The Following

Very watchable series. It's not perfect but few things are. Purefoy is fantastic as the psychopathic serial killer / cult leader. Great performance and completely believable, charismatic and menacing all at once. Really he steals the whole show although Bacon is also very good. I always think he's a bit underrated as an actor yet I've rarely seen him give a bad performance.

Series 1 is the best. Series 2 is not quite as good as it starts to lose focus and ramble a bit. Series 3 is verging on a series too far. The newer characters are more caricature than anything else. Theo and his sister are pretty one dimensional, the plot becomes very thin and much less credible. Purefoy doesn't feature so much in it and it just all becomes a bit messy and drawn out. Trouble is if you watch series 1 and 2 you will want to see how it all ends up but just grit your teeth and you'll get through it!

So the 9 stars are really for the first two series. Definitely worth a watch.

I have to say I really enjoyed The Following more than I though I would. It follows FBI agent Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) as he chases notorious serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) who escaped death row. Hardy is the one who originally caught Carroll after he killed 14 women. While Carroll was in prison he developed a cult of his followers who will go to any lengths to prove themselves to him and that included murder, abductions, sacrificing themselves, etc. This is an edge of your seat cat and mouse series that's definitely worth a watch. It might have gone a season too much but even that last season is a decent watch.

The Following really is a pretty underrated show. It stars Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy who are both really good actors and are fantastic in this. It's a great thriller from beginning to end. The first season is the best but the other two are still worth watching. I actually think it had another season left in it but I guess they wanted to end it before the quality dropped too much. Each episode ends with you wanting more so this is a show that's good to binge. Admittedly some of the story is ridiculous but if you can just turn off your brain and just enjoy it for what it is then I promise you'll have a good time watching this.

After watching the series premiere of "The Following", it left me with an impression that I simply couldn't find anywhere else as the story unfolded in such a terrifying way. Although some may complain that it moves by a little too fast(which I admit at times it did), that's only a small qualm as the performances and main plot make up for it with various twists and turns throughout the story. Kevin Bacon was simply incredible as the worn down FBI agent with a tragic past that has yet to be explored further as the show progresses, but James Purefoy is MARVELOUS as the twisted serial killer. With his manic stare and smile, you're not really sure as to his true motives. This makes him more dimensional yet at the same time diabolically and devilishly sinister; playing mind games with the protagonist with his schemes of mass murder and mayhem. Purefoy is a beast of a man that no one wants to mess with.

"The Following" is one to watch. I'll be tuning in to the next episode to see how twisted and horrifying the world will be in the eyes of the hero and villain in a battle against good and evil. If the quality of this show keeps up, I'd expect more seasons.

The show started well, good original storyline and a great turn by James Purefoy as baddy Joe Carrol.

Sadly the show quickly went down hill. Key stone cops quite literally. Highly trained FBI agents who cannot shoot baddies from close range and constantly get out witted.

This could have been excellent.