|
Post by temple01uk on Sept 30, 2017 8:30:36 GMT
Nice review....seem to remember lots of downloading during the Castle series, when Canada was an hour ahead we could almost watch it in sync with our US friends....minus the ad breaks of course!.
|
|
|
Post by jnorton45 on Sept 30, 2017 10:52:42 GMT
If you think it's been good so far, you have some very nice surprises coming. Absentia just gets better and better on all levels as it moves forward.
|
|
|
Post by temple01uk on Sept 30, 2017 11:00:03 GMT
Well, unless those last 4 episodes are somehow leaked it will be a while before they are broadcast on any of the European networks....a long impatient wait!.
|
|
|
Post by jnorton45 on Sept 30, 2017 11:09:41 GMT
True, true, but I'd bet that you'll be able to guess the villain in e7. Also a neat way to build buzz about the show on a low budget. Hate to wait, but I'll watch from the beginning all over again and buy the DVD's when they are available.
Great show on every level. Katic is as good an actor as there is in a role that is as good as it gets. Super reviews coming out of Spain and Portugal.
Still, should have been shot in Boston.
|
|
|
Post by temple01uk on Sept 30, 2017 11:32:20 GMT
Yes, definitely worth the DVD binge when it becomes available, in the mean time I'll just rewatch 1 - 6 a few more times.....excellent series so far.
|
|
|
Post by NYerBornnbred on Sept 30, 2017 17:05:13 GMT
The existence of this site, where anyone with an internet connection anywhere in the world can go to watch the first six episodes in English of the show in pristine HD without ads or the need to identify yourself in any way, shows you just how amateurish Sony's handling of this rollout has been. By the time the property shows up in the US, Canada, Australia, and UK it will be virtually worthless, and the excitement among fans will be long gone. I can't imagine what they were thinking, poisoning the most important markets that way - the show should have appeared first in the US (and Australia and UK), not last, and they shouldn't have signed any distribution deal that didn't guarantee that. And by the way, in case anyone is wondering, it is not illegal in the US to go to that site and watch the show on your computer via streaming. It's illegal to upload the show to the servers, it's illegal to download a copy to your computer, and it's illegal to stream it as a public performance (to a substantial number of people outside the normal family circle and its close acquaintances), but it is not illegal for you to stream it yourself. So, if the reason any of you are not watching is because you think it would be illegal, and you are in the US, you can have at it. The EU is now more complicated, since an April 2017 ruling by the European Union Court of Justice makes it possible that a copyright owner can sue you for streaming a pirated version of their property. Link to article about this
|
|
|
Post by jnorton45 on Sept 30, 2017 18:11:15 GMT
I sort of agree with you about the impact of the availability of those first 6 episodes on the commercial value of Absentia, but ...
Absentia is not a sharp and shiny production like the big networks in the US like to show. It's more a Broadchurch or The Tunnel. Actually it's a lot like those. Absentia has high production values, but is anything but glamorous - no hair porn for Stana, no fancy outfits to buy at your local boutique. Absentia does not match the expectations of US/Castle audiences. The show is very au curant European cop/thriller/mystery.
The script is very good. The director is first rate, but newish. The cast is a mix of old and new. As it turns out, very good and did a great job with the material. Stana is better at Emily than she has ever been at anything before. She is top of the heap good. She is Swank, Therone, Streep good. No shit.
You're Sony and you have an indie jewel. You didn't expect it. It's much, much better than you had hoped. It landed in your lap. It landed out of sync with the purchasing cycle of the big networks. How do you maximize it's value?
Who's the biggest market? Stana's following from Castle. But, Absentia is almost the anti-Castle. Absentia is dark, no humor, female driven. Not what the Castle fan base expects.
How does Sony create excitement around this valuable property? Some of the standard ways, but do it in Europe where they are more likely to expect a show with the look and feel of Absentia.
