Omega

I love discovering a new scifi/fantasy show to explore. I love it especially when I can see the potential that could develop once the actor sand writers settle into the characters and plot lines. What I hate is: Shocking preliminary voice-over scene-setting, horrible acting, non- existent sets, appalling camera work and did I mention horrible acting? It bears repeating. I couldn't even last all the way through the first episode. In a word....Terribad.

As part of a very large internet gaming community I am always very pleased to be one of the first to discover and recommend a new show. This is one I will be warning people away from.

When I saw the first trailers for this show I was looking very forward to it. Like a lot of people, I was disappointed, but it should be noted that the show stumbles out of the gate but improves as it progresses.

If you've yet to watch Omega, here's what you need to know. The acting is bad. I don't mean bad for this type of series, this acting would be bad for a soap opera. The military girl in a tank top is one of the worst actresses I have ever seen and *SPOILERS* she's wisely killed off early. I don't know where they found these actors, but obviously they didn't have the budget to pay people who can actually act! The lead character (Jon) has a cool look, but is not much better than the tank top girl. Everyone else is forgettable, but the character called Darcy feels pretty real.

This isn't the show it appears to be in the trailers. Once I realized that this isn't a big sci-fi series, I started to like it a lot more. I was expecting big alien battles, but it becomes something that is much different and slower. This is pretty cool, but I wish the marketing had reflected this instead of setting up the wrong expectations.

The story is pretty cool. There are regular people and military looking for a safe zone in a very empty, abandoned USA. I feel like I'm following right there with them, and I'm curious to see where they will end up.

People are killed off, all the time! This is either a pro or con, but I think it's a cool idea. Kind of like Game of Thrones. The people who you think are heroes and will find a way out of crazy situations just die. I hope this continues.

The camera work is sometimes as bad as the acting. The worst moments are when camera and acting are both bad, as another review said, "unwatchable".

I love the show for what it could have been and what it tries to be, but I hate it for some of the little things that bring it down. It's like there was this cool stuff on paper but without the money to make it work. Bad acting exists in even the biggest movies, but here it almost kills the show. If you're not a fan of small scale sci-fi, I don't think you will be able to get beyond the acting.

I just viewed Omega in its entirety after dismissing the series following the pilot episode many months ago. I wish I'd followed the weekly discussions and episodes because the latter half of this series contains content that's a rarity for YT and Machinima, a real attempt at dramatic storytelling.

Omega is flawed, there's no doubt about that. It's apparent that the budget was far lower than what this kind of alien sci-fi series calls for, though the production values and talents rank far ahead of what you would see on SyFy. The acting, aside from a couple performers, is barely passable, and the better actors are stuck in supporting roles for some reason. The visual effects are inconsistent and go from being fantastic Hollywood level quality to average and redundant. The writing feels rushed and our characters are not well developed until halfway through the series. Yes, the first several episodes of Omega are convoluted and somewhat boring, but they give way to fantastic pay off.

Episodes 5-10 of Omega present one of the most interesting and risky moves in episodic television. These episodes bring some shocking deaths and revelations, and though still not handled with absolute grace, they are ambitious, rather well acted, and very well presented. The visuals are great (pay special attention to an old church) and the plot evokes real emotion.

Despite its flaws, Omega is a very special series to me. A highly recommended watch, though you might not believe the praise upon viewing the first few episodes. My only advice is to stick with the show until it finds its footing, as is the case with most new series!