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I was simply blown away by this mini-series. Even if you have no interest in ballet, you'll be intrigued and captivated by the story and performances. Especially Sarah Hay as Claire. Her inner struggle really tugs deeply at the heart strings as she faces an issue that threatens an entire generation of young women. Please don't take my word for it, (as if you would), but watch this series! Parental warning - not for children or the faint of heart; it grapples with some pretty dark issues and approaches sexuality with unflinching realism. Thank you STARZ for bringing this experience to the world. And thank you Sarah for your talent and bravery.

You must realize that concessions are made and artistic license is given when bringing such epic tales to the screen, so don't expect the perfect history lesson here. However, for the most part this series has been a real joy to watch and has often intrigued my wife and I to go to Wikipedia.com and search for the various character's histories. Henry VIII was quite the whore monger so I feel the sexuality of the show is appropriate for what was going on in that time period. We don't subscribe to Showtime but bought the DVDs and have been pleased until Season 3. If you watch the series on computer or a HiDef TV you'll immediately notice a drop in quality. Upon closer inspection I found that Season 3 (besides being two episodes shorter) has been squeezed onto a single layer DVD instead of the normal dual layer. This means the compression has been cut down to make it fit. The bit rate was cut in half, from about 8mbps to 4mbps, making it not much better than a YouTube video. So much for Showtime's motto, "TV at it's Best"

Though a lot of the elements were typical and expected in this movie, it still held interest and had a few good 'gotcha' moments. However, as it neared the end, it seemed that the editor just hacked together an ending to shorten the movie down because it was in danger of actually being two hours long. In fact, one of the coolest terror scenes in the trailer was when the circular saw falls from the attic and dangles over the girlfriend, (like Vincent Price's Pit and the Pendulum) but guess what? It's NOT in the movie. I was ticked off. Now, I know some scenes are in a trailer and don't make it to the final cut, but come on! It's the last shots in the trailer and the most terrifyingly memorable! It's false advertising at it's worst! Oh well, hopefully it will be in the DVD release, making that a good reason to skip seeing it in the theaters.

Sadly the popularity of this film hinges on the reality that way too many men marry into a family and think they can have everything go their way without regard for how the children have been raised before they came along. Kids love to push boundaries and rarely ever accept the 'new dad' as anything more than an ATM, so the guy let's his frustration build to the point where he explodes on them, losing all credibility and respect. Obviously they don't all become psycho killers, but the abuses run rampant in today's society, so it's no surprise why so many teens are eager to see this film.