Mindhunter 7/10 A semi-historical, stylish noir about the origins of the FBI behavioral sciences unit and criminal profiling. Overall great show, but one of the worst pilot episodes I've ever seen. Slow pacing, boring psych babble, dull interaction, long tedious scenes between characters/actors with zero chemistry. The main actor is really bad, he talks like Andy Sandburg doing a Mark Whalburg impression the whole time. It took me multiple attempts to finish episode 1 with no intention of watching the season. But... I wasn't able to find anything better to watch so I let episode 2 run in the background. The show picked up fast once the interviews with the serial killers started. Sounds fucked up but the murderous interviewees make this show. Ed Kempler, the character and actor, saved this from a thumbs down and DNF. There is something intriguing about real-life serial killers talking about why they do the fucked up shit they do. For a show as hyped as this the pilot should've been a lot better. Overall season 1 delivers.
I think its pretty good. Not quite season 1 of true detective, but slow burner with good insights. Enjoying it
The pilot of this show is so boring. I really like the concept of the show. But man I've made several attempts to watch that pilot and it feels like it's four hours long. The main guy is so dull, awkward, and robotic. It's like they took an NPC from a Bethesda game, put him in a suit, and made him the main character.
I've watched the first 4 episodes. Very enjoyable. There are a few parts that kind of seems rush but it's not too bad. I'll watch the whole season.
I docked a full point because the lead and his girlfriend are terrible actors. They almost seem like good actors acting like bad actors... a whole new sub category of bad acting.
I can't tell if the main guy and his girlfriend are like that intentionally as part of their roles, or if they are just bad actors. This show would be a 9/10 IMO otherwise, but I had to knock it down because of those two and the bad pilot. The wisecracking old guy partner and the serial killers are what make this show. I'd also add that I'm not a big fan of the lesbian psychologist character. The real woman she's based on wasn't a lesbian. Her social justice rant about trannies seems very out of place for the time period where being transgender was still considered a mental illness. Just seems like an attempt to retcon SJW and LGBT stuff into a time period where it doesn't really fit.
As good as it is, it's also easy to make fun of. For instance I'm starting to get a little annoyed by "the glance". That's when the frame freezes on two people as they either glance at each other or don't glance at each other but want to. It's like the producers way of saying, pay attentions audience! Some minor but important detail just happened. Like you said, the main actor is either bad at acting or they told him to act like a 16 year old Michael Cera from Arrested Development. The old guy is the best but I get the feeling they're forcing some kind of story out of him rather than letting it happen. I don't really have an issue with the girl friend actor. One other thing that bugs me is the condition of the cars. I love how they got all the old 70s beaters in the show but most of them look too good. There is one scene in the airport where every single car in the shot is in mint condition, polished and spotless. They basically rolled these things out of storage in showroom condition and didn't weather them for realism. There was also one scene where the main actor takes a big drag from his cigarette and exhales but there isn't any smoke.
The actor on this show who played Ed Kemper absolutely nailed the performance. He sounds just like him.