द क्राउडेड रूम

The first few episodes slowly hooked me. Cleverly constructed with many time warps, relying on the audience to work things out.

Of course the "based on" credit is something of a spoiler, but I tried to ignore it. Then in episodes 5 and 6 it became great.

Seeing one of America's greatest screen actresses performing in the background (on a TV), really woke me up. Then I knew why Holland wanted the role. It was a similar part that gave Joanne Woodward her Oscar, and this one could be an Emmy for Holland.

Now he showed his acting chops. Not in-your-face, but subtly. And at last I was genuinley moved, as opposed to fascinated, coming close to tears.

So glad I gave it a chance, and stayed with it.

Never really thought of Tom Holland as an actor since, Billy Elliot. But, boy oh boy was this a good role for him to flex those dramatic muscles. The story line is really good. The undermining sense of revolt, disgust. Hoping you are wrong, but knowing you are not. Holland plays the victim with such ease, you are pulled into his struggle and route for him. The true horrid nature of school bullies, how they seem to sense a person who is going through difficulties, then pounce on them as well. The chap from Israel, is fantastic as He is in everything I've seen him in. I can not wait for the next episode. There are some brutal scenes, but the friend coming back to save him was such a sense of relief. I just hope they do not do the usual of making an ending miserable just to flow in line with most series endings these days.

Would I recommend this so far, definitely.

I just started this and it looks like it's going to be really good. But ... When I was a kid , my mom took me to see Grease. She was extremely annoyed having grown up in the 50s , that the dialogue being used and how they acted was not accurate to what she remembered in the 50s. Of course back then, I was thinking " Geez mom, you're so old. Lighten up!" Now I get it. There are so many shows I have watched recently that are set in the 90s ,80s or 70s. Yet they are using dialogue that didn't exist or the teenagers are behaving like kids do now, not necessarily as they did in the 70s. Use of the word "literally " literally just became popular in the last few years. The word "dude " wasn't an east coast term. I know this because I grew up in California and when I went to live on the east coast in the early nineties, people were fascinated that we called people " dude" . I got made fun of for being a typical Californian . If they wanted to really be authentic, they would only have needed to watch the Brady Bunch. Or another show popular in the 70s. Other than that being a pet peeve of mine. This looks like it's going to be a great show.

This show is so captivating. It has the perfect amount of suspense, mystery, and drama. The acting is absolutely stellar and Tom really delivers. The setting is a little slow at first but it starts getting darker, and more disturbing with the further unraveling of Danny's childhood. I also like the message behind how childhood trauma will psychologically impact people through their adulthood. We do not have enough media representing the horrors of what some children have to endure-and how negatively it affects them. Things like this will help spread more awareness- but in a manner which tells a story. Again, Tom's acting is so good, he is definitely one of the most talented actors we have ever had.

This was surprisingly good series. Great levels of drama and mystery and the pacing is perfect. Each piece of new information is provided at the perfect time to keep the viewer engaged and build up more mystery and drama. And the pieces fit like a perfect puzzle. The character's trauma is exposed step by step and it makes the viewer sympathize with a criminal, despite the crime.

But one of the strange failings of the series, one which jumped at me because other Apple series approach the same way, is a strange "sin of the past washing". They put a lot of African-American (or women, or minorities in general) characters in positions of power (judges, prosecutors) which was certainly not the case at the time (late 1970s). The show that caught my eye with the same was For All Mankind and I can't unsee it now. Washing the past makes in various series, present one included, makes it look like some people were far more accepted at the time than they really were, and it makes newer generations believe that.