nice people), but would be grand if a writer can come up with an amazing alternative, not the utopian idea which is still as screwy as this, but beyond out internal drudgery.
Still waiting for that amazing adaptation of what truly can be freeing about the afterlife (if there is one). :) -
phillipbrowning18 September 2018This show surprised me... From the adds and preview I was expecting a mildly entertaing dramedy with scarce laughs. But what I got was a quirky dark comedy chocked full of funny moments with a neat mysterious sub plot. Fred and Mia do great together in a pretty close to perfect ensemble. It starts off as a bit of a slow burn taking it's time to work up to the real premise but when the ball really got rolling I seriously couldn't stop watching. Some idiot on this site gave 'forever' a 1/10 rating with the headline: Tragic.... The only tragic thing about this show is that it's so freaking good that you'll probably end up running out of episodes and binge it all in one day like I did. Okay so the premise isn't that revolutionary or mind-blowing but it's really how they deliver and set the mood. The writers do a great job balancing comedy and drama. Every episode is different and its own unique story inside of a story. This show is funny, sad, exciting, eerie, but most of all entertaining... Bravo! I want more.
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charitydotson17 September 2018Might just be my style of comedy. One of the better pilots I've seen recently. Maya Rudolph is a treasure, Fred Armison is good at being himself.
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skinnerlynne22 November 2018I really, really had wanted to love this. There were ideas and dialogue that caught my attention and helped me settle in for more; but those were too few and far between, and usually from scenes with Kase. I held out...one show at a time...but almost gave up 4 or 5 times, hoping for closure and a great end message. Ugh. Waste of time. So much better film to watch.
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mandastafford15 September 2018This show is wonderful and beautiful, sad without being over the top, and hilarious without being overt.
It's very cerebral, and definitely not for the slower thinking "I thought it would be like SNL" crowd.
It's an introverted masterpiece. -
aburgan14 September 2019Original, odd, and outlandish, "Forever" is hard to describe. Strange and slow at times, occasional flashes of quirky and hilarious humor keep me coming back for more. It won't be for everyone, but if you want something different, and if you are patient, "Forever" is worth a look.
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pixeprncss-675-1037025 May 2021I hung In there for the entire season. It just wasn't my jam. I still couldn't really tell you what the heck actually happened. Very dry humor, soooo slowwwww it was almost painful. I'm sure there's some super creative underlying wonderful message to the whole thing, but it was missed on me.
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kwebconsult16 September 2018Finally a winner from Amazon Studios. Smartly written, provocative, funny in a gentle way, good acting. Confess that up though episode 2 I wasn't sure where where the story was going & if it was worth seeing though. 'Ended up bing watching the remaining episodes. 'Sure hope there are more seasons coming.