tim_s_wiley

I loved Bosch and its spinoff and rank it a solid 9 although i'm not sure if I've reviewed that one(note to self). Keep in mind most people know of course Ballard is a Bosch related series/story and its meant to be. So this review will leverage Bosch as a baseline.

Negatives First: 1. The show is very of awkward. It's a very odd team that Ballard is running and honestly they do not gell together very well. There just isn't very much chemistry in the show with a few exceptions i will note in the positives later.

2. The Cliche counsilmans assistant's part was just jagged, and the acting didn't help smooth it over at all. I think the councilman himself was phenominal.

3. The show loads up on the cliches for Ballard from the get go. It's teasing Ballards big childhood trauma through the entire series and honestly it felt so forced and too fast that instead of adding depth, mystique, empathy for the fans it really just makes us all say "oh boy here we go again"". Its been played, overplayed too many times and frankly Ballard didn't need it. I think they could have let this have a more sublte trickle introduced much later in season 1. Again i'm comparing this to Bosch which is the creme dela creme.

4. There were one or two very annoying plot holes that i won't mention because i'm trying to avoid spoilers.

5. The overall presentation and acting quality seems to change drastically when Ballard is interacting with certain characters vs others in the series. I'm not sure if this is due to chemistry or lack of btw some folks vs others on the show or what. Or is it other more exerienced actors create a far more genuine experience that pulls you in and gives the show some legs.

Expanding on #5. On Ballards team there is some really good actors that are great independently but anytime they interact with Ballard it just feels a bit un-natural many times. It just doesn't gell. The main partnership btw Ballard and Laffont just never feels intimate at all and while i love both actors on their own when together it just seems strange.

Positives: 1. The show has potential and at times it finds its legs despite my negatives.

2. The crime story this season is based around is very very good and engaging. It does allot to help distract you from the rough edges.

2. When Bosch, J Edgar, (the other old Bosch team members), the councilman, grandma and the lifeguard are in the scenes with Ballard it just feels so much more genuine and convincing. Even Ballards captain shows some solid stuff. The acting just goes to another level and it touches Bosch level performances and story telling. I think they need to get this working with the other characters as well.

3. Despite everything i'm still giving this show a 7 which means it has allot going on for it in an unconventional way, and i'm going to chalk the weird stuff in seaon 1 up to shaking off the rust.