You know those times when you are out shopping? You have a list, and a ton of other things to get done before you are done. Then suddenly you find yourself trapped behind those meandering fools who look upon shopping as a fun day out. Your schedule means nothing to them. The world owes them an amble, and to hell with anyone who just wants to get on.
Well, that sums up Invasion pretty well. There is a story here. A story that demands urgency. A story that demands action. A story that needs to get on.
However, it doesn't, because of the endless meandering of the overly melodramatic sub-stories that form the bulk of each episode's runtime.
This is something I've noticed more and more of late. Drama (and melodrama) wrapped up in another genre's coat to try and convince you it's worth your time.
As to whether Invasion will be worth your time, who can tell? So far at three episodes we know something is going on. We can assume from the title its an invasion, but we have no real clue any more than the characters in the show. Not that most of those characters really seem to care, being wrapped up in their own tedious dramatic scenes so completely as they are.
Honestly, if I wanted to watch a story about a woman finding out her husband is an adulterer, or a trite little play on Lord of the Flies with a schoolbus full of kids, I would watch something focussed on those things. Not something that is suggesting it's a scifi alien invasion story.
Now, the invasion may come at some point, but right now, its ninety percent dull melodrama. Imagine if you sat down to watch, say, Independence Day, and were told that first you had to watch three hours of some interminable soap opera that went nowhere. Would that sound attractive?
There is altogether too much filler content dressed up as background information to characters whom we don't know the importance of, nor what part they will play in the coming invasion. We have been given no reason to really care about any of them.
I'm hoping this interminably glacial pace will pick up as the season progresses, but I'm not hopeful. If it persists beyond the invasion itself, then it will kill the series stone dead. Because, honestly, when people sit down to watch an alien invasion story, its kind of important to, you know, have aliens in it.
EDIT: Watched 8 episodes now. Well... the invasion has happened! But you'll never see more than 1 of the aliens at a time and then only briefly. Still more endless melodrama that serves no purpose. Characters are even more unlikeable and useless than ever. Also, where is Sam Neill? I'm beginning to think that his presence in the promo and marketing was a bait-and-switch to suck people in. It's just increasingly boring and mediocre. I'm out.
SUMMARY: Dreadfully slow, filled with tedious melodrama to fill in the runtime. There's mystery, and then there's miss-tery, and this one is currently missing by a very long way. Not recommended.
Well, that sums up Invasion pretty well. There is a story here. A story that demands urgency. A story that demands action. A story that needs to get on.
However, it doesn't, because of the endless meandering of the overly melodramatic sub-stories that form the bulk of each episode's runtime.
This is something I've noticed more and more of late. Drama (and melodrama) wrapped up in another genre's coat to try and convince you it's worth your time.
As to whether Invasion will be worth your time, who can tell? So far at three episodes we know something is going on. We can assume from the title its an invasion, but we have no real clue any more than the characters in the show. Not that most of those characters really seem to care, being wrapped up in their own tedious dramatic scenes so completely as they are.
Honestly, if I wanted to watch a story about a woman finding out her husband is an adulterer, or a trite little play on Lord of the Flies with a schoolbus full of kids, I would watch something focussed on those things. Not something that is suggesting it's a scifi alien invasion story.
Now, the invasion may come at some point, but right now, its ninety percent dull melodrama. Imagine if you sat down to watch, say, Independence Day, and were told that first you had to watch three hours of some interminable soap opera that went nowhere. Would that sound attractive?
There is altogether too much filler content dressed up as background information to characters whom we don't know the importance of, nor what part they will play in the coming invasion. We have been given no reason to really care about any of them.
I'm hoping this interminably glacial pace will pick up as the season progresses, but I'm not hopeful. If it persists beyond the invasion itself, then it will kill the series stone dead. Because, honestly, when people sit down to watch an alien invasion story, its kind of important to, you know, have aliens in it.
EDIT: Watched 8 episodes now. Well... the invasion has happened! But you'll never see more than 1 of the aliens at a time and then only briefly. Still more endless melodrama that serves no purpose. Characters are even more unlikeable and useless than ever. Also, where is Sam Neill? I'm beginning to think that his presence in the promo and marketing was a bait-and-switch to suck people in. It's just increasingly boring and mediocre. I'm out.
SUMMARY: Dreadfully slow, filled with tedious melodrama to fill in the runtime. There's mystery, and then there's miss-tery, and this one is currently missing by a very long way. Not recommended.