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The ending was so horrible I now regret watching the show altogether I suppose that is an achievement by itself. That's why I gave the second star. I don't even know where to begin...

First of all, rather impeccable timing for the release of a TV show. This review is quite lengthy and if you haven't seen an episode yet, you might want to skip to the last two chapters of this review because what follows is mostly deeper analysis that may or may not have it's meaning lost to someone who hasn't seen the show, to avoid the use of spoilers.

I don't usually think about macro trends when it comes to television in the right here, right now, but when you see an exceptional show like this it really compels you. Usually it's easier to accurately spot such trends afterwards, Blood Drive however is all about the bigger picture, no matter what aspect of the film are we talking about, be it internal or external.

What has modern television evolved into? I feel like during the past few years there has been elements of camp incorporated in all kinds of TV shows, in different amounts and different combinations. Almost like a test to see how we would react, test which we passed. Quite a few of the shows with popular ratings have had a rather serious atmosphere (perhaps because during these competitive times a show needs to be taken seriously). There have been quite surrealistic shows too, but pretty much all of them try to tackle complex issues in our society on their own terms. Things like what exactly is the meaning of religion in the society of today, what's happening with the environment globally, corporatism around the world, even hybrid warfare and most importantly, how do we as people fit in this equation.

Now don't get me wrong, Blood Drive is very much about the same in my opinion, but it's quite the game changer. The other shows I was referring to earlier were in a sense, campy despite being so tasteful while Blood Drive is tasteful despite being so campy. The actors (even majority of the supports) manage to pull off incredibly realistic feeling performances, even though the script is incredibly over-the-top and exaggerated to the point of flirting with surrealism. Quite like the society around us with all the expectations from it's inhabitants which could be metaphorically described as an engine that runs on human blood. In a world like that, the road to decadence is paved with good intentions. Which is the very essence, the bloody race track of Blood Drive. Straight from the first episode probably right to the last one (mid-season review).

This spiral of decadence with all of it's gravity has the characters of the show reacting to it in all manner of human ways. You have the ones trying to resist, even fight it (desperately trying not to fall down that road, only to find themselves right in the middle of the highway), there are the ones embracing it (which naturally feeds it, just like with the ones resisting the decadence), ones trying to benefit from it as much as they can but ultimately feel indifferent about everything except gratification (again only feeding it), the individualist types that get pulled in due to circumstances (willing to go as far as it takes to solve said circumstances, becoming ever-so decadent in the process), victims of a dysfunctional society who adjust so as to not be victims again.

Blood Drive borrows a lot from late nineteenth century literature, transitioning it to a completely different form of art. No easy task there and the implementation is nothing short of genius. Mix & match of various campy genres, given to us in a campy manner by absolutely believable characters living out their stories in an unbelievable world.

Honestly, I have simply too much to say about this masterpiece to properly even review it without using thousands of words, which also means I could probably watch it again straight away (high compliment). I haven't even touched the subject of cinematography which is top of the line, an exceptionally integral part of the whole film which is truly a rare delicacy. Delivery is a delicate form of art in itself, and Blood Drive delivers what it's message in a breath taking manner managing to suck even the viewer right towards decadence and despite being full of characters that are portrayed in a very caricature manner, the viewer will probably find that they actually identify with one or more character type. Not because of who or what these characters are, but what are the ideas and concept they represent (there's even a pet-the-dog scene just to underline how important and meaningless it is at the same time).

Anyway the bottom line is: Whether you like to concentrate on finding a deeper meaning or are just looking for good entertainment, you are in for a hell of a ride that is a sheer pleasure to watch and full of both novel and nostalgic fun. Perhaps not for the faint-hearted, but then again neither is looking out your window or turning on the news channel. It's a jolt of electricity for our numb and often cynical minds. Gallery of postmodern art for pretty much everybody, even if that isn't their usual cup of tea.

So what are you waiting for? Let's get decadent! (to put it like JFK did to Elvis)

The show doesn't deserve to be rated as high as 7 or above, it's underwhelming at pretty much everything I can think of. The only argument against why it is to be regarded as good I managed to read in the review was that it's "fun". It's about as much fun as picking on the type of people it tries to portray (not fun at all). After a couple of decades it might be viewed as funny because of how ignorant it is but for now it makes me mostly sad. It has had it's rating bumped to just over 7 by fake 10 star reviews which says enough about the show I think. Ironically that was what peeked my interest in the show enough to watch over one season of it; did someone genuinely think there was something people had missed and therefore misjudged it or was it just a terrible show and somebody needed more money out of it. Turns out it was the latter one.

There are some campy scenes with campy dialogue that made me smile during a few episodes with subtle jokes and references, but that's about it. The rest of it makes me wish it was buried and fast, people have covered everything that is wrong with this show with great depth already. The website and it's credibility with ratings is plummeting, might as well be an attempt to sabotage it even further, can't think of a better way to do it than to artificially raise the ratings on a terrible show so that people would watch it, be disappointed and get angry at the website for giving them bad information. Nobody is going to care if a good show or movie is underrated because watching it would just be a positive surprise.

Thought-provoking and deep, this series will grab a hold of you if you are either intrigued by or outright into what it represents and you might find yourself in a watching binge.

It tells a story about modern day power that is refreshingly different from the old "money equals power" cliché, how power has to be built upon layers of foundations that can crumble from a beautiful house of cards to nothing but a pile of mess in a matter of seconds.

It portrays some of our most primal emotions, the evolution and revolution of a major characters development has definitely not been boring to watch so far (completed first season) but unfortunately perfection is more of a horizon than a goal line for me. Some characters feel slightly unbelievable, but they will be mostly minor characters that aren't meant to last but are merely used as tools to propel forward either the story itself or another major character. Don't get me wrong, almost every show will do this, but in this case I found some of those characters simply unbelievable. Life is full of failures and only a small minority will truly excel and prosper, and i'm not sure whether they have done this with intention, but using over-exaggerated characters in the sense that would make it really hard to believe that someone so gullible or incompetent could possibly be in such a position few times too many creates other things besides a grandiose atmosphere.

Nevertheless, it is an enjoying show to watch and perhaps the later seasons will address the minor problems I have with the storytelling, which are spoken aloud - oddly - as part of the dialogue in the very beginning of the show, where the paradox of Frank Underwoods position is commented on; how could you not see this coming? Only to be shown next a demigod that never fails in things that ultimately matter the most. Failures are an illusion quickly turned to opportunities.

As I said, quite thought-provoking indeed. I just can't help it but to feel sad how so many 10/10 reviews I read focus on completely unrelated, absurd things such as how the lack of commercials in the internet streaming format allows for such amazing writing. Almost like reading purely promotional material instead of a review. Not a single good, not to mention amazing show is built around commercial breaks in my opinion. Secondly, there is so blatant product placement it sometimes actually feels like I am watching a commercial, there just never was a break. Luckily those moments can be hilariously confusing in their own absurd way (i'm looking at you, Playstation Vita) so it doesn't bother the watcher too much, although it does break the otherwise good immersion sometimes.

Great show, give it a chance, the reasons above are why I subtracted 2 points from "perfection" and you might not find these things issues at all. It's just the age old "you either make art or sell out" thing for me.