keelhaul-80856
I was excited to hear about this show when it first came out. A buddy of mine said he couldn't put his finger on it, but the show just didn't do much for him. Well, here I am, finally checking it out online. I love medieval and ancient epics, and history in general, and I figured I would be more likely to enjoy this show than my friend.Well...the first 15 mins. or so of the pilot had me like, WTF??? Kurt Sutter is talented, but I wonder if this will be something he can pull off successfully.The first 15 mins.= A guy is in a dream or supernatural moment on a battlefield, being told he is going to live another life by some (Indian?)(angel?) girl. The intro. music is so soft and boring and forgettable, that it bewildered me as to why they used it for such a dark and threatening period.Then, I recognize that Sutter has cast his gf or wife, Katy Sagel, as an old witch Slavic woman or something??? LOL. I love some Katy Sagel, but this part is just ridiculous, and the casting for her and other character feels cheaply done. I guess Kurt just wanted to throw her in somewhere, with a more serious role besides her usual bad ass Milf role, and she wanted to play a witch lady with an accent and gray hair??? Then, the lord of the land is straining to take a s%%t while some servant dude wipes his butt??? These scenes just seem idiotic to me, as if to say, we want to be gritty and crude, for the sake of doing so. It was contrived and stupid in my opinion, and I don't shy away from gore and vulgarity-- trust me.Everything in this piece looks like a Renaissance fair getaway with your nerdy friends from work for the weekend. To my chagrin, it lacks authenticity in many ways, and none of the female characters are very charming or attractive, either. If you are going to have handsome guys, magical reincarnations, dreams, people taking dumps while talking to their workers, etc. can't we have some eye candy as well? The whole thing feels disjointed to me, and very rehashed and stale. Nothing was amazingly fresh or exciting, and they seem to be going through the motions, instead of drawing you into the period of 1300s Wales, and a unique story worth telling. I love this genre, but if it fails to even interest me thus far, I imagine a bleak future for the show with larger audiences.Granted, I didn't even finish the pilot(I went to bed with a few mins. left to go), and I am still going to give this a chance. It isn't terrible, but there is too much cheese and nepotism and mediocrity in the first episode. I am going to expect a lot more in the next couple of installments, or I think this bastard will be executed prematurely...
Mattias Petersson
I see this show as proof of how much the bar has been raised in television over the last ten years. I am sure that this show would have been seen as edgy and cool a decade ago, but today it feels distinctly mediocre.The Bastad Executioner has a few major flaws which mostly emanate from the writing. First of all, it's difficult to really feel any sympathy for any of the characters, they feel very thin. Even though horrible things happen to them, I can't really be made to care. Also, this show has a staggering amount of very brutal violence. In my experience, violence and sex is often used to distract from poor writing, and this is a good example.Acting is fair, although the main character has the charisma of a glass of water. With a strong lead, some of the weaknesses might have been alleviated. Stephen Moyer seems to have fun, but mostly the field is quite weak. I don't usually mind Katey Sagal, but she is awful here with her forced eastern accent.In the end, this show is very forgettable (except perhaps to those sensitive to violence) and honestly you can probably find a dozen shows more worthy of your time right now.
jamesready
Like all first series you can only judge it when it finishes The Bastard Executioner was a slow burner without the big budget special effects that the public audience seem to want these days but I really enjoyed it. It was paced perfectly for the next series I do hope the rumors are not true that it's being canceled because the acting was great and the build up and final scene between Lady Love and Wilkin Brattle was very touching,Steven Moyer as Milus Corbett was excellent. Good all round Character acting building something different real shame if it disappears off our screens this had the grounding to be a proper sleeping giant if it had been given a bigger cash injection. Best opening soundtrack out there real nice song by Ed Sheeran
cinder-66882
OK, I have never watched Sons of Anarchy. I did not first tune into The Bastard Executioner on episode. One late night, I heard the opening song and this got me to check out the show.The show started off a little slow and confusing as to content, but now, our entire family looks forward to watching. It is enjoying to see the characters have matured, the storyline is something to enjoy, the rough times are shown which might upset some viewers. It is great seeing actors and actresses never seen before, paired as they are.It does bother me to see the comments about the show. I do not rate the director, writer, or ?? for a show. I watch the shows season and then decide. Too many people rated it a "1" after the first episode. Too quick to send a good show to the trash pile.FX needs to give this show more than 10 episodes ... it deserves more.