Liaison

I don't always agree with professional critics, but this has gotten stunning bad reviews for good reason. Even the lead actors refused to do scheduled promotion for this mess, this clearly wanting to distance themselves.

To be frank, this production is just awful. The series has a feel of a committee project where every possible trope and cliché is pumped into the script.

Like most of us I am forgiving and willing to suspend disbelief in an action series, event for a cringingly bad dialogue and plot. But the action here consists of innumerable foot chases and absurd shootouts that demonstrate no one here is credibly an "operative."

There is neither anything stimulating, nor is also not a single smart movement in the entire script. Not one.

Worse yet, Eva Green and. Vincent Cassel are deeply ill-used, frankly abused in this mess.

There seems no escaping the fact that this show is being wrecked by a script which is at times just woeful.

As an example, throughout the show we see some pretty sophisticated IT infrastructure and deployments, and yet on the Brit side, the guy basically in charge of the governments IT platform demonstrates less understanding than you would expect from an undergrad - and who says things that are just plain wrong on so many levels. Not good.

Then there's the hospital scene where the PA announces "Can any doctors go to room # (can't remember the room #) - I mean - it's a hospital, hospitals are full of doctors... do they need a brain surgeon or an oncologist?

Despite the frequent gaffes like these the actual story is a good one - and with some very sharp script writing it could have been an excellent one. Shame.

On the other hand, Liaison is almost saved by having a great cast, great locations, and some snappy cinematography, all of which convey a slick production - so it's actually a real shame that the script is so bad at times, because that just wrenches you out of absorption. And it's not just a dialogue problem, there's also an awkwardness to some of the plot exposition that has left me more than little confused at times.

So the real quandary here is how could something with so many promising and professional elements have been so badly mismanaged in the script development department?

The show starts out OK, and looks to be promising. But the further the story goes, the more lame/unbelievable the writing is becoming.

Over the course of the series we get to know the characters and a bit about their backstory. Vincent Cassel and Eva Green work well together and should have had the back of better writers.

The technology involved is as always not really good read up about by the writers. They make it seem too simple, especially since it also involves a Cyber security agency which would certainly have noticed some leads, as it's impossible to leave no traces, especially IF someone on the inside would be part of it (I'm not saying that it is in this show).

But the ending is just lame writing, especially considering how certain people behave during the series. It really puts a big domper on the whole series as you really think, is this what I have spend almost 6 hours watching for? The whole last episode is just a culmination of bad writing. And that's really sad, as it could have been a great show, but the ending really ruins it (and some parts in the middle also drag too much).

I've watched all the episodes so far and as the plot is unfolding, I'm finding the series more enjoyable. I agree that the first couple episodes were off to a rocky start, but it's definitely getting more interesting now. I personally really enjoy these types of shows, and let's be honest, Apple TV shows beat most Netflix dramas nowadays in terms of production value and acting. I say give the show a chance, get past the first couple more cliche episodes and you may wind up liking it. I think the plot will only continue to unravel and surprise us as more characters reveal who they really are and what side they're playing.

I'm not going to brag about the bad or good reviews. I've watched season 1 in a couple of days and I enjoyed watching it. It's not that I will recommend and praise it. But it's not bad at all!

I've seen much French people complaining about subs (or it's absence of it). I'm a French native and I don't need English subs only for the Arabic parts. I actually enjoyed the fact Cassel and Green switched languages depending on whom they're talking to. It gave it an extra real feeling. And that should be more often the case.

Regarding the story, I feel it could have gain more thickness if there was a few more episode to develop some of the characters, mostly the one of Albert.

On the tech bases, yes there are a few hick-ups but that's often the case in series... Liaison is far from perfect, but if Apple keeps on investing in European productions, their level will rise up! And definitely, that will change us to some us superprods which offer nothing...

And on a personal note: using teardrop by massive attack is spot on! 👍