Review of Red Widow

Red Widow (2013)
1/10
I loved the original - what the **** is this?
4 March 2013
I was glad that one of our public broadcasting networks in my country (the Netherlands) was finally able to produce a darn good drama TV show.

The tone, atmosphere, casting, dialog, pacing and direction were to a very high standard and helped tell the intriguing story. For the first time in history a dutch drama series was able to measure up to the quality of production of the first season of "the Wire"! It's really a shame that this show got in the wrong hands with ABC. It was a really misguided decision to adapt a foreign TV show that has only 1 solid story (first season, effectively an extended mini-series) and no real reason to tell the story after that. HBO is the only US channel I know, that could do a story like this right.

What we end up with is ABC and Melissa Rosenberg? I've read that Melissa Rosenberg, the developer of the US adaptation planned to fill 7 seasons! The production team clearly doesn't understand how to effectively tell this story. Why choose San Fransico as a location for telling a drug smuggling mafia story, most credibility is lost right there. Some roles have been grossly miscast. The tone is too lighthearted and is at times even campy. The pacing is so far off that you're not able to follow the story, let alone connect with the characters...

...It's a shame that the US has been robbed of a good TV show by ABC and Melissa Rosenberg.

...It's a shame that this bland mess is now associated with my country.
37 out of 62 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed