The River [US] [** Spoilers **]

Cantona's Collars

New drama from ABC set in the Amazon with some spooky stuff going on.Airs in the US Tuesday 7th.Available here via iTunes and 'our American friends';)

From Digital Spy.

We had high hopes for the show - it's from Oren Peli and Michael R Perry, the brains behind cinematic scare-fest Paranormal Activity after all. But would The River match our expectations, or would this trek down the Amazon lead us down a path to disappointment?

In the event, we're happy to see that The River is a very strong show indeed - one of the better US dramas to emerge from the 2011-12 television season. When beloved explorer and television host Emmet Cole (Star Trek's Bruce Greenwood) goes missing, his wife Tess (Leslie Hope) drags estranged son Lincoln (Joe Anderson) deep into the Amazon to find him.

Their every move is charted by a documentary team, led by unscrupulous TV producer Clark Quietly (Paul Blackthorne) - like Paranormal Activity and a string of other horror hits, the series adopts the 'found footage' format.

But can The River hope to match its cinematic counterparts on the fear factor scale? Granted, our own experiences may have been influenced by watching the first two episodes on the big screen, but our initial feeling is yes - this show can bring the scares.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUU7Rb6cs9Y

Richard Dower

Very weak opening numbers, so i guess only having 8 eps. saved face for ABC [and money] http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/02/08/tv-ratings-tuesday-bad-start-for-the-river-ncis-200th-much-glee-new-girl-steady-raising-hope-rises/119116/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Tvbythenumbers+%28TVbytheNumbers%29

Skerries

just watched the first episode and an interesting concept
not sure on the 'found footage' style as this is starting to become very tired
seeing as it's only 8 episodes I might stick with it

expectationlost

i thought it was quite good

Cherry_Cola

Looks good, will give it a go tonight after I finish the excellent Homeland.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Got about 20 minutes in and thought it was awful... Won't be watching any more...

opr

Some terrible acting, unlikeable characters, at times really bad dialogue but it was fun :P Still some of it is just so bad I don't know if I can keep watching. The cringe stuff was really bad at times, like the scene of the mother yelling at the flying demon to let her know if her husband was still alive!

Also the found footage, hand held camera type stuff is becoming a bit tiresome and not sure I can stick it for a full blown TV show. It's certainly not Terra Nova awful.

Opr

JP Liz V1

Skerries wrote: »

just watched the first episode and an interesting concept
not sure on the 'found footage' style as this is starting to become very tired
seeing as it's only 8 episodes I might stick with it

I might stick with it as there is only 8 episodes also

Basq

The first episode was awful, but the second was definitely improved IMO.

Cantona's Collars

Basq wrote: »

The first episode was awful, but the second was definitely improved IMO.

I agree,the second episode was a big improvement and a lot creepier.

The bit with

the dolls in the trees and the ghost of the dead child gave it an eery tone rather than a black smoke monster attacking people.

Plus

the girl on the boat with the ability to be a medium

added to it,seems she will play a big part in the show.

vibe666

i quite liked it, but then again, my standards are usually very low.

opr

I am tapping out on the three count. That was awful.

Opr

squonk

Not sounding good OPR. I'll give it a go tonight. It didn't completely annoy me last week and I saw a few bits I did like in it. As it's only 8 eps I think it might deserve a chance. Not sure how long they can drag the 'lost in a creepy jungle' thing out for though.

I quite enjoyed it, sure the pilot wasn't anything to write home about but the second episode was really quite creepy. Though it could just be my own fear of dummies/dolls. Those things are just freaky.

Cantona's Collars

The third episode was more grounded in reality as

the group was attacked by a native tribe.

The hired gun who is there to protect the group

begins to show more of his true colours,but who is he working for? He knows more about what's going on than anyone but is keeping that to himself.

vibe666

zerks wrote: »

The third episode was more grounded in reality as

the group was attacked by a native tribe.

you didn't notice that they all had their eyes gouged out but didn't have any trouble getting around? :eek:

EDIT: i might have missed it myself if i wasn't watching it in HD.

zerks wrote: »

The hired gun who is there to protect the group

begins to show more of his true colours,but who is he working for? He knows more about what's going on than anyone but is keeping that to himself.

you can probably count on it being related to something that is going to make someone very rich (as always).

also, don't think there's a need for spoiler tags given the thread title is tagged.

