Michael MELNICK

Excellent performances and a moving story. So evocative of a time that still produced literature of a form that has slipped away in recent decades.

The second season is so poorly written it’s difficult to believe Netflix didn’t send it back to be re-worked. The dialogue is like something out of a comic book. The multitude of villains are equally cartoonish. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by the likes of Slow Horses or the Diplomat in this genre.

I found the concept intriguing during the first couple of episodes, but the opacity of the plot and the cringeworthy dialogue surrounding the various domestic dramas soon wore me down. I really no longer care to know the ending, if indeed there is a conclusion; I hear a second series is in the works. The American military characters behaved so consistently appallingly, I couldn’t be sure if the portrayals were satirical, or they were meant to be despicable. In particular, the US soldier in Afghanistan (“Trevante”) must be one of the most grating characters seen on television in years. It was so hard to take his expletive-punctuated grunting while brandishing various weapons at anyone who dared look sideways. Ultimately, that an American housewife, an English schoolboy, and a Japanese astronaut randomly become the personal focus of an alien invasion demands a complete suspension of disbelief that, for me, the writing and acting just don’t permit.

Really well acted, kept me guessing throughout. A TV page-turner!