How do you keep Stana's US fan base happy? Assume a large number of them may not have a taste for a dark cop drama like Absentia. Put the first 6 episodes out on obscure streaming video sites and let her fans see the great work she is doing. Hold back the last 4 episodes so you don't give the big final twists away. Katic fans will rush to see the work not carrying too much about the truncated series. They'll be back to watch it all when it is released in the US. Best of all, they'll start the buzz in the States. Cheap. Not bad.
Sony might lose a bit of the shine off a US/UK/other English language release, but they get more back with the buzz off the not so pirated streamers.
Yes, I think the 6 episodes were released on purpose. A bit of a gamble, but one with big potential down the road. Expect Sony and the network they have lined up to do more with Absentia and Stana as time goes on. Much more.
|
|
|
Post by temple01uk on Sept 30, 2017 18:25:19 GMT
A very brief review from Elmundo
|
|
|
Post by NYerBornnbred on Sept 30, 2017 19:20:45 GMT
I sort of agree with you about the impact of the availability of those first 6 episodes on the commercial value of Absentia, but ... Absentia is not a sharp and shiny production like the big networks in the US like to show. It's more a Broadchurch or The Tunnel. Actually it's a lot like those. Absentia has high production values, but is anything but glamorous - no hair porn for Stana, no fancy outfits to buy at your local boutique. Absentia does not match the expectations of US/Castle audiences. The show is very au curant European cop/thriller/mystery. The script is very good. The director is first rate, but newish. The cast is a mix of old and new. As it turns out, very good and did a great job with the material. Stana is better at Emily than she has ever been at anything before. She is top of the heap good. She is Swank, Therone, Streep good. No shit. You're Sony and you have an indie jewel. You didn't expect it. It's much, much better than you had hoped. It landed in your lap. It landed out of sync with the purchasing cycle of the big networks. How do you maximize it's value? Who's the biggest market? Stana's following from Castle. But, Absentia is almost the anti-Castle. Absentia is dark, no humor, female driven. Not what the Castle fan base expects. How does Sony create excitement around this valuable property? Some of the standard ways, but do it in Europe where they are more likely to expect a show with the look and feel of Absentia. How do you keep Stana's US fan base happy? Assume a large number of them may not have a taste for a dark cop drama like Absentia. Put the first 6 episodes out on obscure streaming video sites and let her fans see the great work she is doing. Hold back the last 4 episodes so you don't give the big final twists away. Katic fans will rush to see the work not carrying too much about the truncated series. They'll be back to watch it all when it is released in the US. Best of all, they'll start the buzz in the States. Cheap. Not bad. Sony might lose a bit of the shine off a US/UK/other English language release, but they get more back with the buzz off the not so pirated streamers. Yes, I think the 6 episodes were released on purpose. A bit of a gamble, but one with big potential down the road. Expect Sony and the network they have lined up to do more with Absentia and Stana as time goes on. Much more. There's an old saying that says "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." I think the straightforward explanation of incompetence is vastly more likely that the Machiavellian scheme that you are suggesting. Everything that has happened from the beginning can be explained by one hypothesis - they don't know what they're doing. Sony Pictures Entertainment took a $1 billion writedown less than a year ago - why exactly should we think that they suddenly are so smart? Sony is a multi-billion dollar company - why the need to do things on the cheap? They own a digital streaming service (crackle), yet they refuse to put Absentia on it in the English-speaking countries, which would do everything you said much more simply - why? Stana has still provided absolutely no evidence in her entire career that she can open a show or movie to big numbers. That's what producers care about in a star. She is 39 years old, quite possibly closer to the end of her career as a leading lady than to the beginning of it, and most people have never heard of her. Absentia will not change that in the slightest.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2017 19:46:05 GMT
Maybe Stana doesn't care. She is very rich. She can do whatever she wants now. She is able to take projects that seem appealing to her. Maybe she is happy with her career. You're talking like 39 is ancient. Should she dig a hole and climb into it or what? She still has time to achieve a lot more.
