Granite Flats

What started out looking like a show about kid detectives turned into a wonderful and weird Cold War spy series. When I started watching this I had no idea what I was getting into. The language, the dialogue, the Twin Peaks strangeness kept me watching and loving every episode in anticipation, keeping me on the edge of my seat. What a great series. The casting is spot on, from the kids to the adults. I especially enjoyed Christopher Lloyd and the brilliant writing behind his character. Parker Posey also stood out as quirky Alice White, and I hope to see more of this odd and colorful woman. Everything about this show was surprising. I'm looking forward to a 4th season. Definitely worth watching.

This series falls into the category of never-ending-plot-threads-involving-weird-characters- and-mystery. I confess, I like these types of shows. Granite Flats is a milder version of Twin Peaks and a less polished creation in the image of Lost. The characters are quirky, but several are more single dimensional or less interesting than the characters of either of these other shows.

What I find quite interesting (and something I have no explanation for) is the dialog -- it is mostly done in that same style the Cohen Bros used in True Grit -- reminiscent of a formal and someone stilted style that one could imagine being employed by characters from the 19th century.

I have read reviews that criticize this show because of bad acting or bad editing or bad writing. It is a small budget production. I totally get that this show is not necessarily going to appeal to the broadest audience. But I think many aspects of the show are stylistic choices made by the creators. They want the characters to be like this and talk this way, and they want the scenes and POV's to seem choppy and somewhat disjointed.

Just one man's opinion. I like the show.

This show is nostalgic, family friendly, very well acted, and a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. My family looks forward to this each week. The story line of children appeals to young audiences, and if you grew up in the 60's you'll recognize the chalk boards and rows of wooden desks. Adult viewers will understand the deeper influences of the period of time: Government influences and suspicions. Women being obedient to their male bosses. The struggles of single parents and unwed women. etc. There is also some humor infused into the realistic characters. You will be taken in by the retro feeling, the mellow but interesting story line, and the overall charm of Granite Flats.

This starts out as a rather somewhat predictable story of a group of 11 year olds, one of which sees something in the late night sky. They all work together to determine just what happened. When they get together with one of their fathers (who happens to be the chief of police in a small town) things grow from there.

The story matures each season, the acting improves, and the story line grows deeper and more complex.

The 3rd season is really good, as the young characters show a great degree in maturity (probably too much for 13 year olds), and the adults are puzzled and confused as well (both with themselves, their associates, and children).

Some times overly dramatic, yet --- still an outstanding series for the whole family. I personally loved the old cars. There were a few costume errors. Filmed in Utah, which resembles Stratmoore/ Ft. Carson, CO (just outside Colorado Springs) in the mid 1960's.

I'll confess that I watched this primarily because it was produced locally and because it followed something I had been watching on the same channel. But it exceeded my expectations. The acting was good, the writing was very good, and the plot moved along quite well. I've always been interested in a "what if" kind of story, and this develops the premise very well.

Of course, much of my interest was in the fact that I lived through this period and was probably the same age in 1962 as the kids. But don't think the show is only about the kids - the adults are all interesting and they have very real interactions with each other.

The biggest fun for me though was in seeing how goofy people's thinging was back in the days of the cold war. But I also remember my own anxiety over the Cuban missile crisis or over the fact that a major Air Force base 60 miles to the north would be a likely target for nuclear attack. There was a lot of fuzzy thinking with the duck and cover exercises and the basement bomb shelters, but it's easy to see why from a contemporary perspective.

Well worth watching.