Hotel Halcyon

The first episode of THE HALCYON feels as though it was created for an American audience -- it feels obvious, not nuanced. As far as origin episodes go, it's packed with characters and sets many balls in motion. A few actors establish with strength, but others seem to be modeling wardrobe. --- There bit of tension and a nice jolt in direction, but the production doesn't achieve the velocity suggested by the music. Although the project is beautifully dressed, it feels very familiar. What might be run-of-the-mill sibling rivalry still has a chance to become much more: sibling teamwork. --- Although THE HALCYON has been compared to DOWNTON ABBEY, the pecking order and their relationships are less precise. A missed opportunity with THE HALCYON was establishing it as an actual functioning hotel before igniting fuses.

I really enjoyed the series: the beautiful sets and costumes, the outstanding music and the stellar cast!

The Halcyon gets better and better each episode with great characters and interesting story lines. If you like period dramas, you're in for a treat!

Let's hope there will be a season 2 :)

The Halcyon proves how fickle the producers of TV series must be. The Halcyon starts off in a fairly average way I must say, but as it develops it becomes something totally engaging, and rather excellent.

Beautifully acted by all concerned, great performances from Steven Mackintosh, Olivia Williams, Liz White etc, but it was the constant brilliance from Hermione Corfield that I enjoyed most of all, she was superb as Emma.

Lavish production values, the Hotel in particular looked fabulous, gorgeous costumes, and a true sense of realism during the bombing scenes.

The series got better as it went on, the last few episodes in particular were excellent, I hope the petition that's going around encourages someone to take the series on, there are so many more stories to tell.

Excellent drama, 8/10

Loved it. Gets better each episode. Intrigue a plenty, and some wonderful relationships developed as the show went on. Worth watching.

I find it interesting that, while the overall rating for this series is near 7, almost everyone who bothered to review it didn't like it.

I, on the other hand, enjoyed the series. The sets are nice, the characters are appealing, and it's all briskly paced.

Certainly, I could pick at things. The plotting is at times not quite logical and at others unrealistically tidy. The band music is not especially true to the period; they sound more like a neo-Swing band from the '90s. Characters are likable enough, but there wasn't anyone I liked to the level of almost any character from Downton Abbey.

But I (and my girlfriend) enjoyed it all the same.