|
|
|
Post by eeyore on Sept 30, 2017 19:58:23 GMT
Maybe Stana doesn't care. She is very rich. She can do whatever she wants now. She is able to take projects that seem appealing to her. Maybe she is happy with her career. You're talking like 39 is ancient. Should she dig a hole and climb into it or what? She still has time to achieve a lot more. Dame Judy Dench had had a fairly low key career until cast as the new M in Goldeneye projecting her into the big time when she was 61, since when she has been nominated for seven Oscars, winning one, eleven Golden Globes, winning two, and three Emmys. Stana is a spring chicken by comparison. LOL
|
|
|
Post by jnorton45 on Sept 30, 2017 20:00:07 GMT
I sort of agree with you about the impact of the availability of those first 6 episodes on the commercial value of Absentia, but ... Absentia is not a sharp and shiny production like the big networks in the US like to show. It's more a Broadchurch or The Tunnel. Actually it's a lot like those. Absentia has high production values, but is anything but glamorous - no hair porn for Stana, no fancy outfits to buy at your local boutique. Absentia does not match the expectations of US/Castle audiences. The show is very au curant European cop/thriller/mystery. The script is very good. The director is first rate, but newish. The cast is a mix of old and new. As it turns out, very good and did a great job with the material. Stana is better at Emily than she has ever been at anything before. She is top of the heap good. She is Swank, Therone, Streep good. No shit. You're Sony and you have an indie jewel. You didn't expect it. It's much, much better than you had hoped. It landed in your lap. It landed out of sync with the purchasing cycle of the big networks. How do you maximize it's value? Who's the biggest market? Stana's following from Castle. But, Absentia is almost the anti-Castle. Absentia is dark, no humor, female driven. Not what the Castle fan base expects. How does Sony create excitement around this valuable property? Some of the standard ways, but do it in Europe where they are more likely to expect a show with the look and feel of Absentia. How do you keep Stana's US fan base happy? Assume a large number of them may not have a taste for a dark cop drama like Absentia. Put the first 6 episodes out on obscure streaming video sites and let her fans see the great work she is doing. Hold back the last 4 episodes so you don't give the big final twists away. Katic fans will rush to see the work not carrying too much about the truncated series. They'll be back to watch it all when it is released in the US. Best of all, they'll start the buzz in the States. Cheap. Not bad. Sony might lose a bit of the shine off a US/UK/other English language release, but they get more back with the buzz off the not so pirated streamers. Yes, I think the 6 episodes were released on purpose. A bit of a gamble, but one with big potential down the road. Expect Sony and the network they have lined up to do more with Absentia and Stana as time goes on. Much more. There's an old saying that says "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." I think the straightforward explanation of incompetence is vastly more likely that the Machiavellian scheme that you are suggesting. Everything that has happened from the beginning can be explained by one hypothesis - they don't know what they're doing. Sony Pictures Entertainment took a $1 billion writedown less than a year ago - why exactly should we think that they suddenly are so smart? Sony is a multi-billion dollar company - why the need to do things on the cheap? They own a digital streaming service (crackle), yet they refuse to put Absentia on it in the English-speaking countries, which would do everything you said much more simply - why? Stana has still provided absolutely no evidence in her entire career that she can open a show or movie to big numbers. That's what producers care about in a star. She is 39 years old, quite possibly closer to the end of her career as a leading lady than to the beginning of it, and most people have never heard of her. Absentia will not change that in the slightest. The big reason I'd think zebras is that they lost $1 Billion by using horses. You're crazy to think that you get a different outcome if you keep doing the same thing all the time. Sony itself said that Absentia was an experiment, but not how so. Stana hinted that there were viewing opportunities, but she was not specific.
