Between

Yes, it is unbelievable, parts of it could be better, but nonetheless, it retains interest throughout. Watchable drama that does not pretend to be anything other than entertainment. Also, so fitting for the times. An entertaining way of passing the time in isolation caused by the COV-19 virus.

First, let me start with the positive; There is some production and budget here. I watched the first episode a while ago and my only positive thought was "how is the writing so bad but there was money for the rest?"

The dialogue is bland and just silly, first brought to my attention when someone kept yelling "grandfather, grandfather..." over and over. Nobody does that and from there the rest was pretty obvious.

The characters try to be believable and relate-able but they seem to just pulled from someone's experience of other shows and not real life. Nerdy kid, troubled sister, the admirable jock, the bad kids, the rich kid...

The characters seem to make decisions that are so, so , so bad that you forget how stupid the overall premise of the show is and stop believing the whole experience.

Worse yet is that this show is really just "the dome". A "mysterious virus" that causes sudden tongue bleeding and bad acting seconds before death causes a town to become isolated and quarantined. The only difference between this show and the dome is that the characters ages are restricted, that and the role of the dome is being played by the military.

What makes this show even worse is that there seems to be a series of stupid shows out now that revolve around small towns and something mysterious happening; Wayward pines, salem, bates motel, sleepy hollow, the dome, haven and more. If you restrict the location and characters in a show you have to elevate the sub-plots to ridiculously unbelievable levels. These shows are becoming predictable and trying to out-stupid each other it seems while adding slight variances.

I give this show a solid 7. Yes, some of the dialogue/acting seems a bit wooden at first but, as the season progresses, the actors and their characters grow. The apparent "holes" in the story are there to create suspense. As the characters grow and learn more about themselves, the virus, and their places in the "new" Pretty Lake, so do we the viewers. For such a young cast, I think they did an outstanding job! I only wish Krystal Hope Nausbaum had been given a bigger role. She is totally awesome as Amanda! Oh, and I watched every episode of the first season before coming to any conclusions, rather than after 1 episode like most of my fellow reviewers.

Everytime you think, "this character is the one that I will enjoy". Try again. All characters are losers, who will always do the wrong thing when the chips are down. I really wanted to enjoy this show. And there is enough to make you wonder what will happen. If you are smart you just won't start watching. You will be sad if you do. Frances the little black girl on the farm is probably the only character I would want as a friend from this town.

I'm only three episodes into the first season. Aside from nickelodeon's Jeanette McCurdy (who really hasn't gotten much time to shine), the acting is horrendous and the dialogue is weak. This isn't a show to binge quickly but if you're looking for something to keep you distracted every now and again, I would suggest you watch an episode or two. There's not really any depth to these characters and the scenes of guns being drawn get tiresome after awhile. I'm not emotionally drawn to what happens to the characters, but at the very least I'm curious as to the cause of the illness.