Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands

I hoped for so much something as great as 'Vikings,' or 'The Last Kingdom,'but it felt like an episode of Doctor Who (i.e. more for kids and sets that look like sets). Then after a lot of irritated huffing and puffing on my part, I realised it has been made for a young audience who would get the most from this ambitious reworking and I expect these it would delight. I can't rate this properly as it wasn't made for me, but if I look back to my earlier tastes in life, am sure I'd have revelled in this show. The time slot should have given me a clue that it wasn't intended for me and all the gripes I had are answered by it being reworked for it's target audience which doesn't include me. From childhood to 24 I expect I'd have loved this version of Beowulf. I hope enough of it's target audience find it.

I first turned Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands on by mistake and quickly realized that this show could be an interesting watch. I have been pleasantly surprised and at times, I have only been mildly disappointed.

If you enjoy fantasy story telling, decent sword fight choreography, and minor attempts at comedy then give it a try. I don't think you will be too disappointed.

BUT...For the people who are easily dissuaded by mid talent acting and a bit of copy cat antics then I feel you will not enjoy watching it.

A lot of people are bashing it because it is trying too hard to be Game of Thrones. The title sequence is a direct copycat and really takes away from the show. Once people see and hear it they immediately get turned off and want nothing to do with it. There are small inadequacies that push the viewer to eye rolling but most of them can be overlooked. The story isn't the strongest but you can't compare it to GoT, that is unfair. If you compare ANYTHING to GoT it would be unfair.

If I was allowed to change ONE thing only...I would take away the title sequence and replace it with something individual. I believe wholeheartedly that it's a huge issue for people and will cause the show to lose some major viewers.

Don't give up on it after the first episode. It takes a little time to get rolling. It's really not a bad watch at all. Give it a try.

Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands is one of those series that would have been better off re scripted as a comedy. Regrettably, the writers decided to play this series as a serious fantasy drama. What a mistake.

Almost everything about Beowulf screams comedy. From what appears to be an old mine site, which has been rehashed as an early medieval village, of sorts, through to the costumes, that look like they were recycled from a heavy metal concert.

The storyline is chuckle worthy too. The main character Beowulf is on a testosterone overdose. He's incessantly simmering with cheesy, macho rage, wanting to fight everyone and everything in sight. The rest of the cast are shoe horned into equally awful, clinched, characterizations. Imagine, if Game of Thrones had been scripted by Monty Python and you are there.

All this silliness is inexplicable given this series has an excellent cast of actors, including a cameo or two by William Hurt! If money could be spent on a cast of this caliber, why not a story fitting their talents?

If you can adjust your sights and view Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands as a comedy of errors its actually not too dreadful. Try to take it seriously, however, and you may do yourself a mental mischief. Four out of ten from me.

This series isn't great. This series is very entertaining. I wish the series creators hadn't gone for the easy option of calling it Beowulf because that's what niggles people like me. For heavens sake think up a new norse name to call your hero and eliminate all the pedant complaints, this is just asking for bad reviews. My son, who has actually been made to read the saga of Beowulf at school tells me that Beowulf died. I don't know if that's actually true but if he believes it then many others of his age will also. My son is extremely scornful of the series without even bothering to watch any of it.My son is probably the target audience of this series. Nuff said.

O.M.G. To say that this show was terrible would be an UNDERSTATEMENT. It was basically just Game of Thrones only they scrimped on the special effects and aired it before the watershed.

This idea sounded WONDERFUL but the end product was as best campy and at worst like a budget Game of Thrones. Even the THEME MUSIC is reminiscent of the Thrones theme. Whoever conceived this should be fired!

I could go on for hours about the faults of this show but, I'll end on this: Beowulf is a story that has been around for over a thousand years and is ripe for adaptation, but the next time you want to adapt it for TV, stay close to the source material. In short, GET. IT. RIGHT!