|
|
quasar
DEPUTY CHIEF INSPECTOR
Posts: 971
|
Post by quasar on Sept 30, 2017 20:03:35 GMT
The existence of this site, where anyone with an internet connection anywhere in the world can go to watch the first six episodes in English of the show in pristine HD without ads or the need to identify yourself in any way, shows you just how amateurish Sony's handling of this rollout has been. By the time the property shows up in the US, Canada, Australia, and UK it will be virtually worthless, and the excitement among fans will be long gone. I can't imagine what they were thinking, poisoning the most important markets that way - the show should have appeared first in the US (and Australia and UK), not last, and they shouldn't have signed any distribution deal that didn't guarantee that. And by the way, in case anyone is wondering, it is not illegal in the US to go to that site and watch the show on your computer via streaming. It's illegal to upload the show to the servers, it's illegal to download a copy to your computer, and it's illegal to stream it as a public performance (to a substantial number of people outside the normal family circle and its close acquaintances), but it is not illegal for you to stream it yourself. So, if the reason any of you are not watching is because you think it would be illegal, and you are in the US, you can have at it. The EU is now more complicated, since an April 2017 ruling by the European Union Court of Justice makes it possible that a copyright owner can sue you for streaming a pirated version of their property. Link to article about thisIt may not be illegal in the US to watch a pirated version of a show, but it's still unethical in my mind, tantamount to accepting stolen goods, supporting the initial illegal act. That's my view for me alone. I'm not judging what others decide. I'd rather wait for Absentia's release in the US to watch it, weekly episode by weekly episode if that's what it takes. As for Sony, despite their past financial problems and bad decisions, I figure they know what they're doing better than I with the product and conditions they face. Everything is hacked and pirated these days, so I'm not surprised that Absentia is available online. I can't see Sony releasing it to these illegal streaming services. I believe that would make them vulnerable to all sorts of contractual issues and lawsuits with the outlets that have paid to broadcast the show. I also don't think the illegal watching is so extensive beyond the very in-the-know Stana fans that it will have much impact on the legal airings. Is there any way to know how many people watch the series on these streaming sites?
|
|
quasar
DEPUTY CHIEF INSPECTOR
Posts: 971
|
Post by quasar on Sept 30, 2017 20:39:51 GMT
Maybe Stana doesn't care. She is very rich. She can do whatever she wants now. She is able to take projects that seem appealing to her. Maybe she is happy with her career. You're talking like 39 is ancient. Should she dig a hole and climb into it or what? She still has time to achieve a lot more. Dame Judy Dench had had a fairly low key career until cast as the new M in Goldeneye projecting her into the big time when she was 61, since when she has been nominated for seven Oscars, winning one, eleven Golden Globes, winning two, and three Emmys. Stana is a spring chicken by comparison. LOL Sorry, but I had to laugh at thinking that Dame Judi had a low-key career before she appeared in a James Bond film. You're correct, I'm sure, but I've admired and followed her career since long before that. I first took note of her in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1969) that also introduced me to Helen Mirren and Ian Richardson among others. Diana Riggs was the known name in that film for me at 19 having just come off her run in The Avengers on TV. Dench has done everything in her career - comedy, drama, sitcoms (I still rewatch episodes of As Time Goes By), TV movies, theater, film. Will be seeing her latest film next weekend, Victoria and Abdul. She's got three more in various production stages. Riggs, of course, is in Games of Thrones and Victoria (TV). Mirren is still at the top of her game and it's only recently that Maggie Smith slowed down. These British dames just keep going! Apologies for going off-topic. The mention of Stana and Judi in one post was too much for me! starspin
|
|
|
Post by NYerBornnbred on Sept 30, 2017 22:02:10 GMT
That's right, Stana is a big girl, and she doesn't need people jumping to her defense just because I dared to point out some simple facts about this show and her career. I was responding to what I think is a completely unrealistic hypothesis that the bizarre way this show has been released is part of some incredibly obscure and clever plan by Sony, and that in fact this is all indicative that they have big plans for it, and for her. All of the evidence says that Sony has simply mismanaged this, thereby blunting any impact that the show might have in the most important markets. When you've repeatedly failed in a business that doesn't make it more likely that you suddenly get it right, it makes it less likely; thinking otherwise is a wonderful example of the gambler's fallacy. And I agree 100% with quasar that under no circumstances would Sony deliberately release the show in this sort of underground way, as it would obviously be in complete violation of any distribution deals they've signed with anyone, including the one they've supposedly signed in the US that we've heard so much, and yet so little, about. If anyone in authority actually did that they would, and should, be fired immediately.
