Will

it is strange to hope more. because the fragments of biography, the opportunity to use imagination to complete it, the Elisabethan London and the theater of this period are great temptations for a series who could be cool and small door for teenager to the work of the most important playwright of entire history. so, it is, in same measure, provocative , subjective and decent. the good point is Laurie Davidson who gives a Shakespeare full of noble intentions, sparkles, vulnerability and in permanent grow up in the atmosphere of the city. and the script is the recipes who contains all the ingredients and the way to be more than a tasteful dish but an impressive one.

Just watched the first episode last night. Aside from the garish colors and the punk overtones, I was enthralled. Like Shakespeare's stage directions, the bio for historical Will is sparse leaving ample room for dramatic embellishment. I thought it was clever the way the writers wove ideas and fragments of speeches from the plays throughout the first episode. Especially enjoyed the "duel" of words between Robert Greene and Will in iambic pentameter. If the rest of the episodes prove as entertaining and engrossing as the first, this series will be a treat! Oh, and after about the first 10 min I was over the garish colors and punk overtones.

The story line of Kit Marlowe interested me most. His search for meaning and willingness to try anything just to feel was captivating. His delve into religious and supernatural means to seek it was compelling. Bower was completely seductive. I would like to pluck all of his story and make it into one movie. I don't know if I would have stuck with it if there wasn't that juxtaposition of Will with his faith and Kit with his search for it. Nonetheless, I began to care about all the characters in this bizarre show and I looked forward to seeing it every week. Who would have thunk it? And as a writer, the last line wrung true especially as it was delivered by Marlowe.

As you might have guessed by now, Will makes practically no attempt to be historically accurate.

Critics everywhere have cried out in collective grief. But who cares? Da Vinci's Demons had very little to do with the real-life Leonardo -- that didn't stop it from running for three seasons!

Like Demons, Will is "historical fiction". Not a biography; not a serious reconstruction of the life of The Bard. It's a drama loosely based on characters loosely based on vague descriptions of people who lived at some point.

It's entertainment. And in that, it does a pretty good job. There's your usual cable TV "must-haves": violence, sex, backstabbing -- general depravity. Everyone's a little greasy, one way or the other. There are crazy sub-plots. If they hadn't called the main character Shakespeare, the critics would have been much happier with it.

But, alas, Shakespeare appears to be sacred. And maybe, that's the cow Will is trying to slaughter. Set the table, we're having steak.

I like to state, as someone growing up within my local punk scene that emulated the early punk scene (late 70's/early 80's) and has a history of art, I love this series. It tries to show the story the early days of Shakespeare as if Elizabethan England is going through a punk phase. And does so amazingly without it being overbearing, and is something you can see back in the clothing, music choice, hair styles, posters, etc. this all to the point that, seemingly, a lot of other reviewers actually haven't noticed it aside from the music.

Take the clothing for example: most major characters wear something like leather jackets that are studded with patterns, this all without it being terribly out of place within Elizabethan England. Or a more obvious example are the posters, they look nothing little to nothing Elizabethan era posters however do look like cheap punk concert posters with some Elizabethan flair thrown in for good measure. And lets be frank in what late 1500's world would they have used, what looks like, cut out photocopied letters for a wanted poster?

But I could continue to list all the small details and how amazing it works within the setting.

The story as of yet has also been top notch in my opinion, not to shallow but not so deep that it requires art history major to understand. It also doesn't, if you notice the punk elements obviously so, to be historically accurate.

All in all, great show.