Ms_Q I was willing to suspend disbelief and accept the premise of the show, and I admire the actors for treating the script seriously, but I can't accept its plot holes and misconceptions. The primary weakness is an inability to understand other points of view. Jews do not believe in the Christian version of Hell, for one thing, and while a Jew might (and many did) lose faith in God because of the Holocaust, he would have no reason to turn to Satan because of the behavior of the Pope. Jews do not recognize the Pope as God's representative. He might become anti-Catholic, but, despite the scriptwriters' misconception, that is not the same as becoming a Satanist. A psychologist would have had no trouble accepting that performing a satanic ritual could have resulted in physical illness for a priest; she would simply have explained it as a psychosomatic illness. Every non-believer is not also rude, aggressive, and confrontational. Minor inaccuracies - a priest would have known that it's "The Revelation of St. John the Divine," not "Revelations." A European Jew would have spoken Yiddish, not Hebrew.

zzoaozz This is one of the best television dramas I have ever watched. I sincerely wish there were more episodes. The acting is superb. The characters are believable and well fleshed out, even the seemingly unimportant ones come across as real. This show evokes emotion and makes you care deeply what happens next. It also beautifully filmed. The locations and sets are rich and engaging, the use of light and sound to evoke mood masterful. The attention to even small details is astounding. I cannot fathom why this show did not have a long and rich run. I believe if its creators were to revive it for American audiences it would be a smash hit.

GilBlas When I saw that the six episodes of "Apparitions" were available for streaming on Netflix, I browsed the user reviews on two sites, and found them to be overwhelmingly glowing. And so, even before I had an opportunity to view the episodes myself, I drew them to the attention of a friend who is a fan, as am I, of Martin Shaw's work. I was surprised to learn from him, a few days later, that he had abandoned "Apparitions" after viewing the first episode. I understood why when I finally got around to viewing the series: I, too, wanted to quit after the first episode, but I stuck with it through three, after which I cut my losses and gave up. Afterwards, I looked again at the glowing user reviews and tried to reconcile them to what I had seen. I could not. Especially puzzling is the opinion that the stories are "thought-provoking." Really? Consider the following exchange, taken verbatim (my comments in brackets), from Episode 3.Father Jacob (Martin Shaw), exorcist extraordinary, is called to a prison to interview a convicted rapist named Cory who appears to be possessed by a woman. During the interview, Cory begins to sweat blood, a sure sign that demonic, or divine, powers are at work. (There's a fair amount of sweating and crying blood in the series–both by humans and by statues. But, hey, who among us hasn't encountered it?) Later, Cory is assaulted in the shower by a group of inmates. Afterwards, Father Jacob, the warden, and the prison priest discuss the possibly that Cory is possessed by a saint, and they speculate by which saint. WARDEN: "What about suspects? How many saints are there?" FATHER JACOB: "Ten thousand plus." WARDEN: "Possession then. Any of them got form {a police record} on that?" FATHER JACOB: "We're on our own there. There are no documented cases of saintly possession." WARDEN: "What about saints and rapists?" FATHER JACOB: "Maria Goretti is the patron saint of rape victims. She was murdered resisting a rape just over a hundred years ago." WARDEN: "Was she a virgin?" FATHER JACOB: {Nods} "She was eleven." WARDEN: "Should we dig up some background on her and Cory, and see if there are any other connections?" FATHER JACOB: "Cory was 20 when he was put behind bars. Maria Goretti's assailant, Alessandro Serenelli was also 20. Both gave their victims the same choice: lose your virginity or die. But Serenelli repented in prison. He attended Holy Communion with the victim's mother, and he went to her canonization. But Cory has never even admitted his guilt." WARDEN: "Right. Well, that's what I'm saying. She takes over a guy who raped virgins; gets him raped {in prison} till he owns up." PRISON PRIEST: "Does that sound like God? That is Satan making a mockery of everything we stand for!" FATHER JACOB: "But if it is Maria Goretti, perhaps she's trying to get him to reconcile with his victims."This scene cries out for Rod Serling, to step from the shadows, look into the camera, and address the audience. "Three seemingly intelligent adults discuss the possibility that an 11- year-old rape victim, 100 years dead, has taken possession of a convicted rapist, to provoke his rape in prison, forcing him to reconcile with his victims. These three men do not yet realize that they're no longer in Kansas, or anywhere else on Planet Earth. They're in… The Twilight Zone." On the positive side, production values are high; the settings are appropriately atmospheric; and the cast performs heroically in the face of some really bad dialog. But none of this succeeds in elevating "Apparitions" above silliness. There is a point when Cardinal Bukovak, who is trying to rein in Father Jacob, says of him: "I'm not denying his charisma. Exorcists are full of it." With his last point, the Cardinal has taken the words out of my mouth.

msredsonia This is a 6 part series following Father Jacob, a somewhat maverick priest performing exorcisms against the wishes of his superiors, who believe it is an antiquated practice that brings the church into disrepute. The series develops as the episodes go on, with the introduction of his secretary, Sister Ruth who provides the role of the disapproving sceptic; and with interesting and unpredictable cases that Father Jacob becomes involved in. These are interwoven with the continuing story of Michael, an ex soldier who succumbs to demons. Throughout, the series explores the subject of faith and raises interesting questions, tackling some difficult subject matter without actually imposing any ideal on the viewer. I hope they make another series!