I said absolutely nothing about what Stana wants with her career, which neither I nor anyone here knows anything about. I was talking about what Sony in particular and producers in general want, and that is to make money. If Stana can't help them do that they'll find an actress who can.
|
|
|
Post by jnorton45 on Oct 1, 2017 15:49:20 GMT
If you always do what you've always done, then you always get what you always got. Sony lost over $1 Billion doing things the old way. Nobody will blame them for doing something "outside the box." In fact other people in the industry might just be more inclined to work with Sony if they do something, anything radically different, because Sony is addressing the root issue. What they have been doing for the past several years is not working. It's losing Sony money at a rapid clip. The people who keep preaching doing the same old thing should be fired. In a battle when things go pear shaped, doing something, anything is better than doing nothing.
The other thing of interest is that the first 6 episodes are still out in the open on a group of selected streamers. It's been 6 days. Nobody has made a move to shut this group down. Other people were shut down withing 24 hours. The episodes are in English without subtitles. Whatever plan they are following, outcome they are looking for, this release is authorized by Sony/AXN.
|
|
|
Post by sydauscaskettfan2412 on Oct 3, 2017 1:07:23 GMT
Again, I haven't seen any episodes, but in general I agree that these issues are common in European shows. American shows tend to walk you through things by the hand, whereas European ones can dump you out in the wilderness all by your lonesome. A prime example for me was the recent Prime Suspect prequel. I was totally lost in the first ep until after I watched the second and then re-watched both before the third. Same thing with Vera, which I've just recently started to watch from the beginning. It takes more time to get into the story and sort out characters than many of us are used to. Vera is a brilliant show, love the characters and cases.....another you might want to try if it comes around is a show called Shetland, a cop show set in some of the Scottish Islands but very much in the same vein as Vera and Prime Suspect. We have Shetland here. Its on our abc network (government owned). Ive never seen the show yet.
|
|
|
Post by jnorton45 on Oct 3, 2017 2:02:29 GMT
I liked Shetland.
|
|
|
Post by sydauscaskettfan2412 on Oct 5, 2017 1:38:49 GMT
|
|
|
Post by eeyore on Oct 7, 2017 10:33:01 GMT
Here's a reply to everyonesfriend about reviews.
Here's a Russian one posted on IMDb,
yakinolub.ru/amneziya-1-1.html
Google translation, which doesn't sound too complimentary, but the reviewer still rates the show 7/10, so maybe something is lost in translation.
It seems that there is nothing interesting and exciting in the synopsis, but I was waiting for this series. I did not even pay attention to the continuous nouveams in the roles. There are many newcomers ready to tear and throw with a test subject. So the series Amnesia has not yet become that bright beam that would have pierced the dark realm of mediocre shows from little-known personalities.
Amnesia series 1 season 1 series
Yes, there is a style and aggression in it, the director Oded Ruskin is not extinguishing, raising important topics, each of the characters has a dilemma in the language, or even one, does not hesitate to show brutal violence, blood is gushing, and abrasions and scars are realistic. But the authors fail the desire. Dramatic scenes that require delicacy and a subtle approach are fragmented, they are shown by clip-editing, and feelings and emotions are lost. But the topic with the return of the wife to the house to her husband, to the grown up child is a profound topic. You can build up so much pathos, so much volume in the characters to reveal. But no. Dramaturgy will wait.
Instead, they grab for the plot, for the detective leaving, and convulsively plot the story, layering one memory of the other, let loose Emily (Stan Katich) into the trip for their criminal cases. I understand that this is a genre product and it has its own rules, but having such trump cards in its sleeve, such a foundation for a psychological drama, it becomes insulting for history. Of course, the next series will still touch on uncomfortable questions, but at least part of it could still be picked up. And so, only attempts to sketch intrigue is more powerful, so that the spectator devoured curiosity, so that he would not wait for the continuation with emotion, but with emotions.
