Eric

I have read a few of the reviews and I'm a little disappointed at the lack of appreciation for art. Other critics have opined that they didn't like the characters; however, that's part of the story/character development. This series is meant to appeal to the side of us that wants to evolve. The side of us that is often ignored.

As far as a critique, I thought Vincent's struggle with his shadow side (Eric) was a bit overdone in the final episodes. Early on it felt like a thriller but the genre shifted around episode 3 or 4, maybe drawn out. Otherwise, this is a great series in my opinion.

As someone who experienced a bit of a personal transformation, I find this story to be touching and inspirational. We're all part of the problem, and I think that's what this series is trying to tell us.

The 'Good Day Sunshine' puppet TV show is the successful brain child of creative genius Vincent Anderson (Benedict Cumberbatch). However, though the show has been successful in the 70's the network says it is badly in need of an update. Vincent is a narcissist and control freak, frequently abrasive to all around him, so he is not dealing with this well. Add to this that he is prone to schizophrenia (which his wealthy mother keeps patronising him about - "I think it's time to take your pills again Vincent") and alcoholism and you have the backdrop for the disappearance of his 9 year old son Edgar (Ivan Morris Howe).

Eric is essentially a drama about dealing with the open wound that a missing person (particularly a child) leaves behind. In this respect it is a darkly comic watch because of the juxtaposition of the pain (arguments, anger, profanity, alcoholism) against the child like muppet show style characters. The titular monster muppet Eric (who is reminiscent of 'sully' from Monsters Inc) is the 'Mr Hyde' alter ego of Vincent - imagined by his long suffering son - but manifested (literally) by the father. That's the central contrivance or 'Eric' - and it works well.

At one point the distraught mother, Cassie - brilliantly played by Gabby Hoffman as an emotional wreak - asks a family friend - "What is it about puppets Lenny?" To which he replies "They can say the things that we can't" And that's one of the key themes - using avatars to express the best and worst of our dreams and desires.

Add to this mix uber cool 'lost people' detective Michael Detroit (Belcher) - who rarely gets mad or breaks a smile - but is also strong, handsome and romantically sensitive with his dying partner. However - his investigations seem to move at a snail like pace as he spends most of his time being hounded by grieving parents to do more (or work colleagues to 'get a life / wife').

There are some great 'needle drops' - I won't spoil the surprises but they make you smile and they are well chosen and timed.

I've got to say - this is a promisingly refreshing and creative production. The characters are very well acted and surprisingly three dimensional. Despite its nostalgic 80's setting it has a comic book vibe about it - almost 'super-real'.

The one criticism I do have is that it did seem to me to be a little sluggish in its plot and pacing. I kept coming back for more because the characters and story were so engaging and compelling - but I have to admit, the lack of action was a bit frustrating sometimes. So I think this would have worked better as a four episode series - however - if you can 'go with the slow flow' it really is worth the watch in the end.

I was reminded of the movie "Harvey" going back many, many years with Jimmy Stewart playing an alcoholic accompanied everywhere by an enormous six foot rabbit named Harvey.

Here we have Vincent, played by Cumberbatch, accompanied by Eric, a monster blue puppet originally imagined by his missing son Edgar.

There are many layers to this story, far too many which is unfortunate as they took away from the central story. Of multi-generational father-son relationships and the concept of monsters lurking underneath them.

I won't get into spoilers, but suffice to say it's all very gripping, showing the under belly of homelessness and corruption in 1980s New York.

A unique ending is satisfying and unexpected if a little too saccharine.

8/10.

Benedict did a phenomenal job acting. Honestly, all the acting was great (even the kid). But there were entire unnecessary scenes that caused the show to feel like it was dragging. The timing was inconsistent, and the direction was weak. I kept thinking, "David Lynch would've done a better job with this." It was watchable, but only in the sense that I could be up doing things around the house or working on other things. It wasn't riveting enough to focus on. There were redeemable elements, like the fact that it represented the 80s more accurately than Stranger Things. Everything really was brown. I would not ever watch this or anything like it again. I'm not sure this was worth being a series, though. Maybe a movie, with all the boring parts cut out. But definitely not a series.

I am conflicted. It's not a bad show, but I feel like it's been misleading in its advertisement, at least. When I read the premise, I expected something like a look back at father-and-son bonding experience, and the affect of separating the two due to cruel circumstances. But it does not really have much (if any) of that.

Other has pointed this out, that it tries to cover a lot of social issues. The issues covered are absolutely valid, they are important, and it may, indeed, be a good idea to cover them in a good show. But the way the show does it is very shallow and narrow. Even Vincent's mental illness (and anguish) is... Just too obscure, too wishy-washy and, in the end, somewhat pink-glassed. And Vincent's and Edgard's relationship is not described at all besides a few inconclusive scenes in 1st episode. I get it that lack of true connection between them could be the point, but it and both sides' reaction to it is just not believable. A short story "Father Dearest" I wrote a decade or so ago is about the same thing, and it is way more detailed and believable, and I am not a professional writer.

The second main storyline was way more interesting for me, because it was a detective work, and Ledroit felt way more human to me. It genuinely felt like he is an honest, but not perfect cop, that wants to really help the world. It might have been a bit cliched at times, but still good. It also worked nicely in terms of introducing little threads here and there and then converging them all at the end to show bigger picture. Predictable to an extent, but still good and satisfying.

But even this storyline, human connections felt... Underdeveloped. And this is the ultimate blow to this. The actors are amazing here, the way they bring the characters to life gives those characters weight, like there is a big background story behind each and every one of them. Those background stories are not tapped into, though. I get it, that in some cases it's done for the sake of "suspense" and mystery, and in some - to make things feel more "natural", but I feel, that if they stretched the show just for 1 or 2 more episodes by leveraging flashbacks, they could have enriched the characters and made them more relatable.

Unfortunately, that's not the case. You can definitely enjoy the show thanks to the actors, and you probably will be satisfied with the end of the investigation here, but the overall ending of the show will probably leave you somewhat empty.