Afterlife

This series has it all: excellent writing that is witty, terse, dramatic and thrilling. The direction is excellent too - edgy, scary, gripping with cinema-esquire cinematography. The acting is first class too - ordinary people dealing with affliction, emotion, death etc - much better than the US series full of models and glamour - in contrast this is earthy and realistic.

The story lines are similar to The Sixth Sense and are clearly derived from that concept, but each one is expertly handled. One of the best of the series involves a hoax supernatural experience - just wait for the ending! Top notch, hair-raising stuff.

Afterlife is a series of un-realised potential. I watched two episodes and both adhered to the same odd mix: excellent set-up, surprisingly complex characterisation, but absolutely no time whatsoever to develop plot. Watching both episodes made me think that they must have been edited down from something much longer and more worthwhile.

What makes Afterlife worth grabbing, whatever its faults, is a remarkable performance from Lesley Sharp. The writer has given her a fantastic role - a medium who teeters on the edge of mental health - and Sharp fills the part with quite extraordinary humanity. It's a shame that Andrew Lincoln turns in such an unconvincing performance as a psychology lecturer. He seems to struggle to convince that he would even get into university, let alone be able to teach.

Is it me or has the series afterlife really shone out from all previous and present television shows? it has an special effect on you where you are diving behind the sofa at one point, and crying your heart out the next. What A brilliant combination.

Not only does it provide entertainment, but it also shows an inside view at both medium-ship and scepticism. Before, we thought all that mediums did was perform Ouija boards, but not in this series. The beautiful performance by the wonderful Lesley Sharp as messed up and confused medium Alison mundy really did bring the series to life, and the outstanding Andrew Lincoln matched that as the un-believing sceptic Robert Bridge. These two characters were portrayed every week perfect, and yet it did not seem to bore you with the same two faces. the story lines were just as gripping, showing every day members of the public dealing with death in modern life. This was quite entertaining. well done everyone who worked on the show, it was magnificent!

Afterlife:- Sometimes we would like to believe that our loved one's are looking over us, our curiosity grows and we are left thinking of ghosts, spirits or entities, could they possibly exist? sometimes we need closure to a lost loved one and would do anything to have that, if there were a way. The unknown, it's interesting, frightening, hopeful and leaves you searching for answers, that's why I watched Afterlife, this was a great series, I really enjoyed it! I wasn't aware that there were only five episodes and felt very disappointed when it was all over. I can't say the ending came to much of a climax for me and I felt it was left open, possibly for another series? It would be great if they could manage to do another 5 episodes as I thought it was enjoyable different and entertaining and would definitely watch more episodes to come. Michelle

This is really outstanding - one could perhaps compare it somewhat to "Medium" however it's darker and perhaps with a sadder tone; very well put together with superb, believable performances that you probably feel more than just see.

The characters reach out to you rather than just appear on the screen; it explores the notion of the "unwanted special gift" well and explore ridicule, disbelief and skepticism without falling for the normal clichés that we so often expect in this kind of feature.

The stories have original structure and the ongoing component is wholly necessary and not trivial; I was impressed.

The worst part is that there are only five episodes – fortunately I feel the ending was wide enough open to easily permit a 2nd season to come along, I really hope they do this as it has at least the promise that Medium has and perhaps a bit more in some ways.

Easily 5 stars out of 5 for me – if you get the chance to see it do so, very rewarding viewing.