TesaRants Reviews

Rake (2010–2018)

Great people can be dysfunctional

[9/10 · 5 September 2012]

This TV series tries not to lecture too much in order to recognize that people who are good at their jobs can have many other flaws. In other words, this series is very engaging because it has characters who are not wooden or black and white. Most characters in the show are somewhat dysfunctional and yet they have decent core values. And the most dysfunction is the main character who happens to be an excellent lawyer dealing with very difficult to defend cases or sometimes guilty people.

The acting and the dialog is superb. Every single episode that I have seen has been well written and that is not always the case even for many great TV shows. This show also manages to incorporate comedy, drama and suspense very well.

I love it and I wish that there were more episodes.

Justified (2010–2015)

The dialog and unique atmosphere makes this series

[9/10 · 16 July 2012]

When I first started watching this series, it appeared as though it was slow but in reality a lot happens in each episode and the attention and focus of series is on dialog and character construction which is excellent. The dialog and script construction is the strength of the series and some of it is of incredible quality for a TV series of this kind.

Whoever put the scripts together is not creating black and white characters even when they do very evil things and the life that created those characters is typically investigated.

There is distinct image of southern atmosphere that is presented here that also makes the series unique.

The acting is superb and I thinks that is because the dialog is superb and makes sense.

I have thoroughly enjoyed watching this series. To those that are starting to watch it and find it slow, I suggest that they watch a few episodes to get acclimated with the atmosphere.

ReGenesis (2004–2008)

Impressive amount of real science combined with a great story line

[9/10 · 11 July 2012]

I am a fan of SciFi and have a hard time finding new material to watch and it was pretty hard to find this one.

I watched this series in 2012, few years after it was completed and I still found the bio-tech and other science content incredible and impressive for a fictional story. I don't believe that I have ever seen any fictional series or a movie with this amount of scientific content. Not that all the scenarios are plausible in reality but highly entertaining what-ifs in there. Kudos to whoever has wrote the scripts and I have been wondering if there a real scientist that wrote this.

There are multiple ongoing stories in each episode and one typically concludes while the larger theme continues.

The character development is excellent and the series is not shy to present main characters that mismanage ethical dilemma associated with their professions.

I have to say that I liked the editing of episodes too, there is rewinding trick that is used to show two simultaneous events that is quite interesting.

I miss this show.

American Body Shop (2007)

A hilarious dysfunctional body shop

[9/10 · 6 July 2012]

It is a hilarious show that died prematurely. The show is similar to Taxi with similar colorful characters. The situations are put together masterfully and the acting is superb.

The stories revolve around a dysfunctional body shop that has to survive by getting new work even if it is by chasing ambulances and things like that and the master mechanic in the show is somewhat of a genius that does not quite produce the outcomes expected.

The show has a number of dysfunctional men that try to fix things but rarely succeed as they become victims of unanticipated accidents.

It would have been a classic if more people would have seen it.

Wilfred (2011–2014)

Anarchy wins the day

[10/10 · 6 July 2012]

The stories in the show hover around how self-sabotage, anarchy and being more self centered, can save people who are highly inhibited-self-destructive by being ultra-nice, sort of. The dog brings out the anarchist in the main character(Rayan) who learns that even worse case of self-sabotage is not going to destroy him as he gets engaged into taking chances.

One wonders whether the talking dog is real or product of Rayan's imagination like Harvey at times but the external events show that the dog has to be real somehow.

It reminds me of a children book ''Mush, a Dog from Space'' where a talking dog from space helps the kid to cope with his life.

The acting is superb and the series has the right touch in every aspect.

The Invisible Man (2000–2002)

light and funny, packed with sharp dialog

[8/10 · 5 July 2012]

I watched this series about a decade after it was made, and I still liked it. I suspect that series like this got canceled in the post 911 era where subjects for crime series become heavier .

The actor that plays the of I-man does an incredible job creating an invisible man that is believable given his background. The side kicks are also fantastic.

This show has some similarities with Chuck in terms of both the humor and scripts.

Some of pseudo science content of the scripts makes you laugh just thinking about it.

What makes the show is the dialog between I-man and his sidekick.

Supernatural (2005–2020)

pop culture + classics + horror + triller + SciFi = supernatural

[9/10 · 30 June 2012]

I had to write a review because I have truly enjoyed watching this series.

