Impulse

This is a great show about a benevolent organization trying to harness a power that could help save the world by studying an evil teenager that seems determined to destroy everyone that loves her because... well... her life sucks more than theirs. At least that seems to be what the show-runners are going for.

This show fooled me in thinking it might be a sci-fi mystery drama using the Jumper idea, but it ended up being a confusing mess. The "sci-fi teen has superpowers" elements made no sense whatsoever. It just felt like the developers couldn't decide on weather to make it a superhero story or rather a teenage drama with high school issues. The main character was so bad written that you end up hating or at least disliking her completely. I just watched it to see if things got better cause it made me feel bad for wasting the time, but it just got worse by the end of it.

I was hooked after the first three episodes and Literally binged watched the entire 10 episodes in one day.... I like the narrative.... it focuses on yes this teenager is discovering a superpower but it also makes her a normal teenage girl.... the main character however is not very likeable... she is moody and just down right mean... and I think they need to make her more likeable... you feel bad for her circumstances but you are not rooting for her... I think they tried to make it not another superhero movie... and they played it well because the season left so many unanswered questions that if you become truly invested in the series you will be on the look out for season 2.... around episode 6 or 7 I started to lose a little interest where I would be on my phone while it was playing on the background on my laptop... but it picked up by episode 9 and 10... I would say give it a shot... if after the first 3 episodes your not interested don't think you will gain interest as the series progresses... the first 3 episodes truly are defining.

While the market is currently saturated with scifi and superpowered humans not all of those shows are made well. Impulse is made better than most of the other shows it competes with despite it likely being aimed at catching high school aged female eyes. The acting and effects are good. Characters are good. I thought this was a ripoff of Jumper but it's based on the same novel as that movie.

As a big fan of the genre, I'm pretty harsh towards a few Netflix series fight scenes that are abysmal and the entire inhumane Inhuman fiasco. None of that train wreckage to be found in Impulse. Production quality exceeds CW offerings, as well as The Gifted and AOS. It has the feel of a serious drama not a feel good teen show. No plugging in of the same shots of a location like you could catch the first season of Bosch on Amazon. If not for the music tracks at certain points I'd question the targeted demographics. Plenty of strong and intelligent female characters.

A fair few reviews on here, so I'll try not to cover the same ground.

I came to this show for the superpowers but they take a back seat for much of the series in favour of drama, intrigue and teen-life. Without the sci-fi element I may not have watched and that would have been my loss. The acting (including the main actress who comes in for some flack in some other reviews) is on point throughout, neither over nor under played. Film-making is well-done - again avoiding extremes and simply serving the story really well. Pacing is spot on.

Major issues (that affect people in real life) are handled intelligently, honestly and without hyperbole. Both male and female characters are three dimensional enough to be believable and engaging. Few characters are black and white, almost all have shades of grey.

So far (I'm up to episode 7) this has been a refreshing addition in a rather quiet time of the year. If you want a bit more grit with your super-hero tales, are happy to see female lead characters who are actually human and have an appreciation for well crafted TV then this will either provide a pleasant diversion or you'll find a show that nudges you towards bingeing.

More like this please, makers of TV shows!!!