Reviews

Normally I am very much someone that prefers film based on books to stick to the books as much as possible. There have been very few exceptions I have found that were still really well done. As soon as I saw the huge differences in this show compared to the books I immediately was pissed off haha. I am a HUGE fan of the books, to the point where I was so angry when the Queen of the Damned movie atrocity was made. They took one of the best books in the series (the entire origin story of vampires) and turned it into one big music video that left out EVERYTHING about the origins of the vampires. I stuck with this new show though, as I was wanting a show I could at least get into while I waited for my other shows to come back.

After watching all of season 1, and now watching up to season 2 episode 6 currently, I can 100% say that I think Anne Rice would of loved this adaptation and that any fans of her vampire series (if they give it a real chance) can see how amazing it is as well.

The story has had new life brought into it, and it has been changed into something wonderful. The writing is great, the characters are so much fuller than the original books even. There is sooo much more depth to everything in the story than what the books have. There are a few changes to the abilities of the vampires that I felt did not fit well with their weaknesses being what they are (or make sense storywise, as they contradict in silly ways), and I felt that they could of easily left out those changes and have things be just as good. That is the only reason I decided to give a 9 instead of a 10.

Overall I feel this is a great series, and the people that have contributed to making it have really kept to the feelings and ideas that the original books encompassed. I highly suggest fans of the books pretend that this is something completely new and just enjoy the ride, because it is definitely worth it. Anyone else that hasn't read the books, I hope you give this a decent chance and watch all the way through. The second season is even better than the first.

First of all, this story is based on a book that was written in 1963, so some of the science and reasoning for things would be a bit different if it was written in our current times with current knowledge of what's in space, etc. They could of changed those parts to be more realistic to what we know now, sure, but that would also open the door for more people to complain that this is even more different from the book, etc. It's important to keep in mind that this isn't a documentary either, it's a work of fiction, so it doesn't necessarily have to have everything match up with real life stuff. Also, the entire freaking story isn't supposed to be focused on the science and all that sort of stuff anyways, the story is focused on humanity. It's more of a drama with sci fi elements to it.

Secondly, to those complaining about the race/sex of characters. I'd like to point out that there is a balanced variety of people on this show, and most of the main characters of the show are not all good or all bad either. Maybe if you actually kept watching the show instead of making assumptions, then you would learn how much balance the show actually has. Just because something starts it's first few episodes building up a specific appearance doesn't mean things don't drastically change view as the story unfolds and things are explained. Character's back stories get explained more as you go and they are put in a much more grey area too. I'd like to note that this show is more of a sequel to the David Bowie film of the same name, so the characters some assume are changed to be a different race are actually separate characters. Also, depicting an alien race that comes from a dry sunny planet as dark-skinned makes sense with how melanin works on earth in real life.

Lastly, if you think this is "woke" just because some scenes depict real life situations that people actually deal with instead of giving some sugar coated "everything is always equal and fair" crap, then you are part of the problem. I know how hollywood can sometimes put too much social justice related stuff in their films to the point where it takes away from the story rather than having it be a natural cohesive part of it, but this isn't like that. The Avengers Endgame "girl power" scene made me roll my eyes and I'm an egalitarian woman so lol... This show on the other hand, is very different, and social justice related stuff thats in it actually blends with the main points of the story as a whole.

Conclusion for the big time haters: Stop being so angry and hostile about things. Try some meditation and introspection. Try to be open-minded and see where a story takes you rather than being so aggressive and impatient. If you end up not liking it in the end, then at least you got a glimpse into a different perspective other than your own. Remember that film is an art form and everyone has their favorite artists, but that doesn't mean the other artists are objectively bad. Something you don't like might be loved by someone else. We should celebrate creativity and storytelling. Constructive criticism is fine, but insults and hate is just ignorance.

I watched all 8 episodes all the way through, I even watched some over again just in case I missed some things haha. I personally haven't seen the UK version, but all the reviewers tend to think that version is much better and darker/creepier so I will have to check it out for sure! I only wish I could find a way to watch it here in the U.S. If any of you guys know of a way for me to watch that version please let me know. <3

I think it's interesting people are complaining about the violence and saying it's unnecessary to the degree that it shows it. I feel that the violent aspects made me believe in the threats against the characters more vividly, and made me feel much more worried for the characters. It sort of made it feel more important if something bad happened to them, for me at least. Calling this show "violence porn" seems pretty exaggerated.

I feel like a lot of the really negative reviews are people that didn't like the changes from the original UK version, or are people that don't like shows that are done in this style, or couldn't get over some of the plot holes, etc. to treat this more like a fictional cult classic sort of thing.

I don't think they were really trying to hide who this season's main bad guy was especially since they point at who it is in the freaking trailer for the show lol. I didn't even have to watch the show yet to know who it was going to be. I think having kids in the show makes it that much more heart-wrenching with all the bad stuff happening. In the real world not all kid's lives are happy family fun times.

There are plot holes of course as some have mentioned and some unrealistic scenes. Normally those things can bug me a lot especially if a show or movie is trying to make itself seem more serious and realistic. This show makes fun of itself the ENTIRE time, and the absurdity of some aspects just made me see it as a cult classic sort of show instead of something to be super serious about.

I didn't even care that "police weren't opening investigations on all the deaths" like someone claimed in another review, because I saw the show through the eye of a campy cult classic lens. I would like to note however, that the reason investigations might not have been being started were possibly because of people put in place to avoid that stuff. If a group has "eyes everywhere" don't you think they would have people on their side watching a convention about something they're looking for extremely closely, and facilitating certain things? When you see certain things that don't add up, try thinking about just how deep it goes with the amount of people involved in a "group".

It's rare for me to not figure out what's going to happen with characters very quickly, but this show definitely caught me off guard quite a few times with some things. The first few episodes I felt like I knew where things were going, and then it didn't go that way at all lol.

All in all I think this is a great show if you don't take it too seriously. I do think the genre labels for it should be different though, so as not to confuse people with what this particular version of the show actually is. If you like cult classic horror and dark comedy you'll probably enjoy the show.

P.S. If I seem vague in my review it's hard not to be with this one without spoiling some of the great stuff in the show. Also, from some more reviews I've read talking about the original UK version being more serious themed. Now I really want to see that version. Help me out with finding a way to watch it guys? :D

I remember watching it all the time when I was a kid. It really would peak your curiousity about the world and nature, and helped you be more conscious of your affect on the planet and the animals around you. This show is one of the best kid's shows I've ever watched. The gnomes promote peaceful and calm demeanors and they demonstrated fantastic morals. It sparked so much creativity in my life, I would even draw pictures of the gnomes and the animals all the time . This show is probably the first show I would recommend to any parents looking for shows for their kids to watch.

Seriously?! This show has a freaking terrible influence on kids. My niece was obsessed with this show and would throw tantrums and act out if you didn't put it on for her. She would act like Caillou all the time and be a brat and whine a lot. Even with her parents putting her on timeouts and giving appropriate punishments she would still act out every time she watched the show. When we had her watching other shows she never acted that way. I watched the show myself (several excruciating episodes) and I found it to have very bad influential instances, and it was often "silently" racist... I can't believe they ever aired this show on PBS... If I could give this show a zero rating I would... Whoever wrote/created this show must be clueless about parenting among many other things. I can see from reading the other reviews that a lot of people noticed the same things I did, so why didn't the people screening the show notice all of this terrible crap and halt the production? Freaking garbage show, man...