I must say that after watching the first episode only half way, I was never going to watch it because I don't believe in supernatural events and spirits and all that jazz but somehow the second one had me hooked because I enjoyed character development in the show.

What I have followed is a series that is extremely well written using witty dialog that incorporates the pop culture and sci-fi vocabulary such as alternate-universe, angels, vampires, shape-shifters, clones, spirits, hell, heaven, immortality as well as more earthly issues like corporate power, politics and overeating and more using wit and humor.

The series does not take itself seriously but somehow manages to incorporate action and a trilling stories that make you care about the characters.

The series uses many movie and TV classics as inspiration for various episodes but with a different twist while incorporates current pop-culture.

What I find most interesting is the series take on angels, prophets, demons and monster that parallel corporate culture as well as world of fiction itself.

Farscape (1999–2003)

The most entertaining SciFi I have seen

[10/10 · 14 June 2012]

I consider this show to be the most entertaining SciFi series that I have seen. The acting is superb. The plots are highly engaging and character development is excellent.

The tension between the lead characters is what makes this show and the SciFi background is secondary. The cinematography is as good as it can be. Obviously they have spent a lot of money on the sets.

I think the show would have had a potential for a much longer run and terminated prematurely.

The finale has more visual effects but I prefer the basic one.

Even if you are not fan of SciFi, give it a shot.

True Blood (2008–2014)

I like it but don't love it

[7/10 · 14 June 2012]

The show is highly unconventional and I love the theme song and the intro even better than the show itself. The acting is excellent however the dialog sounds forced to me. May be it is because the story is so wild and crazy and stylized.

I am surprised that it is so popular and I think that is because it has a lot of sex and nudity.

I have been following it and the main love stories are engaging but I can not say that I love the show. I like to see what will happen but I sometimes get tired of waiting and watching so much killings.

The characters flip from nice to evil and vice versa and that is somehow very entertaining .

Breaking Bad (2008–2013)

It is all about consequences of breaking bad

[10/10 · 14 June 2012]

I love this series and it is true to it is title. It is about a good man that breaking bad by just trying to be helping his family. It does make you see that breaking bad is one step at a time thing and sometimes it may start with good intentions.

I must say that I have been watching the recorded version of the show for the most part and that I had to fast-forward over some gruesome parts in order to enable myself to follow it after avoiding for a long time.

The acting is superb. The plots are highly inventive. The dialog is well written.

I don't think that it could have been done any better this.

What I find that is hard to believe, is that I am watching it. Only this year after watching this series I have been able to watch gruesome crime shows which I have avoided most of my life.

Now I am catching up on TV crime shows and having watched a few, this is the best one of the lot and highly unique.

Mad Men (2007–2015)

My favorite series of all times

[10/10 · 14 June 2012]

This is probably the best TV series that I have seen in my life. As far as I am concerned there are no flaws with this show so I consider it a masterpiece.

The choice of subject for this period piece is excellent and it basically defines American essences of the period and how advertising is the heart of the American vision of themselves.

The choice of characters is excellent. The acting is superb. The scripts are highly original and extremely well written and so are the direction and cinematography.

The interaction between politics of the era, wars, media and advertising is investigated with just the right touch.

Love it

Prison Break (2005–2017)

A great triller for a TV series

[9/10 · 14 June 2012]

It is a great TV series and well worth watching and highly addictive as each episode ends with a cliff hanger.

The series is extremely well casted and it is highly inventive in terms of plot lines. Most characters are very colorful and mostly unpredictable which makes for a lot of guessing.

The only negative is amount of unlikely amount of killings that takes place during the duration of the series. The level of brutality are sometimes hard to be justified for means.

I liked all the seasons and I believe the writers maneuvered the script really well to make it run for as long as it did.

I enjoyed it a lot and I would have even given it higher marks if there was less gratuitous violence but of course for that objective, the scripts have to be way more complex which are even harder to implement.

Keen Eddie (2003–2004)

Highly recommended

[9/10 · 13 June 2012]

I found this series by accident when looking for a new action series to watch and I was totally surprised how good it was although short lived.

The choice of actors and quality of acting is great. The writing is fantastic and far fresher than much newer shows. The editing and choice of music are superb. A great director/creator put this together for sure.

I can't believe that they had canceled it. I loved it but had a hard time finding the episodes.

The stories are not very big but they are sharp and edgier than usual and surprises are introduced that add dept and humor.