User reviews

So we have a mid 20-ish NSA agent stationed in the most expensive property in France. So we have a bob-cut mid-50-ish NSA bigwig, clueless director who nonchalantly orders multiple murders and then rescinds those directives in the next breath. We have a 40-ish NSA thug agent whose entire acting repertoire consists of "smell the broken wind" acting and a constant sneer. To top off the horrendous miscasting of this disaster, we add a pretty boy math whiz without a clue.

This was a simply dreadful program that never even minimally explains the root of the story. Too bad the budget did not include decent writers or passable actors.

When I watched the trailer for Prime Target, I thought to myself, "This feels a bit like The Da Vinci Code"-a mix of mystery, some ancient history, and the classic chase of bad guys after the good ones. It had all the ingredients for an engaging thriller. After watching three episodes, I have to admit the storyline is actually quite decent, with potential to be gripping. The problem, however, lies in the execution. It just feels flat. The pacing lacks intensity, the characters don't have much depth, and the suspense doesn't quite land. It's watchable, but it misses that spark to make it truly captivating.

Regarding the actors: Quintessa really struggles there. She should not have been casted as a main character. As a secondary, where she would not be as much exposed, would be fine, but the lack of sublime acting skills, does not do any good to the story.

Overall, good watch if you do not expect too much. If it was a Netflix series, yeah, but it doesn't meet the standards of Apple TV Plus.

It was definitely slow at first & if you let that take over your viewing you'll quit before becoming riveted. I know basic math so the premise of the prime number being a key to everything was perplexing at best. Luckily you don't need to be a math genius or any kind of genius for the plot to be both maddening & satisfying simultaneously. Keeping focused is very important. Not a series you can multi-task while watching. I'd disagree with the reviews critiquing the actors talent. I thought the acting was excellent. The end leaves a second season open in my opinion. Not a bad thing if you ask me. Well worth watching this unique Apple series just be patient.

It's not quite clear who the audience is for this series. Is it trying to appeal to people wanting to engage with intriguing scientific theories? Or is it trying to appeal to Gen Z feeling misunderstood for their genius?

On the one hand teasing intriguing questions on the nature of science and mathematics. And how archaeology may unearth interesting new theories.

And then, a supposed math genius who in the Cambridge library system searches for "prime numbers"... And then doesn't find anything in the library catalogue about prime numbers because it's been deleted.

I mean... it isn't consistent to its own universe. And that is very disrupting.

The basic idea is great: the notion that a gov't might kill to keep a possible math shortcut, that would instantly render useless modern cryptography, from being discovered isn't totally ridiculous.

Though I'm sufficiently interested to finish the series, what sank this for me, as already mentioned by others, are things such as the "check-list" attributes assigned to characters and thus the selected actors. Consequently, I found the casting was hit and miss. That may have also been a result of the direction. E.g. In episode 5, particularly, one veteran actor may well have been given direction to "imagine Matthew Goode in the role and act like him".

And the script wasn't great.

6/10 means interesting enough to watch it through but prioritize other, much better, viewing options.

I'm only two episodes into Prime Target, and I'm already all in. It's packed with mystery and secrets, and I love how it keeps you guessing without feeling overdone or forced. The acting is top-notch, with every performance pulling me further into the story. It's rare for a show to grab me this quickly, but this one has done it.

Honestly, it reminds me of how I felt watching The X-Files back in the day-like I'm on the edge of my seat, wondering what's around the next corner. I can't wait to see where it goes from here! Highly recommend checking it out if you're into smart, intriguing storytelling.

So called smart people, one user wrote, and that's a typical defense mechanism used anytime someone encounters someone smarter than they are. It's very hard to live in a world of feeling uncomfortable which is why most of us either avoid learning more or prefer to live in ignorance. Also, never acknowledging doing either and pretending they're doing the opposite.

This is a bold series. I am impressed at what has been presented so far. Eager for more and frustrated only two episodes are available now.

I think it's hard for people to accept things they don't understand, so I hope this show keeps people like me engaged. Leo Woodall has impressed me in White Lotus and Me Before You, so I'll be here to see how it all plays out.

Thankfully, it's not a blow em up or fight em up show, as I prefer thinking type drama shows. Things that make you think. For anyone out there that thinks they already know, they don't at all.

Here's to keeping an open mind, cheers!

Alfred Hitchcock said that Maguffin shouldn't be revealed because it shows how silly plots are. This series tipped it's hand very early and sure enough, Hitchcock was right. A driven but maverick PhD mathematics student is working on prime numbers but the security services don't want that. Cue mysterious deaths and ancient artifacts. A kind of Indiana Jones and the Lost Integral.