Amnesia series 1 season 1 series
As for the little-known actors, while they are coping with the images. Pleasant to the eye, open, intelligent artists with characters that evoke sympathy. Directing without frills. Cold even. But this is compensated by a dashing plot.
And a Dutch review, which Google still makes a hash of but comes across more positive,
meneervevie.com/series/absentia-eerste-afleveringen/
There is nothing lied, Absentia. Emily Byrne (Stana Katic, Castle) has a family home and sweet puppy who needs attention. I speak to Emily when I say she was not waiting for her abduction. Six years is long, joh! Bring her at least after a few days and say it was a joke. No, of course not: we all have to abandon our fat fingers from others. Certainly if they have not asked for it. Emily is finally liberated by her husband (formally seen). That's a god blessing, but a bleach for bleeding. Emily has lost 6 years of her life and 6 years of misery richer. Can I give you an unsolicited advice, Emily? Yes? Do you want to pay back the offender (s) with the same currency? And then with the most worthwhile currency. How do you ever get over here?
Whoever looks at Emily would never say immediately. This is such a traumatic experience that someone will never be the same again. She loses so much precious time with her family and even has to face eyes that her husband, Nick Durand (Patrick Heusinger) FBI agent, is the new woman. What is the protocol for a partner who is declared dead? How cuddly it sounds: life always goes on, with or without you. In Absentia, we see how Nick and Emily try to solve the mystery of her disappearances and how Emily tries to deal with her completely changed reality.
I have now seen three episodes of Absentia and I have to say it's worth it so far. However, it is not a series for the viewer who is not waiting for a dark drama series with a lot of personal harm. This is not a leisure television, say it. What struck me in advance is the role of Stana Katic. I always love watching television shows after playing for years in an American network. We often see one of these two things: they immediately re-install a series of network transmitters (network pays clearly better) or decide to choose a more challenging role. And ladies and gentlemen, those roles are mainly found in cable channels and streaming services. In general, the prizes are divided (especially in drama) and there is greater recognition / prestige. Stana is all right
Absentia banner Mr. Vevie
What Castle did never interest me. I have never seen an episode myself, but I know that Katic had a big role. Here she is good at plums like Emily Byrne. The pain and ruthlessness that the person must feel is good and it is also clearly the most interesting character. For now, I find family relationships (the triangular relationship and relationship with her son, who is now called "Mom") now Emily is more interesting than the search for her kidnapper. That's not all the way, I think. What becomes clear is that one is confident about this matter. When an agent comes too close to the rivers of uninspired people, characters in series like Absentia can expect evil. That was, of course, also the fate of Emily.
The voltage structure is solid and Absentia certainly takes the time to develop the (main) characters. The series wants us to be clear what kind of suffering has taken place here, and that the suffering has claimed its toll. That is what the series has been doing so far, despite doing nothing extraordinarily. After 6 years in captivity Emily is free, but she still feels caught. Certainly after being called as a suspect in her own case. If that's the main goal of her kidnapper, he's a sick papi. He has not eaten cheese of the concept of charity. We can therefore assume that Emily will take risks to prove her innocent. Well, beautiful: i'm all for it.
Have you seen the first episodes already? Then I have spoilers and other comments on the next page!
There's also a Spanish one, again suffers in translation,but I'm not sure if the reviewer counts as a proper critic.
elbuscadordeseries.wordpress.com/2017/09/28/absentia-un-trepidante-inicio-para-acabar-siendo-un-culebron/
About the reviewer
I recommend you in a simple way and without ties what I see. Just for the pleasure of telling what I liked and what I did not.
I've been a television producer for over 15 years, working on Movistar + and I'm enjoying myself as a madman from this golden era of the series.
About the show
I might like you if you liked: The Sinner
You can see it in: AXN
"An FBI agent is abducted and reappears 6 years later.
