When "Under the Dome" premiered in the summer of 2013, I was excited as anyone to see Stephen King's novel come to life. That excitement seemed to have payed off, as the few first episodes were mind-boggling in terms of visuals and atmosphere. Simply put, the show looked like a real winner.
Sadly, I don't know if I've ever seen a show take such a nose-dive. For the last half of Season One and so far into this Second Season, the quality of the plots/characters has descended into an absolute mess. I usually don't like to review an "unfinished product", so to speak, but I became so frustrated with this show that I had to cut ties. The other night, I sat down to watch the third episode of this second season. About 15 minutes in, I thought to myself "why am I watching anymore?". It had become a chore, and that's when I know it is time to hang it up.
Basically, I think what happened to this show is that it made the decision to stray from King's novel. Had they just done a 10-15 episode mini-series and stuck to the events King penned, this show might have really worked. As it is now, though, they are just treading water (and, I would argue, barely staying afloat) and wasting time. The characters are going nowhere, each episode does very little to resolve (or sometimes even reference) the dome mystery, and let's face it...acting was never a strong suit of "Under The Dome".
It pains me to say, as I had such high hopes and excitement for this show, but it is a mess right now. Until the show creators make the decision to narrow the focus and actually start focusing on real issues (not just a "story of the week") approach, it will continue to flounder. I have a feeling, though, that the viewing public will not stick around longer enough to give them that opportunity.
Sadly, I don't know if I've ever seen a show take such a nose-dive. For the last half of Season One and so far into this Second Season, the quality of the plots/characters has descended into an absolute mess. I usually don't like to review an "unfinished product", so to speak, but I became so frustrated with this show that I had to cut ties. The other night, I sat down to watch the third episode of this second season. About 15 minutes in, I thought to myself "why am I watching anymore?". It had become a chore, and that's when I know it is time to hang it up.
Basically, I think what happened to this show is that it made the decision to stray from King's novel. Had they just done a 10-15 episode mini-series and stuck to the events King penned, this show might have really worked. As it is now, though, they are just treading water (and, I would argue, barely staying afloat) and wasting time. The characters are going nowhere, each episode does very little to resolve (or sometimes even reference) the dome mystery, and let's face it...acting was never a strong suit of "Under The Dome".
It pains me to say, as I had such high hopes and excitement for this show, but it is a mess right now. Until the show creators make the decision to narrow the focus and actually start focusing on real issues (not just a "story of the week") approach, it will continue to flounder. I have a feeling, though, that the viewing public will not stick around longer enough to give them that opportunity.