newark-61086

I wanted to like this show, but ultimately it got worse as the season went on. The story's twists were so predictably and everything just became more and more absurd and so over the top. If this show spent a little more time developing characters and building up suspension, instead of throwing twists and action sequences at you, while rapidly running out of substance, it could have been good. By the end of it I was so over the forced surprise reveals, which were often far from an actual surprise, that the show lost much of it's original appeal in terms of atmosphere, setting and cast. 3 to 4 stars is all it was good for in my opinion.

6 Episodes stock-full of clichés, devoid of backstory, lacking any real character development and battle scenes that pretty much all look the same. The story is about as dull and generic a war story as I have ever seen.

There is honestly very little here in terms of redeeming qualities. I was tempted to give one star, but some of the visuals are relatively pretty - not so much the characters, who are overly glossy in appearance and stiffly animated, like video game characters from about 10 years ago, but the landscapes at least. Sadly, that is the best I can say about this show. I'd be incredibly surprised if somebody decided to give this a second season.

Contrary to what most reviewers on here say, I found this series really enjoyable and, yes, also funny. This isn't all out, fast paced action and it isn't a run of the mill spy spoof. The pacing is slow, sometimes maybe a little too slow, but it delivers a complex, somewhat believable and at times hilarious relationship dynamic. The relationship between the two main characters is what this show is all about and Glover and Erskine both deliver outstanding performances. The emotions, especially laughter and joy, feel incredibly real.

I was not a 100% convinced by some of the action sequences, especially in earlier episodes. I felt some of the directorial choices were a bit odd in those. For example, early on in episode one there is a shootout on a porch, in which someone pirouettes into cover behind a pole that is barely broad enough to cover a quarter of their back or so. Little choices like that, sometimes add up to it feeling like action might not be the forte of everyone who directed an episode of this show.

That being said, I thought the the arc of the series as a troublesome marriage dynamic delivered some absolutely hilarious moments. The way the show's episodes are based on episodes of the relationship (such as "should we have kids?" or couple's counselling), with the addition of an absurd spy life twist, is thoroughly enjoyable. The episode featuring Ron Perlmann in particular is some of the funniest TV I have seen this year.