johndavidson-1

Two episodes in and it has the awkward charm of the books down pat.

Skaarsgard is excellent in the role of murderbot, the shy, nerdy and obsessive protagonist of the latest science fiction tale to grace our screens courtesy of apple tv.

It's light hearted (mostly) though with graphic injury details which give it just enough edge to cover off the very cutesy right on hippy crew that have (so far) hired our antihero to protect them while they do some geological survey work.

The effects are effective, the characters are interesting and the story should take some cool twists and turns ( ive read the books).

The sanctuary moon scenes ( there's a show within the show) are funnier than the book tbh and it looks like they have plenty of support out there among the stars judging by the quality of the cameos.

This show started out strong. It had interesting characters and some decent stories to tell. The cast were rounded out in the next couple of seasons adding depth and turning the show into more of an ensemble affair.

But six seasons in we know all the original characters secrets, the new characters are weak and one dimensional and the mix of comedy and drama that previously worked so well has become farce and melodramatic nonsense.

When a smart show is no longer funny or clever it's time to call it a day.

I may watch the rest of this season on the off chance that things improve but my optimistic is low .

1923 follows the earlier fortunes of the Dutton clan as depicted in Yellowstonevwith Kevin Costner.

Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren try to keep the ranch going in the face of modernisation, embodied in the evil machinations of Timothy Daltons character Wheatfield .

Alongside this we get a long running subplot in which nephew Spencer makes his way home from Africa as does love interest Alexandra.

An almost completely unrelated side plot shows the treatment of the Crow people as civilisation in the form of the church seeks to modernise them too by whatever means are necessary (the crueller the better it seems ).

Often melodramatic, frequently ridiculous but none the less highly entertaining, this is a love letter to the past and a celebration of what Taylor Sheridan thinks the USA has lost in its urbanisation.

Everyone modern is evil, and even if the old ways seem to be just as murderous, their motives are purer so that's OK.