For those of you who reviewed this mini-series after only watching the first episode, it does get better. Otherwise, I agree with the general sentiment that that the first(*) episode is difficult to get through. Flat, simplistic dialog. Hammy, over the top acting. Williams-Paisley is dull and lifeless in that first episode and Cohen beyond obnoxious in his efforts to convey 'eager puppy'.
I can only assume early jitters as the series improves dramatically with the second episode. There are occasional, brief lapses when the dialog and acting falls through the floor. Perhaps these moments are the result of a rushed shooting schedule and on those days they simply couldn't take all the takes necessary to get it right. Fortunately those moments are brief and few.
No high art here but I did throughly enjoy this modern reinterpretation of the Grimm material. Casting is a bit lumpy but overall enjoyable. Williams-Paisley eventually settles down and delivers a genuinely heartfelt performance. Wiest is good but not nearly menacing enough. Hauer too could have shown more bite. Larroquette gives a passable performance though he has done much better, (_Camera Store_). O'Neill is far too much oaf and not enough snarl. The other three trolls, Lewis, O'Gorman and Birkett, are delightful and I loved their Ferengi inspired performance. The Prince is pretty forgettable either in human or dog form. Davis is wonderful as Acorn. However the tip of the hat goes to Cohen for giving a very enthusiastic performance as Wolf. He is almost nauseating in the first episode but eventually gets the balance right between human and canine.
Definitely worth a watch.
* - I'm counting episodes as they were originally presented; five 90 minutes episodes. Thus when I say first episode, I'm referring to 1.1 & 1.2 as presented here on IMDB.
I can only assume early jitters as the series improves dramatically with the second episode. There are occasional, brief lapses when the dialog and acting falls through the floor. Perhaps these moments are the result of a rushed shooting schedule and on those days they simply couldn't take all the takes necessary to get it right. Fortunately those moments are brief and few.
No high art here but I did throughly enjoy this modern reinterpretation of the Grimm material. Casting is a bit lumpy but overall enjoyable. Williams-Paisley eventually settles down and delivers a genuinely heartfelt performance. Wiest is good but not nearly menacing enough. Hauer too could have shown more bite. Larroquette gives a passable performance though he has done much better, (_Camera Store_). O'Neill is far too much oaf and not enough snarl. The other three trolls, Lewis, O'Gorman and Birkett, are delightful and I loved their Ferengi inspired performance. The Prince is pretty forgettable either in human or dog form. Davis is wonderful as Acorn. However the tip of the hat goes to Cohen for giving a very enthusiastic performance as Wolf. He is almost nauseating in the first episode but eventually gets the balance right between human and canine.
Definitely worth a watch.
* - I'm counting episodes as they were originally presented; five 90 minutes episodes. Thus when I say first episode, I'm referring to 1.1 & 1.2 as presented here on IMDB.