fil-kolev

Fantasy... Is there a more difficult genre for TV? It is so hard to make a great show, and so very easy to completely ruin it. Experience has taught fans to be cautious as they've dealt with countless disappointments. It also skews opinion for the general audience (whatever that means, I rarely generalize), yet, I believe it somehow does.

So, you've been hyped? We all were, which intensifies all positives and negatives. I won't praise it too much, other reviews do that quite well (and not quite so well). Here I'll try to address the people who haven't seen the show and are trying to decide whether to watch it, or have seen some but are still undecided whether to keep watching. Therefore I look at what turned most people away (from what I've read so far).

The confusion. There are many characters in A Song of Ice and Fire and really no easy way to introduce them on screen. They all play a significant role and although things will be omitted, it will still be... epic. The first episodes will be the most difficult to follow. HBO know this and are trying to relieve the problem with various features and guides. Go check them out if you were frustrated by the scope of the show. It really has to be given a chance, at least several episodes, in order for it to work.

The sex and violence. There is a lot of sex and violence, I agree. But is it really that much different from other shows by networks unconstrained by ratings? Boardwalk Empire, True Blood, The Tudors, and so on and so on. Would it be a different story if this wasn't fantasy? Perhaps. Have in mind that all of this is much more prominent in the books (without being anywhere near a theme), it's not thrown for the sake of it, and it serves a purpose - to build the characters.

The plot. Someone said predictable? This is one of the most unpredictable stories ever told. It's big and complex and it goes to places you'd never expect. Or wish. It's not history, so there are no moments like "Anne Boleyn? I know how this one ends... Just a matter of time." It's not fairy-tale like Lord of the Rings where the good guys ride dragons and eventually defeat the bad guys. There it all comes down to how exactly the bad guy will be killed and how many fictitious extraordinary places we'll visit before it happens. Eragon is predictable. A Song of Ice and Fire is shocking, surprising and very, very addictive. Game of Thrones therefore has a huge potential to be just like that. If you are willing to let it do it's magic.

Why the hype? Surely some will be disappointed due to it. But the reality is, because of the genre (and the series is not quite what is expected of the genre), HBO needed to bring in as many people as possible and hope that enough of them will go the distance of several episodes I'd assume are needed to achieve the "crack on paper" effect of the source material. So, don't feel cheated. It was expected that some (perhaps many) viewers will not understand and like it.

Last point. It is not fair to judge an entire show from a single pilot. I'm sure halfway through the season those who watched without being too involved will not regret it. Those who changed the channel will miss a great fantasy story, and well told at that.

OK, maybe 10 stars is a bit exaggerated but I just couldn't help myself. I've seen a lot of shows in the genre, including all the CSIs, NCISes, Criminal Minds (plus Suspect Behavior), and so on and so on. You get my point, I've seen a lot and it's pretty hard for a new show to impress or surprise me. This one is different. Refreshingly different. So, in comparison to all its direct competitors there is a full 10 above my review, well deserved, even though it may not be the greatest show you've seen on TV.

Why did I like it so much? Well, the pace to start with something. It is somewhat slower than you'd expect. It doesn't drag, but it's not racing ahead either. After the pilot ended I looked back and said to myself, "so that's what I'm missing in CSI..." It gives you a chance to keep with the storyline, to empathize with the characters, to immerse yourself in this dark (and rainy) atmosphere. The slower than average pace (what is in my observations average), in other words, makes it more enjoyable and conveys more emotion.

Emotion is the second thing I may point out. Well, it's not a roller coaster after which you'll be crying, but you genuinely start caring for one dead girl and her devastated family. Again, I am missing this in most other shows where death is so common and the whole episode revolves around a few suspects and a bunch of evidence, that you never get a chance to realize how terrible the whole situation is. Maybe some scenes do that, but these constitute a small fraction of the episode. Not here though. There are no high-tech gadgets that give you an answer. In The Killing you can almost feel the pressure the entire time. The family of the girl receives a good deal of attention and you can see the suffering in the hours and days after their daughter and sister goes missing and afterwards found dead. How does a day pass after such a tragedy? The policemen are also affected in their own way and you can sense it.

Who killed Rosie Larsen? By the end you start caring for the answer and it eats you. Until you find out who did it and why there will be anticipation of the next episode. A very enjoyable experience for crime show fans. Give it a chance and I hope you'll like it.

I keep most of my original review below written after several episodes, but now that I've seen more I would like to add some things.

"As many other reviews this too is more or less a comparison between this show and the British original. For someone who has seen both it is very hard not to do this, as the plot seems to be quite the same.

There are some things I really like and these are also among the things that hooked me to the BBC show. The dark atmosphere, good directing and nice music are found here as well.

However, the acting is pretty bad I think and even one look at the actors before watching the first episode was enough to disappoint me (unfortunately as the show progressed things did not improve). The actors are simply not right for these characters. BBC are spot on with the dark handsome vampire and the most normal looking loser werewolf. SyFy seem to have chosen the actors based on what teenage girls would like to see, much like the Twilight saga. Not a good combination - this show is meant to show what used to be normal people, trying desperately to be normal again. It is not a cheap love story full of teenage torments."

The show is definitely a slow starter, especially for those who have seen the BBC series. But it gets better. I'm glad I gave it a chance as it wasn't that bad at first. Now I'm enjoying it quite a lot. Some episodes are really good. The plot is now different from the British version (although some developments will probably be the same).

Having said this, it is still not as good as the BBC show mainly because of the two main actors. But by all means, it is not a pathetic rip off as some reviews describe it. What I love about Being Human (both versions) is the constant battle for normalcy which usually we see in modest amounts elsewhere. Here it is very pronounced, and if you can look through some of the weaknesses, it can grow on you.

I've seen many shows about vampires and other supernatural creatures and most of them suck (no pun intended). They are just out of balance or pointless (or the main theme is something I'm completely uninterested in). True Blood and Being Human, while very different in their mix, are the best out there. Give this show a chance, by the end of the season you'll most likely not regret it.