I knew even before watching the show that there would be people who would be sitting down with a pen and notebook ready to nitpick and complain that this show was either ripping off Lost, or not enough like it. In almost every review here and most places people mention Lost. As I said these people are in a jungle, and there are strange, supernatural, and horrific things that go on there, in the first half it's something that makes a loud noise along with a voice behind it and people are crying "Black smoke monster!" The thing is neither black, smoke, or even a monster. after that the similarities with Lost end.
For example the supernatural elements in The River are based on real myths and legends of the Amazon. The dolls hanging in the trees was/is something the natives did to keep away evil spirits. And whatever the name of the thing was in the first half is also based on actual mythology. Now the supernatural elements in Lost were are completely original to the show. The Mythology of Lost was all made up by the producers and writers of the show.
Now as for the non Lost stuff, the show is shot in documentary style ala paranormal activity mixed with any other nature documentary ever made, with only SOMETIMES shaky camera work. In fact the majority of the camera work is like watching a DOCUMENTARY, when we aren't seeing a POV from someone holding a camera it's from a camera mounted or on a tripod or something. After all one of the show's creators is the director of the PA movies, and yet people seem surprised and even insulted by this!
Oh yes and to Mark Pittam who complained in his review that the missing boat they find had modern equipment. The boat had only been missing for SIX MONTHS, not since the 80's so pay attention next time. And to the person who gave a bad review because it was all unknown actors, Really?
Anyway The River is absolutely a truly fantastic and original show. It is not like anything that has been done as a TV show before. I suppose the name of the genre of movies like PA, Blair Witch etc is called "found footage" which really doesn't make much sense because that idea only applied to BW and Cloverfield. Nobody found the footage buried somewhere in the PA movies or The River but I digress. There have been plenty of movies like that but this is the first attempt at a TV show and I think it works better than most of those movies. The camera work even when shaky with people running is of higher quality and even the stuff that's supposed to be difficult to see is easier than the movies.
The plot starts out simple, the host of a popular nature documentary show, Dr Emmett Cole, went missing in the Amazon along with his cameraman and some other crew members on his boat "The Magus" Six months later a beacon or some kind of GPS goes off and Cole's wife convinces her estranged son to come with her to look for him. Along with them comes the show's producer, a shady "bodygaurd" with an arsenal, the boat's pilot and his teenage daughter, and some new camera people crew and and together they, well I don't think sail is the word but take off on their own boats down the Amazon river. Throughout the show we get some back story and some flashbacks about the Coles, and warnings from the daughter of the pilot. It's not very long into the first half of the show when they find "The Magus" and the beacon itself, but the boat is deserted. Then things really start to get creepy, watch this show with the lights turned off and the sound turned up and you will feel like you are watching a movie. From dragonflies, to dark spirits, to possessions, to communication through magic, to a tree with creepy dolls that should not be F'd with, and all that in the first two episodes. The River is a journey into The heart of darkness, the line that works that has been used before to describe this show would be "There are some places that we are not meant to go, oh yeah and don't f@#$ with things you don't understand
For example the supernatural elements in The River are based on real myths and legends of the Amazon. The dolls hanging in the trees was/is something the natives did to keep away evil spirits. And whatever the name of the thing was in the first half is also based on actual mythology. Now the supernatural elements in Lost were are completely original to the show. The Mythology of Lost was all made up by the producers and writers of the show.
Now as for the non Lost stuff, the show is shot in documentary style ala paranormal activity mixed with any other nature documentary ever made, with only SOMETIMES shaky camera work. In fact the majority of the camera work is like watching a DOCUMENTARY, when we aren't seeing a POV from someone holding a camera it's from a camera mounted or on a tripod or something. After all one of the show's creators is the director of the PA movies, and yet people seem surprised and even insulted by this!
Oh yes and to Mark Pittam who complained in his review that the missing boat they find had modern equipment. The boat had only been missing for SIX MONTHS, not since the 80's so pay attention next time. And to the person who gave a bad review because it was all unknown actors, Really?
Anyway The River is absolutely a truly fantastic and original show. It is not like anything that has been done as a TV show before. I suppose the name of the genre of movies like PA, Blair Witch etc is called "found footage" which really doesn't make much sense because that idea only applied to BW and Cloverfield. Nobody found the footage buried somewhere in the PA movies or The River but I digress. There have been plenty of movies like that but this is the first attempt at a TV show and I think it works better than most of those movies. The camera work even when shaky with people running is of higher quality and even the stuff that's supposed to be difficult to see is easier than the movies.
The plot starts out simple, the host of a popular nature documentary show, Dr Emmett Cole, went missing in the Amazon along with his cameraman and some other crew members on his boat "The Magus" Six months later a beacon or some kind of GPS goes off and Cole's wife convinces her estranged son to come with her to look for him. Along with them comes the show's producer, a shady "bodygaurd" with an arsenal, the boat's pilot and his teenage daughter, and some new camera people crew and and together they, well I don't think sail is the word but take off on their own boats down the Amazon river. Throughout the show we get some back story and some flashbacks about the Coles, and warnings from the daughter of the pilot. It's not very long into the first half of the show when they find "The Magus" and the beacon itself, but the boat is deserted. Then things really start to get creepy, watch this show with the lights turned off and the sound turned up and you will feel like you are watching a movie. From dragonflies, to dark spirits, to possessions, to communication through magic, to a tree with creepy dolls that should not be F'd with, and all that in the first two episodes. The River is a journey into The heart of darkness, the line that works that has been used before to describe this show would be "There are some places that we are not meant to go, oh yeah and don't f@#$ with things you don't understand