American Gothic

I didn't know what to expect but after a hurdle of a 1st episode this is hands down one of my favorites of this season.

It is like a dark version of Clue, and I am telling you the kid steals the show he is creepy as heck.

Premise who is the silver bell killer? a member of the family? staff? is it the bloody kid?

I have no idea or do I? muhahaha you must watch if you are into character driven mysteries.

I will suggest you binge watch though because having to wait a week will frikkin kill you.

we shall see my eyes are pinned to the screen and I will be buying the DVD too.

Sad to see some people find this boring. As one who is very tired all the silly tricks to try and pump up our adrenaline like Shonda Rhimes and her micro bursts of stills that made me walk away from 'Scandal' and trying to shock by pushing the limits on gratuitous graphic gay scenes that lost my interest in 'How to get away with Murder', I find this show very refreshing, balanced and intelligent. I like the array of characters and each of the actors that play them.

It is also great to have a break from being overfilled with shock and awe special effects and sci-fi silliness like 'Under the Dome' and 'Wayward Pines'. If you are looking for a TV fix to satisfy a need for high speed adrenaline pumping shock-treatments, this show is not for you.

For me, I find it vert well done and a perfect fit in quality entertainment.

The show is pretty good, suspenseful and keeps you guessing--except for the filming. The entire show is filmed in dull and duller muted gray tones. Office settings, doctor's offices, even outside in broad daylight--all dull muted gray. Often times it's difficult to see what is going on. Even if it's supposed to be the gist of the show, it's very annoying. That being said, the characters are pretty interesting. Most of the family members have suspicious backgrounds and cracked personalities--especially Jack who has the makings of another "Norman Bates"! It's a good "who-done-it." Just when you think you know who the serial killer is, some background information comes to light which has you guessing again.

If you are looking for Hitchcock, then don't watch this show. But if you are looking for a little shiver up your back and an "oh my goodness" moment, then is is great summer fun TV. I am really enjoying this program. The cast is great, they are deceptive and loving at the same time. You can see the manipulation playing through as the story wraps around the mystery of the silver bells murder. I love the mother character, a tad crass, and a lady to the last. I love the dynamics of the siblings. It's believable, a love-hate relationship. The son-in-law break up the Anglo cast, but even that doesn't bother me. I like him. I just love the antics, the what just happened there moment? The formula is like though you take a Nora Roberts Novel, and mix it with an good episode of Coloumbo, and add a little Nancy drew to the mix. It's good American TV, there is no Sherlock conjuncture, or Agatha here.. I wish we had more of these during the fall season.

Concrete in a tunnel collapses in Boston. It's a blow to Alison Hawthorne-Price (Juliet Rylance) who is running against Mayor Conley. Her father ran the family concrete business which supplied the material. Evidence of the "Silver Bells Killer" is found in the rubble. The killer has been silent for almost 15 years. The cold case is reopened led by detective Linda Cutter and suspicions land on the Hawthorne family. The father suffers a heart attack. Madeline Hawthorne (Virginia Madsen) is the matriarch. Her son Cam (Justin Chatwin) is a recovering addict with his own family. Her daughter Tessa (Megan Ketch) is married to police detective Brady Ross (Elliot Knight). Her son Garrett (Antony Starr) has returned from parts unknown.

It's a crime twisty mystery family drama. It's good enough for a network TV show but nothing more. It's not exciting or terribly compelling. There are some twists but nothing terribly compelling. The characters are fine and so are the actors. It needs one central character with real charisma to drive the show but this is more of an ensemble cast. This is not going to rewrite the TV playbook. There is just enough interest to keep watching all 13 one-hour episodes.