Popular reviews

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  Review by Kevin Nguyen 7

  I loved this. But also, I would rather die in a pandemic than spend the post-apocalypse with theater kids.

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  Review by Tim Daugherty ★★★★★ 11

  There was something refreshing and sincere about this production.

  It’s 10 hours blissfully free of sarcasm, snark and cleverness. There is no Ryan Reynolds or Will Ferrell. No Superheroes. No over-processed CGI, car chases, or endless streams of gun fire.

  There is drama and death, but it’s never exploitive. There are no good guys and bad guys, just people trying to stay alive and make connections.

  There is love, loss, and loneliness, but not in ways you expect. It doesn’t define anyone. People overcome.

  There was no attempt to sell me anything.

  I doubt there will be a season 2.

  Arts are respected.

  I loved it.

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  Review by Chris Evangelista ★★★★½

  “What message did you leave?”
  “That I’d be home soon.”

  Lovely, devastating stuff.

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  Review by Alycia ★★★★★ 4

  This is a Jeevan fan account now.

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  Review by Tom Prideaux ★★★★★ 3

  Guide for the recently completed viewers of Station Eleven: or, A Television Series About Aesthetes And The Apocalypse.

  Once one has endured Station Eleven; once one has adored its intimacy, has felt awed by its talent, has suffered its prophetic benevolence, one feels an exigency to scream its praises from the rooftops. Reactions will be ignorant. "Huh? A pandemic show? No, no, the last thing I need to watch..." One may feel defeated, the recommendations swamped by that nominal comparison to our world. Why are they letting themselves miss out on this? They would love this! At this point, friends and family may resemble prisoners of Plato's cave. One needn't worry, some people are not ready for their fiction to discuss a flu yet. Station Eleven is out there, waiting for them, adrift in a stranger's galaxy, and they will seek it out when they're ready; after the play.

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  Review by kevintporter ★★★★★ 5

  When production started back up post-pandemic, one popular attitude that calcified is that it would be a drag for entertainment to incorporate any elements of our endless reality so they shouldn’t. "We don't wanna hop off back-to-back zooms just to watch hot people run around in masks!" And aside from a stray Gray's Anatomy, most haven't! A lot of film and TV probably banked on the idea that COVID would be an unpleasant memory by the time post-production wrapped.

  But the result of which has been, for me, a very uncomfortable cultural liminal space to exist in as a viewer. Everyone on screen speaking to each other without distance or caution, every show soft-rebooted to a fantasy genre beyond disease,…

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  Review by ✨Angelica Jade Bastién🔮 ★★★★★ 4

  A remarkable argument about the nature of found families, the importance of art and collaboration in dark times, with a soulfulness and level of craft that is truly stunning. Gorgeous, poignant, and heart wrenching. I’m a bit biased since I had the pleasure of helming the official HBOMax podcast with showrunner, Patrick Somerville. You can check that out here. 

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  Review by Brent ★★½ 9

  I remember an article from a few years back that talked about how it’s getting harder and harder to tell if a TV show is good because the production values, acting and directing are getting so much better that they obscure when a show is actually underwritten. Station Eleven is the perfect example of this, as all the elements are top notch and yet the writing is inconsistent, occasionally lazy and sometimes incoherent. Character motivations are muddy (what does the Prophet actually want?* Why does anyone give a shit about Alex?) and the plotting is annoyingly convenient at times. The intended themes are strong, the design is beautiful but it ultimately feels empty.  

  *yes, yes, I know; the whole “let the past die, kill it if you have to” (great theme for 2022, btw) but what exactly is he doing? 

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  Review by Ethan Ethan ★★★★

  Kids read one book, thought it's the shit, and based their whole personality around it

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  Review by marsh boy ★★★★ 2

  Himesh Patel really said, "yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away"

  far more superior than Station Ten. love how it ties the saga together perfectly.

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  Review by Troy Thrace ★★★★★ 3

  Bummed to see there is a relative lack of buzz surrounding this. The series is an absolute fucking stunner thus far (up to episode 7). Improving on the (very good) book in almost every way; maintaining its wistful, meditative tone but bringing it to life with ever more complexity and nuance. It has an alluring off-kilter vibe too, reinforced by the sumptuous production design. The storytelling is steeped in a gorgeous hopefulness and a deep love for art as a means of living, beyond simple survival. It feels like a true original in the bloated dystopian field. I can't wait to see how the remaining episodes play out.

  A hearty recommendation if you are looking for a series to begin your new year art engagement off strong!

  EDIT: people who whinge about theatre kids are the new theatre kids x

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  Review by Terence Ang 洪偉凱 ★★★★ 1

  I remember damage, but art, film, television are my sanctuary, always have been, but most especially during this pandemic. So thank you to artists, creators, storytellers, because survival is insufficient.

  An amalgamation of two of my favorites shows, Lost and The Leftovers, in its intricate weaving of multiple character-centric stories using non-linear narratives that delves into some powerful timely and timeless themes of grief, loneliness, connection, moving on, and finding one's self and each other once again.