Da Vinci's Demons

It's a little bit like Doctor Who meets the Borgias, they've picked Da Vinci out of history and given him a fantasy series. It is fun, it's exciting, I get that it is truly inaccurate, but in it's own way it's really good fun to watch. Series 1 is well worth a look, and the quality continues into the second.

It is a visual treat, it is stunningly filmed and directed, it's a visual treat, the effects are fabulous too.

Tom Riley is really good as DaVinci, he's great fun, exuberant and bursting with energy. Elliot Cowan is fabulous as Lorenzo, he is an actor of intense charisma, when he is on screen you watch.

There are some truly beautiful actors and actresses in this, Laura Haddock, Greg Chillin, and of course Elliot Cowan. The women all put in a lofty way, and the guys all have their shirts pulled so their chests are out, it's really comical. They all have beautiful teeth, fabulous skin and glorious hair, get past that and you'll learn to really enjoy this swashbuckling romp. It's big fun. 8/10

I think this show was done very well, and I normally don't leave reviews on shows. BUT seeing how many negative comments it got kinda annoyed me. Reason being is this show is not a discovery channel special on De Vinci's life. It's clearly a fantasized presentation of his life. I think it's unfair to the writers, producers, actors and everyone else who partook in creating this show to be brought down like this because it wasn't historically accurate. It never claimed to be, and if that's what people think they're getting when starting this series, they should think again and maybe picking up a book instead. For all those who are looking for an interesting, and fresh show to get into I'd definitely recommend it. Though if you're gonna get into this show with a mindset of being a hardcore critique then you should just move on to something else.

If you are looking for a real historical fiction about Leonardo da Vinci this is not the right series to watch. Fantasy and dark worlds, contaminations from Dracula and the contemporary era make this fiction strange and unlikely, but to be faithful to reality is not the main goal of the director. So, if you take the series as it is, with a Leonardo that is a genius but also a sort of rockstar, then you can appreciate it and have fun following his adventures. I liked him and I liked the count Riario and Zo. The rythm is good, in each episode many things happen and you really want to discover what will happen at the end. Three seasons are long, but if you are not in a hurry it is a good way to spend some hours.

This show is ridiculous. I just can't get beyond the anachronisms which start in the first scene when I'm supposed to think that da Vinci took drugs. And that they were mixed with tobacco which didn't event get to Europe until da Vinci well into the 1500s.

Has no one else in America ever learned anything about da Vinci besides me? This show leads me to believe that my fellow Americans must be philistines if they can find anything redeeming about this show. And all the crap about secret societies is just superfluous. The real story is much more interesting than this crap.

Furthermore, the drawings glimpsed are poor. Why not just use copies of da Vinci's drawings?

I was hoping for something more like the Borgias. This subject matter has potential. But using da Vinci's name for this series is misleading and disappointing.

The cartoons and illustrations are poor. The hairstyles are anachronistic. The clothes show lack of research. The soldiers' hats are more Napoleonic than renaissance. Da Vinci's show of his chest (and other cast members) is too unrealistic.

I must say I have been looking forward to this show since I first laid eyes on the trailer. The acting is superb, the dialog is very well written, the setting is both beautiful yet can seem to have a darkness about it. I enjoyed every minute of it with Da Vinci's quick wit to the manipulation between characters. Though some parts did seem to move quite fast giving the thought "Where the hell did that come from and why so soon?" The only thing I can say could be better is the graphics, I know it's a television show and recreating an entire historic city would prove costly however a bit of love put into it could have make it seem less...cartoon perhaps. None the less it is a small detail in the grand scheme of things. I highly recommend watching this show there will be more greatness to come I am sure.