"It has an exciting start that promises a great story. But then her personal story is entered in the police plot: her husband has married and lives with another woman and the son he had does not remember her and rejects her as a mother. The series becomes a soap opera and loses strength. In addition, the actors are nothing of the other Thursday and the production is far from being of importance
|
|
|
Post by jnorton45 on Oct 7, 2017 14:53:37 GMT
Interesting ^^^^
A little convoluted in translation, but I got the drift and largely agree. One of the best comments is that "...it is not a series for the viewer who is not waiting for a dark drama series with a lot of personal harm. This is not a leisure television, say it. What struck me in advance is the role of Stana Katic... Stana is alright."
Absentia will not be for every taste. There are no laughs in Absentia only hard hitting drama, a fast pace and clues. There will be many Castle fans who will not like Absentia purely as a matter of taste. For those who liked The Tunnel, Broadchurch, Loch Ness and the like you will eat up Absentia with a spoon and ask for more.
And, Stana is as good as Hillary Swank, Meryl Streep and Charlize Theron were on their best days. Stana underplays the emotions and the action until Emily can't take it anymore then explodes into the best of badass Beckett. Her range is amazing. Can't imagine her doing this as a filler between Castle seasons.
|
|
|
Post by jnorton45 on Oct 7, 2017 14:58:59 GMT
I find this sort of amazing. That is why I think the first 6 episodes of Absentia were released free on streaming video as some lengthy promotion experiment. Those episodes have been and still are available on watchseries.do/series/absentia/season/1Can't imagine Sony letting this out like that in English without subtitles for almost 2 weeks now. If it wasn't part of the promotional plan Sony would have put a stop to this site day one, but the episodes are still out there for streaming.
|
|
|
Post by latte on Oct 8, 2017 8:58:53 GMT
I find this sort of amazing. That is why I think the first 6 episodes of Absentia were released free on streaming video as some lengthy promotion experiment. Those episodes have been and still are available on watchseries.do/series/absentia/season/1Can't imagine Sony letting this out like that in English without subtitles for almost 2 weeks now. If it wasn't part of the promotional plan Sony would have put a stop to this site day one, but the episodes are still out there for streaming. More than odd. I sense a deliberate strategy.
|
|
|
Post by sydauscaskettfan2412 on Oct 10, 2017 14:18:11 GMT
Here is a review that I found called The Case of Emily Byrne's Missing Time by deedeedee, Advertiser, Amazon:
Stana Katic's new thriller Absentia, premiered starting on 23rd September in several European countries to great success. It is one of the most watched television shows in countries like Soain and Portugal. Three episodes have aired and we are hankering for more.
This show is very diferent from other thrillers in television today where one story or one plot had been exhausted. It is not what you are used to seeing in crime shows or even procedurals. There is the mystery of the disappearance and appearance of Emily Byrne (Katic) and you will have to gues the why, the who, the how did this incident happen. Then there are new murders connected to the cases that Byrne had worked on before she went mising and was proclaimed dead. Then theres Byrne herself. With the trauma she suffered through the hands of her abductor, including having selective amnesia, it is difficult to discern if a part of her is "controlling" her without her knowledge or she is just being framed. There is a web of either truths or lies being laid out as to what really happened.
The flashbakcs dont help but it adds to the mystery.
Six years is definately a long time to be separated from your family and you can feel how hungry Emily is for hers. Unfortunately, her husband. Nick Durand (Patrick Heusinger) had remarried a caring lady, Alice (Cara Theobold), and her son Flynn (Patrick McAuley), knows the new wife as his mother. When Emily reappears, Nick brings her to his home to let her see her son. Young Flynn initially distances himself from Byrne and tells her that she made Alice and Nick fight, which never happens. In the third episode, she brings him karting and the boy enjoys it. He even asks her what happened whe she disappeared. But he gets into an accident when his kart crashes into emilys, which has stopped in the middle of the track. He is brought to the hospital with Alice also contacted. Here you can see how distressing it is to see how both mothers care so much for the boy - one who he came to know as his mother, and one who gave birth to him. It is difficult for both women to care so much because it is so much the past as it is the present. And caring also includes both their feelings for Nick.
