Like many others, I read all the Hardy Boys books growing up. This is a pretty decent, partially modernized adaptation. I'm glad they didn't place it in the present and make it all about smart phones, texting, Facebook, and Instagram like so many other current shows. In the books, the boys were very close in age, which led to a different dynamic. The aunt was an aging "spinster", and Chet was a somewhat rotund source of comic relief. Like so many other current TV shows and movies, this production is absurdly dark - physically. Honestly, is there is black hole somewhere sucking all the light out of every set and circumstance? Half the time, it's almost too dark to see what's going on. I believe the level of tension and danger is just about right, though it is higher than was ever created in the books. Then again, these are different times. All said, I think the spirit of the Hardy Boys is well represented here. If only that ubiquitous, near total eclipse of the sun would pass.