revchristodd

All of the negative reviews are by people who are so wed to the books that they cannot simply enjoy this series for what it is: funny, unique and filled with wonderful characters. If you never mastered the ability of seeing adaptations as alternate universe versions of the books you read, you may not like this. But that doesn't mean it isn't fun and entertaining TV with delightful surprises not found in most series.

This documentary series is a more traditional take on the same subject matter as "The Vow." The difference is that while the HBO series took you into NXIVM in a way similar to that of a recruit, presenting the attractive and rational sounding side first, helping you understand how otherwise intelligent people could get involved, this series immediately gets to the weird, culty stuff that, had it been put upfront, would have had people running for the doors at their first seminar. What this series adds is a lot more informaton, about cults from recognized experts, about Keith Reniere's background from journalists, about the various sources from which he and Nancy Salzman cobbled together their teachings. Also, though the main focus is on a high status celebrity mother and daughter, we do get interviews from ordinary people who got caught up in NXIVM. Together with "The Vow," this series gives a more rounded view of a very insidious non-religious cult.