Falling Water

Season 1 was ethereal, engaging, full of promise. Season 2 was formulaic, commercial garbage. It wasn't aided by changing the production staff, and supporting characters, with a weak story.

The show is about 3 strangers who are all subconsciously connected through their dreams. The characters are a mother who is looking for her lost child, whom she is told by the hospital doesn't exist, a man looking for his missing girlfriend & a detective trying to cure his catatonic mother.

The directing is great, it plays out like a movie. Fortuately it does not resemble Inception, except for the fact the the theme revolves around dreams & the subconscious. The acting is also good too, especially by one of the leads, Lizzy Brochere who plays Tess.

This seems like one of those shows that will be a long mini-series, or play out like an extended movie, because it's difficult to see how the plot can carry out more than 1 or 2 seasons without the mysteries being resolved. It's a unique plot and very entertaining to watch. The pilot already had a few twists!

I'd be interested in to know the backstory on why the critics have taken such a negative view of this series right off the bat. The Rotten Tomatoes consensus (dating from the very first episode) is "Falling Water attempts complexity and intrigue but churns out an unimaginative concept lacking a redeemable payoff."

The fact is the concept is highly original--I have spent my life reading and viewing science-fiction and have never come across this theme before. And how can they possibly know that it is "lacking a redeemable payoff"?

Is it possible that these reviewers receive a whole series plot development along with the copy of the first episode? I mean, if they know how the series develops and,for that reason, they know it is a dud, this should be acknowledged up-front somewhere.

This show is not getting much love from the gurus at Metacritic. You don't have to watch too much to see why. It is absolutely bewildering. To say that three people are sharing the same dream, as the first reviewer did, is to put it mildly. It would be more accurate to say that elements of the dreams of each show up in the dreams of the others. Which would be tough enough. BUT . . . .

There is a dream researcher, who may or may not be a mega billionaire. There is a baby, who may or may not have been born. There is a love affair, which may or may not have happened. There is a mass suicide, which apparently DID happen, but with someone on the scene who has no apparent role in the tragedy . . . but there she is. And so on.

But with all, I like this one. There are SO many shows on television these days, you can't watch them all. And too many that are similar - small town bewildered by death/disappearance of child - mystery to be solved by detective with his/her problems of their own; people have mysteriously returned from the dead; a plague has ravaged 99% of the earth - and - my favorite - what I have named the British plot - a great terrorist plot is hatched, hero must unravel, only to discover . . . .it's . . . it's. . . . the GOVERNMENT!!!! This was original 50 years ago, guys. It's a hackneyed cliché now.

So I started the show because of the credibility of the producer, Gale Hurd, and I will stay with it, bewildering or not. It is unique, and that counts for a lot.

The show has three main characters, somehow stereotypical, which individual plots dissolves in a messy and pretentious development. The continuous inner references joint their paths during this pilot, both in real life and their sleep – sometimes hard to say what is what. Not memorable acting, photography or soundtrack, but with promising story development. Sci-fi is never easy and they try to explain so much in a very unconventional way during a short chapter, that is where this premiere fails in my opinion. They try to connect so many things, as the dreams are supposed to be connected – but dreams don't always make sense. And for understanding (and not to fall sleep) you will need to be very awake, with your eyes wide open. Otherwise, you may miss the potential surprises this show may have for us in the upcoming episodes.

(sorry if my English is not so good)

Here you can find my extended review in Spanish:

http://todoseries.com/pilotos-de-otono-falling-water/