Strange Empire

Unlike muffin munro, I don't look to TV for history lessons or historical accuracy. I look for entertainment and new spins on the hackneyed, which Strange Empire delivers. Westerns are generally cheesy glorifications of a violent time in North American history. The ten or so years it took for settlers to migrate from the east to the west coast gave free-reign to greed and brutality.

In SE, the women of Janestown continually redefine their alliances as they cope with the brutality of the man who killed their husbands in order to strand them as whores for a mining community. All the old male western stereotypes--marshal, miner, cowboy, doctor, bounty hunter, etc.--are trotted out at their creepy worst. And the women, despite beauty, money, intelligence and deadly aim, are flawed and periodically reduced to some form of prostitution by brute strength. No shiny heroes here, but enough tension and drama to make occasionally awkward syntax forgivable.

My husband and I have enjoyed binge-watching this show! Recently, we have seen a lot of post civil war America period pieces on Netflix. They all have the similar theme of civil war trauma (ptsd) and its subsequent violent effects in a frontier landscape. I like this because it's NOT a typical western. I felt that the themes in the story were universal. I loved the costumes! They could almost be "steampunk." If I were to write the second season, I might go that route as engineers work out issues on the railroad and in the mines using technology. I can almost see a Johnny Depp style character partnering up with Dr. Blithely. Of course, this show wouldn't go as far as the steampunk fantasy world, I suppose. We are very disappointed that the show is cancelled. I hope Netflix decides to produce the story.

Strange Empire is more than just a Western, although there's plenty of Western action. It's a female-driven, sexy, well-plotted drama. Beautifully shot, well-written, it's really the characters who drive the story. A small wagon train traveling into the west between Montana and Canada border, runs into a mining community that has little more than a brothel, mine, and railroad running through it. When two young girls are hidden from the brothel and mine owner, he extracts his revenge by sicking his men on the wagons, killing all the husbands, fathers, and male children, in order to force the women to work the brothel. The plan mostly blows up thanks to Kat Loving, a fierce wife-made-widow. From then on, it's pretty much war. Hopefully CBC won't cancel this one prematurely while it finds its audience. Hear that, CBC? Don't you dare!

This is one of the worst shows I have ever watched. I gave it all 13 episodes and was left wanting. There is absolutely no redeeming character on the show at all. Even the righteous Kate Loving who is good with a gun with her moral compass; she is weak and ineffective. She couldn't stop the miners from brawling and then she was working for the mine. Isabelle is ruthless and greedy with no shame or remorse. She was willing to kill the young mother just to keep her father-in-law on the hook. Which brings us to John Slotter who posses no charm, no wit, no vision and no sense. I don't just hate his characterization I really find the actor not very good either. It is a quagmire of bad writing and almost claustrophobic in the stylization of 1880s. If we are to believe this is the Canadian wilderness where is it? The smaller, simpler charters are not completely fleshed out but at least allow for some kind of hope of manna in the wilderness.

Okay, maybe the young doctor wanting to do right is not too bad...

A few years ago some journalists and media figures were discussing what's wrong with Canadian cinema and television. The CBC representative on the podcast denied there was a problem, saying that Canada competes in other films. Whereas the US makes big blockbusters like Batman or Inception, Canada makes hockey musicals or camper slashers. Different strokes for different folks.

She then said that while the US is making great serials like Breaking Bad and Sopranos, Canada makes great episodic ones like that show about horses etc. When the issue was brought up that Canada's contribution to the Golden Age of Television is zero, she said "we have something coming soon." It turns out that she was referring to this show. Wow.

Look, not everyone can make a world class TV show, not everyone is going to make the next Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones. But this is not even second rate TV. If Breaking Bad is the gold standard that's in a league of its own, where does this show end up? Compare this to Westworld and you'd laugh at the lack of imagination from this show.

Westworld has strong female characters, this one has feminist clichés. Westworld has complex interconnected narratives and individual identities, this one has the same tired old gender politics with the bad man named Slotter and the good girl named Loving. Westworld has philosophical questions about existence, ones relevant to this day, this show has random abuse of women as a trope.

The story is really bad and attempts to push emotional buttons rather than write dramatic situations.

For example, the first episode of Strange Empire has the word "whore" more than the whole season of Westworld. Westworld is not a show about church, most of it takes place in a brothel, one of the main characters is a prostitute, the park's visitors are in a way sex tourists. Both shows are set in the old west, but Westworld builds a complex world where you empathize with robots while Strange Empire just says "whore" over and over so that you hate the man named "Slaughter" and love "Loving."

It is forced, cheap writing that is pandering, an appeal to emotions.

As of now, this show has 1000 ratings to Westworld's 100,000 yet this show has a lower score despite the obvious rigging from friends and relatives of the cast. There are people giving this show 10 stars meaning this is the best show ever. The top reviews on this page are by accounts that were created for the sole purpose of giving this show 10 stars and a good review. See for yourself - they were both created the week the show as made (so no activity before, obviously) and have no reviews or activity since. These are not the only two. Click on the others to see how these accounts were created when the show was on, give this show 10 stars and a glowing review and no activity since 2014.

Too bad the CBC can't rig the ratings too to keep the show running.

But don't take my word for it, go watch this show and see for yourself. And make sure to come back and give an honest review of this show.