It's Christmas, I'm lazy. I'm not even going to edit this because Eggnog. (I'm serious).
River is this British detective show that is every bit as despondent as it's main character. He's a detective who talks to the dead (like we've never seen that trope before a thousand times) and it's just as cliche as the last 20 times I've seen it. Honestly, to date, LOST is the best portrayal because the POV is a street punk that has it as a curse.
Anyhow, the character fluctuates between this prolific writer who goes off on anime-esque tangents and quotes, and this 'I-never-smile-I-am-so-broken' nobody.
The characters are nill. They orbit around, constantly like mosquitos in our POV's ear, but I don't think it was intended to be written that way. The problem with writing a loser with no friends or family (they're all dead, DEAD!!!) is it's boring. The closest thing to a friend he has is the ghosts. I mean seriously, when this show got pitched I can see why someone showed interest, but it's a pitfall.
It's one note and it's constant. Even the exciting parts seem to move in slow motion. It's all so boring. It's not gritty or dark, it's just trite. The acting is...I mean for what it is I'll say pretty well done, but then how difficult is it to act like a zombie?
I feel like this would have worked better if he wasn't a detective and instead was someone who chased Spies internationally. That's the show I wanted. Jason Bourne's chaser who talks to ghosts. Instead I got the same show I've seen like 6 times with different genre watermarks.
That's not even touching on the erratic and overly secretive narrative, that borders on obnoxious. Scratch that, it is obnoxious. It's as confusing at times as Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, but without any of the clever. Like I get there are big dark secrets, but it's not introducing them in a compelling way. It's just flipping me off saying "haha you don't know about this detail yet!". Stark contrast to a show like DAMAGES, though I really shouldn't be comparing the shows it just came to mind.
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