There's a bit of really shallow exposition about prime numbers and the preposterous idea that all the university library books have been deleted. Protagonist gets upset rather than going to Amazon next day delivery. I just kept yawning.

I had never seen a protagonist so uncomfortable with his role, clearly he does not feel comfortable with something and that is expressed through each chapter. The story is not bad but it is poorly developed, it lacks weight, strength, speed and above all adrenaline. It becomes slower than the second coming of Christ.

Leo's love interest has zero chemistry with him, it's like everything was there ready to explode but nothing happens.

The story lacks depth and development, it prevents you from questioning things when you should, I mean it's almost a conspiracy that could end the world but you only see Leo being extremely uncomfortable with the role.

Just 3 episodes in the viewer senses that the number of people out to murder the protagonists is uncountable. Starting with a belief that a unique prime number generator exists the argument postulates prime numbers used in cryptography are not random. If that is true then the financial foundation of the economy would be on shaky ground. Even without a degree in math that is hard to swallow. Everyone knows there is always a bigger number than any number you can think of. Just add 1. In a nutshell the movie is about 2 very pretty people evading the hoard after them while knowing the danger will never end.

Poorly acted, poorly cast, hokey story. As another reviewer wrote, a math genius that Googles prime numbers. A math genius with a small book of handwritten notes bent out of shape about losing his only copy of "research". Doesn't use computers because they're too slow.. As rated 13+ I believe, I think they're hoping the coming of agers love the hope of doing something great "analogly" with their lives while continuing to getting them addicted to media consumption. Then thinking about stuff under the hood, conspiracy theory, spying, privacy invasion from a show produced by Apple. They took great care to make sure the spying entities don't use Apple computers, and that's a first. Admittedly, I will probably watch more of it but not until all episodes have been released so I can fast forward at will and probably jump to the end.

Well what can I say?

Just binged both episodes, and I'm hooked! The blend of prime numbers, ancient history, absolute infinity, and computer science creates an intriguing and thrilling narrative. The themes are layered and thought-provoking, keeping me on edge. I can't wait to see how it all unfolds! It feels like the creator tapped into my consciousness, pulling out the subjects I'm most passionate about.

If you're a film junkie like myself then you'll appreciate the time and effort that Steve Thompson and everyone else put in to make this happen.

I enjoyed it. Not my place to say where it could have been improved. It is what it is.

Thank you.

I'm a sucker for the spy/espionage genre but this series is fairly hard going. Leo Woodall is a pretty good actor but his character comes across as humourless, selfish, and a bit of a di*k. Quintessa Swindell has a pretty thankless task of bringing some humanity to their forced partnership. The pacing is off at times and lacks any real sense of suspense. It would be helped by making the series two episodes shorter. Verdict: ho-hum, watch and forget.

I'm a sucker for the spy/espionage genre but this series is fairly hard going. Leo Woodall is a pretty good actor but his character comes across as humourless, selfish, and a bit of a di*k. Quintessa Swindell has a pretty thankless task of bringing some humanity to their forced partnership. The pacing is off at times and lacks any real sense of suspense. It would be helped by making the series two episodes shorter. Verdict: ho-hum, watch and forget.

Before AMC's "The Walking Dead" became a mega hit, they had a little series called "Rubicon," which was, regrettably, canceled after one season. Suffice to say that as political intrigue goes, it was an amazing series, and I never quite forgave AMC for not giving us more.

"Prime target," akin to "Rubicon," is a slow burn. We're not sure (at least at the point I have reached while watching) who are the good guys, who are the bad guys, and what, of any are the easter eggs. I'm hoping for a great ride!

Ed, the lead character, can be a little mind numbingly dense, at times, but he is being portrayed as a true maths nerd, so some stereotyping can be forgiven.

Historically inaccurate.

Mathematically inaccurate.

Logically inaccurate.

I am not sure How an average audience would feel but as an engineer and a mathematician who adores Sir Isaac Newton, this show is a blasphemy to everything we scientists stand for.

The main guy is supposed to be a genius. However, we keep seeing him saying and doing stupid things. And he also keeps insulting my favorite "real" geniuses in the history.

Acting, action, and story is also very, deeply shallow.

