The first episodes of this series were wonderful - smart, funny, character-driven, plot-twisty, and just all-round quality drama.
Now, however, it's devolved into "Will and Magnus battle the monster of the week." There are occasional flashes of the show's former quality ("Veritas," for example), but they're more the exception than the rule nowadays.
Maybe it's money. It's certainly cheaper to pay two principals and a bunch of CGI artists than it is to pay a balanced, quality cast. And it's a whole lot easier (and cheaper) for a script writer to say "5 minutes of mayhem ensues" than to do the work to craft a clever scene - let alone a great episode.
Whatever it is, I hope the producers realize their problems and fix them, soon. I love(d) the earlier episodes; I'm bored by most of the current ones. If I wanted a "monster of the week" show, I'd watch one of those insipid made-for-TV movies that SyFy cranks out in such profusion. THIS SERIES IS - OR CAN BE - ABOVE THAT LEVEL.
~~~~~~~~
OK: it's a year later, and the people in charge of the show SEEM to have learned their lesson. There's more character and less monster, and the series has (IMHO) climbed back out of the slough of despond and into real drama. I've even raised my original rating by 2 stars.
Three cheers!
Now, however, it's devolved into "Will and Magnus battle the monster of the week." There are occasional flashes of the show's former quality ("Veritas," for example), but they're more the exception than the rule nowadays.
Maybe it's money. It's certainly cheaper to pay two principals and a bunch of CGI artists than it is to pay a balanced, quality cast. And it's a whole lot easier (and cheaper) for a script writer to say "5 minutes of mayhem ensues" than to do the work to craft a clever scene - let alone a great episode.
Whatever it is, I hope the producers realize their problems and fix them, soon. I love(d) the earlier episodes; I'm bored by most of the current ones. If I wanted a "monster of the week" show, I'd watch one of those insipid made-for-TV movies that SyFy cranks out in such profusion. THIS SERIES IS - OR CAN BE - ABOVE THAT LEVEL.
~~~~~~~~
OK: it's a year later, and the people in charge of the show SEEM to have learned their lesson. There's more character and less monster, and the series has (IMHO) climbed back out of the slough of despond and into real drama. I've even raised my original rating by 2 stars.
Three cheers!
