I've watched every episode of 'Chronicles of Syntax'. I watched each installment straight after it was released, you might even say fanatically. But not because I'm a fan of the series. I didn't even particularly enjoy them. The reason I keep watching COS is because I really, really, really WANT it to be good. The series has a ridiculous amount of potential, but none of it was realised in season one.
I'll start with the good, the most obvious of which are the production values; for a web-series funded by donations, 'Chronicles of Syntax' looks great. The visual effects are seamless, the sets are well-done and any series that can show a girl realistically throwing fireballs deserves some credit. There are a few hiccups with the sound and dubbing, but they are few and far between, and the soundtrack adds the right amount of emotion for the most part. The acting is surprisingly bearable; sure, cringe-worthy moments are pretty common, but for amateur actors they fulfill their roles with remarkable professionalism. The overall premise of the series is also compelling, which will most likely be unfolded more in season two; I'm actually looking forward to how they portray the apocalyptic wasteland.
The weak points of the series, however, lie almost completely in the writing and characters. All six episodes of season one revolved around finding new members for the Fallen Angel Network- fair enough- but there wasn't a single episode that slowed down enough to explain anything that was going on. The supposed 'apocalypse' was teased at the end of episode two then vaguely mentioned afterwards like it was an upcoming football game. The lack of explanation for absolutely everything is maddening.
Continuity is also regularly thrown out the window. It is explicitly stated in the first episode that Sian has the strength of ten men, yet not once in all six episodes is she seen performing any feat of strength. Perhaps worst of all, Liza emphatically refuses to join the team at the end of her episode...then just magically appears as a member without explanation next time we see her. On a related note, character development is practically zero- once someone joins the team, they're reduced to a prop spouting the occasional line in the background, and the main team of bad guys can literally summed up with 'the nasty one', 'the blonde nasty one', 'the cyborg' and 'the girl who can inexplicably throw fire'. We know precious little more about the main characters. How did Liza learn to fight? No idea. How does Zane settle in to the team? Apparently we don't need to know. Random, unexplained cyborgs and mutant priests? No explanation needed- the viewer can figure it out. Even the series finale had no payoff or answers, only serving to raise more questions and - as if we needed more- add another character to the underdeveloped main cast. Plus the 'cliffhanger' was sort of laughable (look, a person on the screen who is not the other person who was on the screen! This is shocking somehow!)
That said, I genuinely believe COS is set up to become a great series. Episode three was easily the best of season one, with Tara Muir giving a standout performance as Helen, and Victoria Hopkins dominates every scene as main villain 'The Lady' (with an Aussie accent, no less. Who knew it could be done?). The ingredients are all in place for a killer sci-fi series; the writers just need to hold the fight scenes for a minute or two to actually realise it. And please, get Liza out of that wig.
I'll start with the good, the most obvious of which are the production values; for a web-series funded by donations, 'Chronicles of Syntax' looks great. The visual effects are seamless, the sets are well-done and any series that can show a girl realistically throwing fireballs deserves some credit. There are a few hiccups with the sound and dubbing, but they are few and far between, and the soundtrack adds the right amount of emotion for the most part. The acting is surprisingly bearable; sure, cringe-worthy moments are pretty common, but for amateur actors they fulfill their roles with remarkable professionalism. The overall premise of the series is also compelling, which will most likely be unfolded more in season two; I'm actually looking forward to how they portray the apocalyptic wasteland.
The weak points of the series, however, lie almost completely in the writing and characters. All six episodes of season one revolved around finding new members for the Fallen Angel Network- fair enough- but there wasn't a single episode that slowed down enough to explain anything that was going on. The supposed 'apocalypse' was teased at the end of episode two then vaguely mentioned afterwards like it was an upcoming football game. The lack of explanation for absolutely everything is maddening.
Continuity is also regularly thrown out the window. It is explicitly stated in the first episode that Sian has the strength of ten men, yet not once in all six episodes is she seen performing any feat of strength. Perhaps worst of all, Liza emphatically refuses to join the team at the end of her episode...then just magically appears as a member without explanation next time we see her. On a related note, character development is practically zero- once someone joins the team, they're reduced to a prop spouting the occasional line in the background, and the main team of bad guys can literally summed up with 'the nasty one', 'the blonde nasty one', 'the cyborg' and 'the girl who can inexplicably throw fire'. We know precious little more about the main characters. How did Liza learn to fight? No idea. How does Zane settle in to the team? Apparently we don't need to know. Random, unexplained cyborgs and mutant priests? No explanation needed- the viewer can figure it out. Even the series finale had no payoff or answers, only serving to raise more questions and - as if we needed more- add another character to the underdeveloped main cast. Plus the 'cliffhanger' was sort of laughable (look, a person on the screen who is not the other person who was on the screen! This is shocking somehow!)
That said, I genuinely believe COS is set up to become a great series. Episode three was easily the best of season one, with Tara Muir giving a standout performance as Helen, and Victoria Hopkins dominates every scene as main villain 'The Lady' (with an Aussie accent, no less. Who knew it could be done?). The ingredients are all in place for a killer sci-fi series; the writers just need to hold the fight scenes for a minute or two to actually realise it. And please, get Liza out of that wig.
