Riverdale

A dark live action adaptation of the Archie comic books. All the characters from the comic are here--Archie, Reggie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica, Cheryl Blossom, Kevin Kellar...but there are differences. Archie is pumped up and muscular in this one a far cry from the comic. Ms. Grundy is an old ugly teacher in the comic--here she's young and hot. Kellar has blond hair and blue eyes in the comic--here he was dark hair and eyes. Also it seems Moose here is gay or at least bisexual. There's also no humor in this one. It's DARK dealing with mostly murder and sex. It moves fairly quick, the cast is young, attractive and can act. Honestly I was never bored. Worth seeing.

I'm stunned by just how many episodes they've managed to churn out, talk about over egging the pudding. The characters transform inexplicably from week to week, and everything is so absurd, that 99% of it is impossible to comprehend. Yet there is something rather addictive about it, sure it's full of beautiful people, but there are some really interesting characters too, Cheryl in particular, great fun. They have recycled scenes from Carrie, Halloween, and just about every movie you can think of, but who cares, this is low brow, trashy, hugely enjoyable escapism. I would never repeat watch it, but I'll always sit down to a new series. 7/10

The first two seasons are excellent, bringing to life a beloved franchise with intriguing storylines and a decent ensemble cast. The star of the show is undoubtedly Madelaine Petsch as the eccentric Cheryl Blossom, a charismatic, larger-than-life, some-time antagonist who is beguiling, beautiful and brainy.

From season three onwards, it becomes difficult to watch, the plot becomes deranged with characters operating with eccentric abandon well outside their individual motivation or best interests. It stretches credulity to breaking point which is a great disappointment following such a strong start.

This show is a teen soap opera. It's meant to be a bit ridiculous. Some episodes/storylines are better than others, for sure. But it's over the top-ness is part of the genre. It's entertaining.

If you can forget about how dumb and unrealistic this story is, then it's quite enjoyable.