American Gothic

The mystery part of the show was pretty good. A little slow at times but the story picked up speed as the season went on. There were enough twists and turns to hold my attention.

But there was definitely a liberal agenda. For starters this show is about a ridiculously wealthy family in New England. So wealthy that no average American can relate.

Then the family is involved in local politics. This is where the Hollywood starts to ooze out. There are little comments made about getting rid of guns, a gun buy back program, taking care of refugees, blah blah. Just like Hollywood, they fight for the rights of refugees but there isn't a refugee within a 20 mile radius of their gated community.

Make a good crime thriller. Keep the politics out of it.

Concrete in a tunnel collapses in Boston. It's a blow to Alison Hawthorne-Price (Juliet Rylance) who is running against Mayor Conley. Her father ran the family concrete business which supplied the material. Evidence of the "Silver Bells Killer" is found in the rubble. The killer has been silent for almost 15 years. The cold case is reopened led by detective Linda Cutter and suspicions land on the Hawthorne family. The father suffers a heart attack. Madeline Hawthorne (Virginia Madsen) is the matriarch. Her son Cam (Justin Chatwin) is a recovering addict with his own family. Her daughter Tessa (Megan Ketch) is married to police detective Brady Ross (Elliot Knight). Her son Garrett (Antony Starr) has returned from parts unknown.

It's a crime twisty mystery family drama. It's good enough for a network TV show but nothing more. It's not exciting or terribly compelling. There are some twists but nothing terribly compelling. The characters are fine and so are the actors. It needs one central character with real charisma to drive the show but this is more of an ensemble cast. This is not going to rewrite the TV playbook. There is just enough interest to keep watching all 13 one-hour episodes.

This series has a clean, honest story line. It does have a traditional look about it, as someone mentioned, but that works for me. I'm a bit tired of the quick-cutting, montage-a-minute kind of film that passes for story these days.

The Hawthorne siblings are all different so you can find one to like and one to despise if that's your thing. Tessa is refreshingly naïve, a bit fruity, but I like Alison best, the cold, sophisticated one.

The other thing about this one is that it's not too freaky. I know it's fashionable to be pushing the envelope these days but I already think that sort of thing is done to the limit -- it seems like producers are going out of their way to find shock value. Sure, shock value gets people talking about your show but that's about it --- yada,yada,yada -- it's become boring, snore-producing.

Since I don't find much video/film/TV that impresses me anyway (compared to books where you can always find a good book), I like a good story with characters well-played even if fireworks and CGI aren't going on all the time.

Luckily I disregarded other viewer comments and gave this show a chance. Very glad I did. The actors and cinematography make for first rate storytelling. I was captivated from the pilot episode. The writing has the perfect combination of a film noir and Hitchcockian tones that satisfy anyone looking for chills and suspense. I have been looking for a something that encompasses all the elements which this show has delivered so far. The talented cast has enough diversity to appeal to any audience while simultaneously being cohesive and maintaining the central theme of the shows dark and secretive ambiance. I hope it survives the buffeting that it receives in its first season because it looks very promising. Can't wait for episode 4.

Sad to see some people find this boring. As one who is very tired all the silly tricks to try and pump up our adrenaline like Shonda Rhimes and her micro bursts of stills that made me walk away from 'Scandal' and trying to shock by pushing the limits on gratuitous graphic gay scenes that lost my interest in 'How to get away with Murder', I find this show very refreshing, balanced and intelligent. I like the array of characters and each of the actors that play them.

It is also great to have a break from being overfilled with shock and awe special effects and sci-fi silliness like 'Under the Dome' and 'Wayward Pines'. If you are looking for a TV fix to satisfy a need for high speed adrenaline pumping shock-treatments, this show is not for you.

For me, I find it vert well done and a perfect fit in quality entertainment.