From Season 1

7.5/10 Despite the horrible title of this show (seriously, try using any search engine online and looking up the word “From” and you will get a million different results that have nothing to do with this show), the debut season of “From” is a pleasant surprise, despite its similarities to another show. Before I get into the biggest problem with the show, I will begin by saying that this show from Epix is worth your time and the ending of most of the ten episodes will leave you wanting to jump right into the next one. The premise revolves around a group of strangers who end up trapped in a town with no way to leave it or communicate with the outside world. To make matters worse, creatures come out at night that try to kill everyone in the small town. The show combines horror, drama and science fiction seamlessly and characters are layered and well developed. The cast is fantastic with strong acting across the board (with the only exception being a little boy who is a bit uneven in the first few episodes). The series doesn’t shy away from the grisly violence and the fear that these characters face every day and night. The pacing is fantastic with no time wasted and this season was fairly addicting. The show slowly unravels, only giving you bread crumbs of information so you will want to keep watching to hopefully learn more. I’m glad this was picked up for a second season since this first season ends on a cliff hanger with many unanswered questions. While this is a well made and well scored show with a great opening song (The Pixies cover “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be”) in a way totally appropriate for the show), there are a couple minor problems and one major one. Minor problems consist of a few dumb moments here and there. For example, the only way the evil creatures in the show can enter a home guarded by a talisman is if someone willingly lets them in by opening a door or window. Children can often be fooled by the creatures and let them in so windows are supposed to be boarded up. Instead of the town sheriff going building to building to make sure these safety precautions are taken, we get a child’s room with absolutely nothing covering the window which ends as you would expect it to. The fact that there are so many breaches in security seemed silly. One big community house has dozens of residents. The problem with that is if one creature gets in, every single person’s life is in danger. Spreading out throughout multiple buildings with less people in each of them would be way smarter and safer. Finally, the last minor problem was some political correctness/woke nonsense that is par for the course these days but still needless and annoying nevertheless. The biggest problem with “From” is that it essentially a newer version of “Lost” except people are stuck in a forest environment instead of an island. Here are just some of the similarities between the two shows…1. Both shows come from some of the same creative team: Jack Bender, Jeff Pinkner, etc. 2. Both shows have the same actor: Harold Perrineau. He played Michael Dawson in 63 episodes of “Lost” and is the lead character Boyd Stevens here in “From”. 3. Both shows revolve around a group of diverse strangers who inexplicably wind up stranded in a location they can’t leave with unexplained dangers plaguing them at every turn. 4. “Lost” had a Man in White (Jacob) and “From” has a Boy in White. Those are just a few of the glaring instances where both shows line up but you get the point. Unlike “Lost” however, which was largely made up as the showrunners/writers went along, the creative talent behind “From” have assured us that the show and its endgame have been mapped out so if the show runs for as long as planned, audiences won’t be let down like many were during the series finale of “Lost”. Despite the show ripping off “Lost” and those minor problems, I still found myself completely intrigued by these characters and their struggles. The show does a great job of getting you emotionally invested and the mystery keeps you guessing as you try to figure out what is going on. If an R rated version of “Lost” sounds appealing to you, this is a haunted town worth getting stuck in for ten episodes.

#LostAndBound / #QueSaraSara / #ThatsMyBoyd / #ATalismanForAllSeasons / #MyBigFatimaBleakProposal / #JadeAndAbet