The Booth at the End

It happens once in a year for me, I think. To stumble upon something that I know I will cherish for as long as I am capable of memories.

"The Booth at the End" is a thought-provoking, unbelievably engaging, and convincingly performed series of short episodes, all filmed at a booth in a diner. I read in one of the comments how the person thought this setting could never achieve the level of engagement it did, but was (fortunately!) mistaken. This might be the first science-fiction film/series in which I truly did not want to find out the 'secret' behind the story. It is an allegory of life, of flawed human nature, but also of occasional glimpses at divinity in ourselves, and it is as such that it ought to remain. Honestly a wonderful piece, both with respect to writing and production.

Also, I would like to commend Xander Berkeley for his brilliant performance. So heartfelt, on the verge between reality and fantasy, hell and heaven.

I do hope I will have the opportunity to come across more projects of this kind in the future.

I was intrigued right from the start. The writing and performances are really top notch. It's a shame it wasn't extended but then could they have sustained the imagination and quality?

I never imagined an action scene, nail biting suspense and thought provoking could just be achieved by just two people talking. This show is a breath of fresh air in the myriad of TV shows. And its possibilities are endless and I loved it.

Xander Berkeley is the man and his acting is master class. Intense, Honest, Intimidating, Sincere, Discontent etc. He was able to portray all these subtleties excellently and this elevates the show much more than I expected. Some times you can see some overacting by other actors but as soon as The Man talks you immediately forget it and are involved in what the has to say.

Myself, I'm more into Hollywood produced comedies or sci-fi movies, but watching first five minutes of this actually dragged me in. So, to everyone that is expecting something else than a psychological drama-series full of riddles, i would not recommend it. To everyone else, if you're into psychological stories, this is a very interesting one. It challenges an individual to consider their moral norms. How far would you go? I'm not very acquainted with this genre, but unlike some films, it doesn't repel or scare me. But you still won't watch it just for fun. So the bottom line is, a perfect mixture of a psychological drama and a sci-fi movie or a thriller.

I was a bit apprehensive before watching this; I'm not a fan of watching TV on the web so I waited for the entire set of 'webisodes' to be broadcast on FX. I must say I have been rewarded with one of the most thought provoking and challenging TV programmes in quite some time. Xander Berkeley has been perfectly cast as 'The Man' his performance is truly exceptional as are all the supporting actors. I had assumed that part of the script had been improvised due to the naturalistic way the performances are delivered, I am assured that this is not the case. There is no action as all the 'tasks' are only spoken of in retrospect or the moral challenge the person asking faces. Is 'The Man' God or is he the Devil ? As the series progresses you flip between one or the other. A series that is well worth watching and hopefully we will get a series 2; however, the moral of this story is : be careful what you wish for...