Emily still loves her husband as much as Alice loves him. I understand if Alice feels threatened and jealous because of Emily's reappearance in their life. Who wouldnt? She has built a happy. content life, then Nick's past comes back, not to haunt, but to integrate with them.
Once of the more surprising revelations is Emilys family history which yoy will find out in the third episode when Jack (Neil Jackson) confronts her because of the stress she is seemingly putting everyone on.
Katic's brilliant internalisation of the role exceeds everything that she had done previously, including being Kate Beckett. The distress of suffering for six years is a tressful enough situaton as a viewer, but for the actor herself... its more specially if the whole series revolves around her. She has to be in that space, in Emily's mind, to be able to deliver it with authenticity and Stana certainly went into that "dark" area of the character's mind. In playing Beckett, you can somehow seee that there are Stana-isms in her. You cannot see that in Emily, All you will see is a broken, hurting, traumatised, character. You wont even be able to separate which is Stana and which is Emily. Its all about the character and Stana delivers.
The rest of the cast shones along with their lead actor. Theobolds Alice plays off well as the now-hurting wife and yet has to keep a straight face because of Nick's past with Emily. And both Jackson and Heusinger have great dynamic with Katic's character, both great anchors in holding up their loved one and yet, different takes on what happened. Ralph Ineson, who plays FBI Agent Adam Radford, certainly has that sinister look which makes you wonder if he can be involved in the disappearance. Well, he wasnt Amyeus Carrow for no reason (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Deathly Hallows Pts 1 and 2). The one to watch out for in terms of solving the case is Angel Bonanni's Tommy Gibbs, Boston PD. He is ambitious and annoying - remember the character Ellis Boyd of Smash? Gibbs is worse but you can see that he means well and is just carrying out his duties.
The series's closest companion is ITV's Broadchurch except for the fact that there is a piece missing in the puzzle and its not the suspect. That piece is the six years that Emily is gone. There lies the answer to everything that is happening and we sont be finding it out until the end. Until then, everyone surrounding our protagonist plays a part in the case of Emily's missing time.
Advertiser, Amazon
|
|
KB1L40
DEPUTY INSPECTOR
Posts: 467
|
Post by KB1L40 on Oct 11, 2017 11:58:33 GMT
Syd - thanks soo much for posting that review by deedeedee. Now that's my kinda review. Tells you what you need to know without telling you what you may want to know! I will also find it interesting if what was said about it being one of the most watched and a great success in the countries which have so far screened it being proven to be true.
B. :-)
|
|
|
Post by sydauscaskettfan2412 on Oct 11, 2017 13:34:15 GMT
Syd - thanks soo much for posting that review by deedeedee. Now that's my kinda review. Tells you what you need to know without telling you what you may want to know! I will also find it interesting if what was said about it being one of the most watched and a great success in the countries which have so far screened it being proven to be true. B. :-) I thought that bit re the show being one of the most watched and a great success in the countries shown, was also interesting, plus another indictment of how good Stana is in the show. Maybe now the US will be finally able to show it - if they have it, or ask/negotiate to get it.
|
|
|
Post by sydauscaskettfan2412 on Oct 13, 2017 12:42:57 GMT
Ive seen various parts of eps 2-6 on youtube,(ie 2-4 minutes each scene), and Im wondering re a scene I saw between FBI boss? and Jack, if whether they are in cahoots together? Im probably wrong. Just putting it out there.
|
|
|
Post by temple01uk on Oct 13, 2017 13:44:26 GMT
Sadly neither of those seems to be a candidate for the bad guy/girl....I had both listed at one time.
|
|
|
Post by sydauscaskettfan2412 on Oct 13, 2017 14:28:30 GMT
many thanks for the info. Much appreciated.
|
|
|
Post by latte on Oct 17, 2017 20:41:37 GMT
|
|