Briarpatch

As a huge fan of European Noir, I loved this show. It was noir in oppressive sunlight, cool even though the billboard registered heat. After reading others' reviews, I'm convinced all the less-than-7-Star ratings here so far are due to ADHD or a lack of patience. The shallowness of most American network TV has made us crave cheap, junk-food entertainment. This show is the opposite-complex, unfolding, and hard to figure-oozing style to spare.

Quirky it may be. Acting is fine, regardless of the obvious limited script work being put in. But this is often the result of not much real meat being given to the cast. And this adapted screenplay is reflective of this, as overall it is lacking all but the occasional witty humor Ross' original work is known for. Give me quality compressed adaptations of Leonard or McCarthy any day over this pointless drawn out for TV mini-series approach.

I loved this show-something about it was just right. It's a noir with some lightness to it, not in comedy but in the atmosphere. The world it creates is a little hyper-real in way I didn't know I wanted, but found this one of the few shows I would faithfully look forward to the next episode each week. I read a lot of critics comparing this to other shows but I think they miss the way Briarpatch defines a new genre all for itself. Dawson is so airtight this seems like the role she was meant to play, and the Spivey character is complexly likeable-endearing and the definition of quirk but deserving of not escaping his past. I hope there are future seasons and more shows like it. Well done.

Can we withhold reviews until the season has ran its course? I'm seeing 5-6 star reviews criticizing one episode; why not visit that episode specifically and rate it? We don't know how this show will unfold so there is nothing to conclude just yet. I like the show so far, it has mystery and good acting. Too soon to tell how I will rate it, but for now, it's a 10 to balance out the premature reviews toward the series as a whole.

This show is so UNEVEN it is frustrating. Episodes 1 and 3 were great, episodes 2 and 4 were terrible and stupid. I see here they have different writers, and different directors, for nearly every episode. So, no wonder. The actors are the same, the sets are the same, the costumes are the same, but the writing, the dialog, the story, vastly different from episode to episode. So, prepare to wait a week between episodes and then be monumentally disappointed.