Hostages

Yet another TV show with a premise that's reasonable for a 2 hour movie but can't possibly work for an entire season.

The dialog is cliché. You know what's going to happen before it happens because you've seen it a thousand times before. If you watch TV to have background noise while performing household chores, doing your taxes, etc., it's perfect, you don't have to think at all.

Sadly, after "United States of Tara" and this... thing..., I'm removing Toni Collette from my list actors who's presence makes something watchable. I really wonder why they gave this show the green light, it has nothing going for it.

I have seen a couple of episodes and I must say my expectations were high. After Breaking Bad and Southland, a trilling drama is really missing on TV. Jerry Bruckheimer is a great producer. This would have been a great series if... it wouldn't revolve about hostage situation, that is normally a short-lived situation that can cover the length of a movie, but hardly a season. This inevitably leads to a series with excessive prolonging and disappointments. Most importantly, you can't really produce a family-friendly hostage drama. This is as dramatic as kissing through glass is intimate. It's impossible to maintain the thrill factor if no one gets hurt in an extortion drama, even if hostages do not follow orders from their captors. Let's compare it to Breaking Bad - except for a few main characters, everyone could any moment become a collateral there. Here, the characters are treated as "babe" piggy that no one expects to die. I must say though, the character, dialogs and events are interesting, well written, the flick is executed very well and acting is superb.

To start on a positive note, the acting in this series is generally good, to the point where it adds a hint of realism to what is an unbelievably ridiculous storyline.

Such is the stupidity of the plot, I feel it would be more appropriate for 'Hostages' to be categorised as a comedy rather than a thriller, and 3 or 4 episodes in I began to treat it as such.

If you are going to create a drama series involving a plot to kill the US President, then surely you need to ensure the storyline and script are as realistic (or simply believable) as possible? Unfortunately, there are so many gaping plot holes and ludicrous plot twists that it's nearly impossible to sit and watch 'Hostages' without thinking about what else you could be doing with your valuable time.

At first I thought it was poor acting and an unlikely story, but I'm hooked by watching the DVR'd episodes. I love the twists and turns of each character's loyalties and possible evils....the bad guys are beginning to look like the good guys and even the family members are changing their weaknesses and character. Anticipating a very surprise ending! Looking forward to the next episode!! I am also recording "Blacklist" which comes on at the same time and day. I am also hooked on that show. I don't usually watch TV intensely but my husband has been gone a lot in the past 3 months so I have indulged in these serial shows. I thought I enjoyed Blacklist more than Hostages, but now I think they are both equally exciting and full of suspense. Both shows make the viewer leery about what actually goes on in the higher levels of the government! Who can you trust??!!

TV shows are like boxing matches, you have the main events like Breaking Bad, Boardwalk, Game of Thrones. Then you have the undercard or as I say fillers, and this is definitely on the filler list.

I'm watching this in the UK and like this show while there's basically naff all on currently. I'm really not sure the reviewer's have been watching the same show but it's all about opinions and there's counts just like mine does I hope.

It may well be a one season wonder in the end, but currently there's a lot going on like political gamesmanship, murder, blackmail and a reasonable storyline to keep me interested. As said I do class this as an undercard type show, but it's watchable and doesn't deserve the reviews it's been getting.

Personally a lot of shows that I've watched in this class have been canned by the TV powers that be. Which begs the question, do my great American cousins actually know what there watching sometimes, when shows like Grey's (bailed after Season 5, The Mentalist bailed and a few more I dare not mention) are still out there going strong.

I love the US drama, best TV on the planet. They're very few UK shows of equal and we have a tradition in the UK of only having 6 episode seasons, less if you think of Luther.

This is a new golden age with so many great US shows, 3 I've already mentioned, alas BB is no more (nothing touches that). I'm enjoying Hostages, just like The Blacklist, Revolution, Under The Dome and Continuum. All enjoyable filler shows to watch while the main events are on break.

If you've given up on this, I'd encourage you to go back to it while there's nothing on.