Richard Dower

This show will be cancelled....the numbers don't lie.

Cantona's Collars

vibe666 wrote: »

you didn't notice that they all had their eyes gouged out but didn't have any trouble getting around? :eek:

EDIT: i might have missed it myself if i wasn't watching it in HD.

you can probably count on it being related to something that is going to make someone very rich (as always).

also, don't think there's a need for spoiler tags given the thread title is tagged.

I was pretty sure one of the natives looked at the people on the boat but then it showed another who seemed to have his eyes gouged out.
Damned if you do & damned if you don't with spoiler tags,we'll always get a few who don't read the full thread title then complain about spoilers.

Latest episode was on last night,haven't seen it yet but will comment on it as soon as I catch up.

Anyone else still watching this?

vibe666

i am, but i have very low standards.

squonk

I am but it hasn't really caught me yet. I'm giving it some time to however but the time will run out soon enough.

expectationlost

still enjoying it for what it is

Machismo Fan

Anyone else still watching this? I thought the last couple of weeks (especially last weeks) have been very good.

Think next week is the season finale?

expectationlost

so they found emmet cole, kinda disappointing to see he's been hanging around and doesn't seems to gotten super close to the source, feels like back to square one but i guess he find it with the rest of them now

vibe666

expectationlost wrote: »

so they found emmet cole, kinda disappointing to see he's been hanging around and doesn't seems to gotten super close to the source, feels like back to square one but i guess he find it the rest of them now

2 eps left i think

i imagine he'll spend the next episode convincing them to go the rest of the way (whilst they battle some other new foe) and then they'll head off with (or after) him for the finale and a bit of a cliffhanger, before it's cancelled.

Machismo Fan

The next episode is the season (and more than likely series) finale.

Richard Dower

Machismo Fan wrote: »

The next episode is the season (and more than likely series) finale.

Guaranteed cancellation, series is very much like Persons Unknown.

Skerries

interesting ending with it left open
what are the numbers like for this as it wasnt that bad?

Richard, did you actually watch it?

I found it an interesting enough conclusion - how in the feck did that person bend their body at those angles? Christ.

squonk

Interesting ending but I think I've had enough. At least with finding Cole they were going somewhere. Now they're just wandering around til they get out of the jungle. That's not so interesting. I'm hoping they call it quits at this stage.

JP Liz V1

It could be heading to Direct TV or Netflix so mightnt be dead in the water yet, pardon the pun

vibe666

Deleted User wrote: »

I found it an interesting enough conclusion - how in the feck did that person bend their body at those angles? Christ.

i had the same thought, but i imagine it was just added twistiness done with special effects after they shot it.

you can't trust anything you see on TV or in the movies these days.

Had planned to spread Missing out over a week or so but ended up gorging on it over the past two days so decided to give The River a go. Cane home from a night out with some food and sat down with a big mug of tea and food the The River. All I can say is that I'm disappointed. The show should be a winner. It has a great concept, a fantastic cast and some talent behind the scenes but it simply doesn't gel.


Oren Peli is a truly terrible writer, it's clear from the show and his other work that he's a one trick pony who struck it big a few years back and has been trying to recapture thataguc. That his film Area 51 has sat on a shelf for 2 years and his writing on The Chernoyble Diaries is being called some of the worst e er says it all. Watching part one of the River I actually felt sorry for the cast. Much if the dialogue was beyond awful and their reactions to the situation was retarded. An invisible demon or whatever attacks them and no one do much as bats an eye lid. Hell a man gets killed and no one seems to care in the least and don't get me started on the whole give me two if he's still alive rubbish. It felt like something a 12 year old would write for an English essay. Just really, really poorly written crap.

Boing to stick with the show for a bit simply for the cast, hopefully is picks up a little over the coming episodes as it has all the makings of great summer tv.

Skerries

It got cancelled just to save yourself from watching it

Skerries

Skerries wrote: »

It got cancelled just to save yourself from watching it

Don't mind it being cancelled, just want something easy to pass the hours and The River seems quite good for that. Good chance that it may still be picked up by another network but on the basis of episode one I doubt it.

Was it cancelled? I thought it had been renewed for a second season relatively early on!