The Castaways

Episode 1 is nothing to write home about and if I'm honest, and it wasn't Easter, I would not have watched any further. As it is, I found myself starting to watch episode 2 in the hope that this would get better. I mean, who doesn't like a good old fashioned marooned on a desert island story, especially when it has characters who survive a plane crash! Background stories were vaguely interesting but didn't really add much to the plot. There are a few annoying scenes when one thinks for heavens sake, you're on an island and need to be in survival mode and not rock the boat the more you find out about your fellow survivors.

Anyway, it didn't get any better but I found myself watching it all.

If you have nothing better to do and appreciate Sheridan Smith (even though I did find her annoying in a couple of scenes, but overall, terrific actress), maybe you'll like it more than the 6 stars I gave it - which was being generous!

Whilst looking for something to binge I stumbled across The Castaways. The plot looked interesting, so I thought I would give it a go.

The first episode is interesting, even the second. However, then things just get a little too 'out there' for me. Maybe convoluted is the better term of expression.

You start to feel invested in the characters, then something happens and you are like oh okay, but it is not in a good way, it feels like the director/author has just thrown everything at the screen hoping it will stick. You start to dislike everyone involved and I battled to watch the end. Shame.

I stumbled upon the book and finished reading it a couple of weeks ago, I enjoyed it. So when I got the Christmas radio times and stumbled across the interview with Sheridan I was quite excited to learn that a tv series was launching Boxing Day and had high hopes for it.... Unfortunately, It's badly written, badly directed and has deviated away from the original story line; huge mistake! I'm pretty shocked that the talented Sheridan Smith took this one on. I can only assume that she owed someone a favour or lost a bet when accepting the part. Not at all worth viewing. I lost count at the amount of times I had to flick my eyes back to the front of my head. It's utter crap!

And you will not be dissapointed.

If however you would think it will show similar struggle to survive, you will be hugely dissapointed. There is almost nothing about this, how to settle on a deserted island with no human presence at all. From one part to another there are huts, they know how to fish, they have food and water, although complaining it is not sufficient.

Of course setting is fantastic, nature itself is worth watching.

The plot is very unrealistic and sometimes ridiculous, but the scale of it is not more, than in an average criminal story.

Acting is average and uneven. I am afraid Sheridan Smith is not convincing at all. The best of the cast is Lasarus Ratuere.

So, if it rains and you have already walked your dog, make yourself a nice cup of tea and relax watching this beautiful island.

It's like if Neighbours and Lost had a love child. There isn't much more to say about it than that. The only difference being that Lost started good and ended poorly. This just started mid and stayed there. I guess Sheridan Smith got a free holiday out of this, it's certainly not her best work. It's definitely best to suspend disbelief on this one, don't expect anything from it and you might end up enjoying it or at the very least enduring it for the occasional bit of good story. Apparently I need to use six hundred characters for this review but there just isn't any more to say. So I'll leave it there.