I am watching the series in sequence, just started the second season, and I have been reviewing individual episodes in the IMDb because frankly they are some of the most amazing episodes I have ever seen in mainstream TV.
I thought I had already done a summary review of the series but then found I had not. Oops.
OK, for the record, the acting is superb, the casting is superb, the scripts are to die for, and even the direction is in a class by itself (just finished s02e02 and the opening sequence did a match-cut of two parallel story lines with a wonderful sultry audio track over the top).
The assumed identity theme is brilliant. The idea of writing not one but two supervillains into the story and letting the audience try to figure out which one is worse -- brilliant. This series is brilliant.
But the ones to watch are Jonathan Tropper and David Schickler who are relatively fresh to the game and I predict will be at the edge of their craft for years to come.
These guys are off the chain. The seem to instinctively know how far they can push the viewer's sensibilities without causing blowback. That simple feat is not so simple and is possibly the key, the secret, to successful TV.
As I write this, most of the shows I follow have already gone slightly bonkers (LONGMIRE and JUSTIFIED pop to mind) but so far Banshee is holding up.
Astonishing entertainment.
-------
Update Feb 2015: I'm a critic. My job is to report on the extraordinary. I am halfway through Season 2 and this series has me gob-smacked. Shickler and Tropper, who seem to have very few credits on IMDb outside of this series, are astonishing. Appearing as if out of nowhere, this series has individual episodes as good as or better than some of the product JJ ABRAMs is currently doing. And Abrams, who is a God in Hollywood -- one year he did both the Star Trek and the Star Wars films simultaneously(!) -- has had years to perfect his craft, plus, he can pick up the phone and bring in the Nolan Bros if he wants to. Shickler and Tropper in Banshee are showing us an instant and total mastery of writing, direction, casting, and -- my favorite -- a grasp of how important it is to keep the viewer "connected" from week to week. This "underdog" series is extraordinary in every sense of the word.
---- update June 2016 ----
Going to miss this show. I will even miss the titles and the credits, that's how good it is. As the (former) top rated Cinemax show, Banshee joins the rarified air of shows like Dick Van Dyke and Seinfeld, shows that VOLUNTARILY took themselves off the air because they felt they had given their all to the fans. Good news? The producers and even the stars can cut their own ticket in Hollywood for whatever they want to do next. Buy the boxed set, lock yourself in a closet and binge-watch. You will not be disappointed.
I thought I had already done a summary review of the series but then found I had not. Oops.
OK, for the record, the acting is superb, the casting is superb, the scripts are to die for, and even the direction is in a class by itself (just finished s02e02 and the opening sequence did a match-cut of two parallel story lines with a wonderful sultry audio track over the top).
The assumed identity theme is brilliant. The idea of writing not one but two supervillains into the story and letting the audience try to figure out which one is worse -- brilliant. This series is brilliant.
But the ones to watch are Jonathan Tropper and David Schickler who are relatively fresh to the game and I predict will be at the edge of their craft for years to come.
These guys are off the chain. The seem to instinctively know how far they can push the viewer's sensibilities without causing blowback. That simple feat is not so simple and is possibly the key, the secret, to successful TV.
As I write this, most of the shows I follow have already gone slightly bonkers (LONGMIRE and JUSTIFIED pop to mind) but so far Banshee is holding up.
Astonishing entertainment.
-------
Update Feb 2015: I'm a critic. My job is to report on the extraordinary. I am halfway through Season 2 and this series has me gob-smacked. Shickler and Tropper, who seem to have very few credits on IMDb outside of this series, are astonishing. Appearing as if out of nowhere, this series has individual episodes as good as or better than some of the product JJ ABRAMs is currently doing. And Abrams, who is a God in Hollywood -- one year he did both the Star Trek and the Star Wars films simultaneously(!) -- has had years to perfect his craft, plus, he can pick up the phone and bring in the Nolan Bros if he wants to. Shickler and Tropper in Banshee are showing us an instant and total mastery of writing, direction, casting, and -- my favorite -- a grasp of how important it is to keep the viewer "connected" from week to week. This "underdog" series is extraordinary in every sense of the word.
---- update June 2016 ----
Going to miss this show. I will even miss the titles and the credits, that's how good it is. As the (former) top rated Cinemax show, Banshee joins the rarified air of shows like Dick Van Dyke and Seinfeld, shows that VOLUNTARILY took themselves off the air because they felt they had given their all to the fans. Good news? The producers and even the stars can cut their own ticket in Hollywood for whatever they want to do next. Buy the boxed set, lock yourself in a closet and binge-watch. You will not be disappointed.