(07-31-2018 11:49 PM)Tail Gunner Wrote: (08-24-2016 07:05 AM)MMX2010 Wrote: I don't watch much television, but the HBO series, The Leftovers, is the best series I've watched in three years. Season Two is especially good, but Season One was difficult for many people to understand and get used to.
If you decide to watch it, two rules apply: (1) Don't binge watch. The show's effectiveness drops by at least a factor of ten if you just roll all of the episodes together. (2) Even if you hate Season One, get up to the episode entitled "Guest". If you're not especially moved by the fate of the title character in this episode, then you'll never be moved by anything in the show, in which case you should stop watching.
I definitely would not say that "The Leftovers" is the best series I've watched in three years, but I do agree with the rest of the review. Season one was just OK, so I reluctantly decided to watch season two. "The Leftovers" is one of the few shows where the second season is vastly superior to the first season. First, because it loses the teen-aspect story from season one, which distracted greatly from the show and seemed geared towards pulling in a younger audience. Second, and even more important, the second season's episodes focused on pushing the story along by focusng on just one character per episode, which is far more effective than bouncing around from character-to-character (like a typical TV show). As a result, there were some very powerful episodes. I especially liked the one that focused on the church pastor ("No Room At The Inn").
I have meant to write this update for awhile. Now that I have watched the entire series, I stand corrected. "The Leftovers" is indeed one of the best series that I have ever watched. While the first season was just OK, the last two seasons were a powerful blend of grief, loss, sorrow, healing, and joy. The acting is outstanding and the wild emotional ride experienced by the characters is almost palpable.
What happens when two percent of the Earth's population randomly and mysteriously vanishes? What are the emotional and behavioral results for the individual survivors -- and for society as a whole? How does anyone plan for a future when, in theory, you -- or someone you love -- could simply randomly disappear forever? The show allows you to struggle through these implications while spotlighting the aberrant behavior and the long term emotional carnage caused by such an event.
Everyone on Earth is reminded that much of existence is basically random, meaningless, and out of their control. How do various individuals react when confronted with that fact? How do people balance the very human need for control against such stark utter powerlessness?
I especially like the way that the show never mocked Christianity (despite Hollywood's notorious loathing for all things Christian). Christianity, and religion in general, was simply one of many possible rationales to explain what happened. The church pastor was also a very intriguing character.
The show also used a few well-known actors and actresses in relatively modest parts (e.g., Scott Glenn and Liv Tyler). The Scott Glenn character is especially zany (an elderly former chief of police who hears voices, gets institutionalized, and turns to hallucinogenic drugs in the wake of "The Departure"). One of the best episodes features his efforts to "save the world."
The genius of the third season was in its structure as a sequence of cascading series finales. The various characters find a way toward closure -- and then fall away from the story, as those characters who continue to struggle with their powerlessness attempt to finally attach meaning to their lives. While the third season retained the opening title design, it used different theme music every week based on the content of that particular episode.
As the show matured, it actually got weirder, wilder, and better. In the end, "The Leftovers" is a story about people whose lives have been destroyed by grief, a grief that turns into the source for some of the strangest dark comedy that you will ever see. I also found this TV series to be one of the most emotionally moving series of all time, which is a credit to both the story and the superb acting.