Reviews

The premier is stunning visually as is to be expected. It lives in the same world as other LotR stories but also feels unique. The dialogue is poetic for the elves, and more prose for the hobbits. They've built upon lore to make a lived-in world with loads of charm and interesting characters without being constricted by purism (racism). More viewers will finally see themselves reflected in this series and it makes it all the more interesting. The music is stunning, the costumes are detailed and thematic based on the races. The sets are huge and often practical. Notice that many of the negative reviews not have anything specific to say that actually makes sense. It's impressive in every way and I can't wait to see where it goes.

The show has some great reveals, especially with landscape and interior design. Danielle Brooks is charming as hell and does awesome with walking the families through the house and getting emotional. I think where the show falls short is how over the top staged all the drama is. Just about anything with the CSI inspired planning footage is unbearable and I had to fast forward through it after a couple episodes. Every episode is structured exactly the same, which I know is normal for renovation shows, but every episodes has a period where one of the special projects seems impossible and a period where Danielle takes a call where it seems like the family is right around the corner and nothing is done and then it comes together. Are people dumb enough to believe this? I don't think they are. Lose the staged drama and the weird low-light mission nonsense and it could be a much better show.

I don't know what other people are talking about on here. I think it's beautiful and sad and awkward and that feels very real to me. Patti Harrison is fantastic. I loved all the obnoxious characters because they were just exaggerations of people I've met. People whining about the ended wanted a Tom Hanks movie and this wasn't supposed to be that.