American Odyssey

Critics have attacked this, but I found it just as credible as Homeland. We all know how deeply US corporations have been involved in war in Iraq, providing private security, and helping generate the misery that we see in the Middle East today. The bullying of Greece over its debt was also a nice realistic touch. OK, it is just a fictional story, but it is as credible as Homeland, which in later series became rather tedious and dragged out. It was also just as far fetched. The idea that the US would take any form of action against their ally Pakistan was utterly incredible. They allow this terrorist sponsoring state to have nuclear weapons without batting an eyelid, while threatening Iran. They need states such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia as allies, even if they are the most extreme Islamic states in the world. As entertainment, I felt it kept the pace up well right until the last episode. Pity it has been dropped now, but I guess follow up series often tend to get weaker and weaker (except Breaking Bad, of course!).

The US have lost over 6,700 killed and over 50'000 injured in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003. Among the coalition forces another 300+ were killed including 179 Brits. Not to mention the million or so Iraqi and Afghan deaths Both conflicts are total failures militarily and politically. These brave people died for what exactly? The only true winners in these wars have been the defence contractors. Halliburton's stock went up over 500% and they aren't the only ones to make a 'killing' on these wasteful, terrible wars. Would a US corporation kill American service men to protect their profits. You bet they would. They have done it everyday for 13 years. This programme tells an all to plausible and engrossing story that sorely needed telling. The production values, acting, directing are all excellent. It is television at it's best. I highly recommend it

The biggest problem of this show is that most of the characters are too trustworthy to the point of stupidity or just too plain stupid. In particular the activists who one could really nickname dumber&dumber, but also the corporate lawyer. Then again most people would probably behave the same.

Said that I really liked all the part in Africa involving Odelle, the main character, the diversity of characters albeit some unbelievable, like the publicly transgender uncle, their relationships and the fact that they spoke a mixture of English, French and Arabic. I quite liked also the way it ends, though that was meant to be only a mid-season finale and not a series finale.

I found this first episode quite entertaining. A special unit finds out they've killed a prize terrorist and can't believe their good luck. In addition, they discover a laptop full of arabic intel though one item is in English and appears to be a money transfer from an American firm. Soon this unit gets a call from the top commander ordering them to stand down, telling them that the Intel unit will be there to take care of bodies and all material. They find this order odd but are told it comes from the highest of all high. And with this, their troubles begin.

Meanwhile, back in the states, a former US attorney runs into an old friend who casually tells him of an investigation into a corporation that his legal team represents. That attorney informs his colleagues of the info and soon gets shut down completely when the Corporate Man shows up and says they are all clear.

Bring in the Occupy Movement who are protesting all kinds of corporate and govt malfeasance and you've got a brew all connected to this Corporate/Military/Govt Conspiracy.

I give the series a number of points for showcasing the Occupy Movement! I give it more points for highlighting a Syriana-type corporate/govt conspiracy. The remaining points go to the entertainment values. So, yes, I'd recommend you watch it and see some truth in it.

Ignore the negativity here at IMDb about this show. This is an interesting but complex mini-series that examines what happens when a monster corporation with good connections gets into political intrigue for the sake of profit, and tries to cover it up. We see the plot unfolding from three pairs of eyes: a young political activist (with a blue-blood background); a female soldier from an elite team who take down a wanted terrorist; and a lawyer who has signed on as an employee to defend a company that is in 'over their heads'. This show lacks the explicit language or sensual activity of series of this genre produced in Europe, although BBC (and, lately, the Danish) have certainly produced a bumper crop of hard-hitting (but adult-rated), exposé-type of shows, broadcast over 9-15 weeks. Nice to see an American show take up the challenge to produce a quality non-cheesy, but (PG-13) offering. My only complaint is that the remaining (6?) episodes of Season-1 are not yet available at Netflix - so, we will all have to wait for a final resolution. M Gull (May-2015)