The Feed

I am a big fan of Black Mirror series, therefore I decided to watch the Feed and I really liked it! The plot could use a couple of tweaks at times, but the general idea was brilliant and creepy-probable. I am really surprised by negative comments on acting. Of course, we all have a right to have our own opinions, but in this case generalizing is really unfair towards some actors. It's true that some characters were annoying, e.g. Kate, but others were spot on! David Thewlis as Lawrence was AMAZING!!! I recommend this show to anyone who likes sci-fi series. It's worth the time-investment.

The idea of this storytelling is awesome. It's a great story line and the acting is good. However, it's extremely difficult to follow. It seems to skip and jump in strange ways. It's excruciatingly linear and then jumps to another side plot which never quite gets more than introduced. Maybe I've not watched it closely enough? It's just too confusing.

Any story set where all humans are wired to the internet is an easy story to sell. But The Feed is episode after episode of our confused protagonist figuring out just about nothing, and the other characters in and out of bed for hours on end. One of the most boring shows I've seen in a long time.

Some of the reviews are very glowing, some very scathing. Personally I found "The Feed" on the low side of "meh" (i'd give it 4.5 stars if I could). On balance, I _definitely_ regret wasting 9 or 10 hours of my life on it but (unfortunately) i've also seen far worse. Certainly won't be watching more if it gets renewed.

In general i'm very much out of patience with shows where the writers think "stupid and unlikeable" are the same as "interestingly flawed and complex" when it comes to characters (the inexplicably renewed "Another Life" is similar in that respect, if you could put up with the amount of dumb on display in that show you might enjoy this one too). By the end of series 1 of "The Feed" there are maybe 2 or 3 characters I still cared about out of an ensemble cast of around 10. Everyone else had shown themselves to be idiotic, despicable or both in that dull, predictable way that some writers seem to believe is "capturing human truth".

The storytelling also feels a bit flabby with at least a couple of the main strands (plus one totally inconsequential fishing related tangent) that just feel tacked on to pad out a fairly thin sci-fi mystery plot. All the worthwhile aspects of this story could've been told in around 6 episodes IMO.

So i'd say avoid. Maybe the book it's adapted from is better. Or maybe you'll watch this and think it really is as clever as it seems to believe it is (i'd guess mainstream viewers might see it as more original and be generally more impressed with it than long-time sci-fi fans), there's no accounting for taste after all.

If you answered, "Yes", then this series is for you!

I should have listened to my hunch and given up 30% into this one, but when you've invested yourself to 70% you have to finish it out - or not. My wife made the better decision and went to bed.