Treadstone

So I waited till the third episode before I made a solid conclussion. My conclussion, too much isn't the answer, characters, places, flashbacks, cramming in as much as possible has the opposite of the desired effect. In episode three the viewer is shown the happenings in four separate places in the space of a minute and a half, why, it's a TV series, they have plenty of time. It tries to be gritty but sleek at the same time, some of the dialogue is crafted, some quite laughable, "How did you become so strong?". It all just seems to be rushing the storyline and forgetting the characters, you end up not giving a toss about them. As for the acting well a few standout but Tracy Ifeachor is woefully bad. If you like the Bourne series of films you won't like this, yes it will fill some time but you won't go out of your way for it.

This series had potential but really disappoints. They blew it by trying to cram little snippets of each plot thread into every single episode. It didn't give you any space to connect emotionally with the different characters.

That's what made the original Bourne movies work. It wasn't so much about the spy stuff or the fighting, something this show seems to misunderstand as it serves up gratuitous amounts of pointless hand-to-hand combat to the point of boring predictability. It was about our emotional investment in the tortured man and his story.

This show just doesn't give us any characters worth caring about. A more episodic format-with each episode focused on a particular character-could have worked better in this regard, but the the writing and acting quality would have needed to be turned up a few notches as well. As it is, Treadstone feels like B-grade Jason Bourne fan fiction, and I totally lost interest three episodes in.

I think this show is well written, well-acted, well-shot, and well-choreographed. The entire show is faithful to the Bourne series not only story, cinematography, style, and feel but also in its multiple global locations. It's sort of an origin story for the indoctrination program that created Jason Bourne and the operatives like him. The fight scenes are high quality and Bourne-worthy and I have no doubt the actors trained very hard to pull these off. Kudos to the fight choreographer as well. I'm a big Bourne fan-I read the books in the 1980's and have owned and watched the movies multiple times and still think they are among the best action movies ever made. Having said that, I am enjoying this show more than The Bourne Legacy movie. Those who complain the story is confusing are likely not paying attention while watching or are so used to watching shows/movies where every detail is spelled out to the viewer. (See this guy with the black leather jacket, the nasty scar on his face, the milky dead eye, and the cat on his lap, well he's the bad guy). This is a somewhat layered espionage storyline that switches between present-day and 1973. The premise is that in 1973, the Treadstone project started creating sleeper agents cleverly named cicadas (insects that lay dormant for 17 years before returning in droves). Some unknown person is waking up these cicada operatives (who don't even know they are badasses) and sending them on missions to kill people with the ultimate goal of selling a decommissioned and unaccounted Cold War Russian nuclear missile to the North Koreans. Through period flashbacks, we get to see the Russians re-program captured CIA officers, completely wiping their memories and allegiance to the USA and turning them into badasses. Clearly, something goes wrong with one such operative who is on a quest to figure out who he is/was, what happened to him, what he's done, and who he needs to blame and seek vengeance on. In typical Bourne style, there is intrigue which forces you to pay attention, make connections, and wait for reveals. I know some people like to veg in front of the idiot box and not think, but not being spoon-fed a simplistic story is part of the enjoyment of this genre for me. Imagine that, TV you actually need to think about! The movies were also like this, but I suppose for some a chapter title that says "Budapest 1973" is not a big enough clue to let them know that what follows is a flashback to the early days of the Treadstone-type project. And if they can't decipher an on screen title written in plain English, perhaps it's too much to expect that the distinctive clothing, music, characters, names, and storyline would be clues they could pick up on to let them know they are watching a different subplot. Perhaps these viewer should stick to the Real Housewives. I would recommend they read a book to learn how to follow multiple subplots, but then again, the subtitles of my the Korean and Russian characters in this show are probably too much reading already. The reviewers who really confound me are the ones who claim to be confused by 'look alike' actors. The main storylines involve a North Korean woman, a black woman with a British accent, and a bearded American man of middle age. The only characters who are even the same race and age are two white males in their late 20's, but these characters are separated by 46 years and completely different sets, costumes, and storylines. One is a recently woken sleeper agent married to a brunette American and the other is a single man undergoing brainwashing by a Russian redhead. Aside from everyone and everything around these two characters being different, one looks like a male model and the other looks like Kevin Dillon. Anyone who can't tell these characters apart should be screened for face-blindness. This is a good show for any Bourne fan with at least half a brain. I hope there's a Season 2.

The series was extremely good in my opinion not quite 10/10 top tier but one of the better action series around if a little predictable at tunes but just enough other twists to keep you guessing. Unfortunately however the series hasn't been renewed and the story did not conclude at all the most annoying thing when you get invested into a show! If you don't like that happening I'd give it a miss and save yourself the pain and annoyance.

The story follows several different dormant sleeper agents around the world as they get reactivated, while also depicting the fallout from project Treadstone in the present day. It also depicts the past, introducing how it all began. It is pretty well done, but it does have flaws.

The quality of each story varies, but it is great to see people in non-English speaking countries be given scope not to use English, irrespective of the quality of speech/pronunciation. I particularly like the events set in the past, and the story set in North Korea (though I'd query the quality of show's depiction of NK). Most of the storylines are enjoyable to watch.

The flaw: The storyline which should bring these disparate stories together or at least provide connection is pretty poorly done. I like the actors individually (Michelle Forbes, Omar Metwally and Tracy Ifeachor) but their storyline and the characters they depict destroy any goodwill/ suspension of disbelief the audience has. (They may as well be on a different TV show).

Particularly Tracy Ifeachor, it may not be fair, but she looks too young to be a seasoned journalist; her role as a freelance journalist uber-driver and the way she's wrangled into the plot is terrible. It's a pity because there could have easily been a more credible version of the present day CIA operation involving a journalist, in keeping with all the other storylines.

I'm giving it an 8 because it is ambitious, and only one of the storylines actively bothers me. But I don't think it will see a 2nd season, and I understand why.

Having said that, reviewers that simply state 'subtitles suck' should stick to low-brow cartoons. Not everything needs immediate explanation, many seem either too stupid or too impatient to accept that. Formulaic and 'exposition heavy' American telly has definitely addled the minds.