Helix

I jumped at the chance to watch "Helix," especially because it's not as though we're drowning in great TV sci-fi at the moment. Zombie movies meet "The Andromeda Strain" with a bit of "The Thing" thrown in? Count me in! And for a few episodes, it really did seem as though it might become the diamond in SyFy's rough.

Unfortunately, "Helix" to date has failed to live up to its potential. By the end of the first season, the familiar sci-fi/horror tropes that served as a promising setup have become a stronger prison than its isolated setting. Where tension should be building, the story instead begins to run out of steam, with each new threat and cliffhanger somehow less compelling than the last. Questions are answered, but the answers aren't as interesting as they could be, and most of them fail to produce new questions that might take the story in unexpected directions. And while a few characters may hint at multidimensionality, others do things that they simply would not do -- solely for the sake of manufacturing drama, and with little sign that we might learn something about them later that would justify it.

By the time the final "big bad" of the season (who felt more like a reject from the "Harry Potter" franchise) arrived to walk us through most of the same plot points the previous one did, I was gritting my teeth to make it through the finale. I'm glad for the sake of its more devoted fans that "Helix" was renewed, but I don't see myself sticking around for the second season.

To start off with the good, I will say that the show "sounds" very appealing (deadly virus outbreak on a massive secluded base in the arctic). The general setting/premise is solid.

The show fails however in many facets. The acting ranges from mediocre to sub-standard, though I don't blame the actors. While I can't say I enjoyed any of the performances, The writing is where the show falls apart.

If you tasked someone to find a team of writers to do a project, but instead of doing any work finding the right writers, they just hired a football team (no offence to football teams here), you would have the quality of writing in this show.

The characters typically do not act rationally (rationally referring to how a person might normally act under the same circumstances). Conflict feels like it is created on the spot, and often leads to very unrealistic sequences of events.

The show has poor dialog, and very undefined characters (their personalities seem to change radically without a proper basis as to why).

I could go on, but I would like to end on a positive note.

Despite having it's serious flaws, you may find yourself still willing to endure this series. It has mystery, it has action, it has zombie-ish themes, and from time-to-time has a few moments.

i have been reading several of the reviews for this show & i don't understand why people are so upset with the lack of realism. one person wrote that it is an insult to scientists. its a fictitous show, not a documentary. i'm a viewer being entertained, not a scientist picking out the flaws in this show. the acting is decent, the script is fine & the mystery is above average. some people compared this to the TV show lost saying its not nearly as good. yes, i watched lost & that show made no sense on many occasions & the conclusion was a real disappointment. for syfy channel, this is a decent show. one thing i do agree on is one of the reviewers said the following depicted all the fbi agents as stupid, except for kevin bacon. i agree with that. if you are looking for realism then i suggest watching documentaries, not fantasy, scifi shows. maybe i'm just not that fussy, but this show, in my humble opinion, is entertaining, not thought provoking, which i don't expect from the syfy channel. its great escapism.

This show is quite good. It has nice twists and plot cliffhangers.

However, the person who chose the soundtrack should never be allowed to do that ever again!!! It's excruciating!!!!

After the first three episodes, I was a big fan of this one. It was stylishly filmed, intriguing, and contained some genuinely creepy/scary moments, making it the closest thing to Fringe I've seen in some time.

Unfortunately, the series as a whole was never as good as that beginning. There were always problematic choices, such as characters who failed to offer pertinent information for no good reason, or who did dumb things, or who made weirdly uncharacteristic choices. While Season 1 was better than Season 2, both seasons went off the rails towards the end, with endings that were very unsatisfying.

Season 1 I would rate a 7.5 overall, season 2 probably deserves a 6.5, so let's give it a 7.