Apparitions

This is one of the best television dramas I have ever watched. I sincerely wish there were more episodes. The acting is superb. The characters are believable and well fleshed out, even the seemingly unimportant ones come across as real. This show evokes emotion and makes you care deeply what happens next. It also beautifully filmed. The locations and sets are rich and engaging, the use of light and sound to evoke mood masterful. The attention to even small details is astounding.

I cannot fathom why this show did not have a long and rich run. I believe if its creators were to revive it for American audiences it would be a smash hit.

Martin Shaw first came to my notice in the Professionals back in the 80's (action cop/spy drama cheasy version of Spooks), he is a very respected and accomplished Shakespearean and TV actor here, of late the BBC have constructed a number of easy on the eye and brain dramas for him eg Judge John Deed and George Gently and I expected this to be another of the same, however I was pleasantly surprised.

It had grit, good acting, a fairly good plot and scampered along nicely, I missed the initial airing and watched it on the BBC's iPlayer facility online, I will tune in next week to watch it live.

Give it a go you might be pleasantly surprised.

This is an excellent show with superb writing. I just discovered it and was disappointed to find there only seem to be six episodes. I would have given it 10 stars if they had made more! It was probably an expensive show to shoot but is still much better than 90% of television on the air. Here's hoping that someone will want to make more. This is what the recent movie featuring Anthony Hopkins should have been had the writing and story line been stronger. I hope if someone buys it they don't try to re-do it in the US as it will probably be a weaker version. I would hate to see it watered down to the Sc-Fi "Being Human" equivalent.

A fan in Texas

The reviews and comments on this board are strange. I'm an atheist and I loved the series. I'm also a gay-rights activist, and I didn't see anything blatantly harmful. In fact, the story line was written to suggest that the reason the young priest lost faith was because the church had forsaken him because of his homosexuality, not because he was gay. Claiming this was akin to describing homosexuality as satanic is glib at best; the series is about the Catholic church, and it's a matter of fact that the Catholic church frowns on homosexuality. I think they did a good job of showing how that attitude hurts homosexuals, by making them doubt themselves and their instincts, and ultimately by shutting them out of the faith. Also, ONE atheist was portrayed in a negative light. (And he WAS an atheist, not a satanist, though I can see how he could be mistaken for a satanist, as he was possessed by a demon) How can one make a series about a religious war without defining 'good' and 'evil' and dealing with the resistance of non-believers. This series didn't define atheists and homosexuals as 'evil' anymore than it defined Christians as holy warriors who see possessed people around every corner.

Anyhow, of course it was unbelievable; it was about exorcism. But the story was compelling, the characters were fantastic, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would give it a 10, but there are only six episodes, and now i'm lonely.

As some one else commented this could be a one trick pony but what a trick .You do not have to be religious or an atheist to enjoy it . This is not in the Linda Blair category of exorcism but subtle with a very dark underlying humour e.g when Father Jacob is listening to a radio ,which is switched off but still broadcasting,after being possessed the sister asks why is he listening to "Satan FM".

It might stretch it to far for another series but would still be one to watch.The plot twists still have you wondering at the end about at least one of the characters which for any series is good.

I think as a producer Martin Shaw would not let the plot lines get out of hand .so lets hope for another series or at least several longer one offs.