It's so bad that I wondered why anyone would deliberately create such a TV show. A writer who can't do basic multiplication showing their hate for their past Math teachers? "Look, I can create a TV series without knowing anything about Math, even numbers"

So many very interesting things being said and shown here and we're just two episodes in. Just have to pay attention. For people who are awake to the world and the government lies, secrets, coverups, suicides, disinformation, spying, daily interference and "conspiracy theories" this will be of high interest. All of our entertainment tells a story of what they've done, are doing and will do. These evil people can not contain their secrets and because they think they're of such higher intelligence, which is nothing more that straight up narcissism backed by copious amount of pure greed, they will ALWAYS hide in plain sight what's going on. This of course is my opinion but I believe it's proven daily. People just have to pay attention. I hope it's keeps up this trajectory. I am liking the characters thus far too. By seasons end if I need to change my review I will. But so far so good!

I enjoyed Prime Target mainly because of its filming locations. Most of them are familiar to me, except for Baghdad, which I've never visited. The series started off well, but as it progressed, I couldn't help but notice the writer's complete lack of mathematical knowledge. It's clear that he has no idea what Ed is writing with all these scattered equations, and the cliché about left-handed people being naturally gifted in mathematics feels forced.

Ed seems obsessed with inserting equations everywhere, even when they add no real meaning to the plot. At times, it feels like the writers are mocking the audience, as if throwing in complex formulas somehow makes the story more intelligent. I wish a mathematician had reviewed these equations before they made it to the screen.

As a medical doctor, I often find myself critiquing the way medical procedures, diagnoses, and even outdated X-rays-ones we no longer use-are portrayed in films and TV shows. Prime Target falls into a similar trap, but with mathematics instead of medicine.

That being said, Prime Target isn't bad. It's not overly complex, and it doesn't require a genius-level intellect to follow. It offers a refreshing change from The Da Vinci Code-style mysteries. I just hope they give it a satisfying ending.

Oh, a programme with some maths content, that's interesting.

Except, as usual, its clear the writer has only the faintest bit of understanding which he uses to spout total garbage. So in the script we have "twin prime conjecture" several times obviously because it sounds cool rather than being relevant. We've also got the wisdom of the ancients; yeah right. Worst of all the ludicrous notion that when a mathematician comes up with a proof then no one else can do the same, even though this exact thing happened with public key cryptography, ostensibly the core topic of the series.

All of this meaningless verbiage is wrapped up in a Dan Brown style romp complete with irrelevant vehicle chases and a lark in the channel tunnel. If that's your thing then fine, but why build such a script around stupidity and ignorance of the supposed topic?

There's a lot I like about the show -- some really interesting ideas, locations are great, Leo Woodall is amazing. Nice representation. But who wrote the dialogue? "Computers are too slow"? "He hasn't exactly been house-trained yet" from Taylah of all people, the feral child who has zero manners or people skills? People who are told massively disturbing pieces of information and then move on with their work as if nothing happened? It's like some very smart people along with some teenagers from California whose parents work for the studio were made to work together to produce this dialogue. Like why didn't someone ask some smart people (like any maths student at Cambridge) to review the dialogue?

I found the acting disappointingly wooden. I tried so hard to like or care about at least one character but the best I can say is that at least the two mains, Quintessa Swindell and Leo Woodall finally started to grow on me by the end.

I am a healthcare professional and so I try to stay well clear of medical themed programs because I know I will get too distracted by the slightest of inaccuracies. I can't help myself but at least I know myself.

Knowing this, I prefer to watch something outside of my wheelhouse such as a police or legal drama where I can just sit back, relax, and assume someone else did the thinking and sorting out so I don't have to. While watching Prime Target, I didn't bother to look for errors in Ed's equations or try to understand Andrea's research at any deep level, or question why the NSA had young surveillance operatives positioned where they did. Who cares? If it is material to the story I figure we will eventually be told, so I just keep moving along with the dialogue and scenery. I did want to know however, why the NSA were surveilling the people they were. Now that was material to the story and very intriguing.

As I remind my husband to adjust his expectations when he scoffs at unrealistic scenes, if he wants hyper-realism he would be better suited for a docudrama or documentary which this is not. So to him and some of the other big complainers and essentially math nerds, *spoiler alert*, this is make believe; do not use to support your phD dissertation

I enjoyed the series for what it was - an interesting story with okay but not great acting. Except perhaps for one of the lead's love interest, the characters lack charisma. There was no gratuitous sex, violence, or foul language. I did not need to worry who was in the room in keeping with the PG13 rating which seemed appropriate.

This may be a series involving academia, math, history, and geopolitics but at the end of the day it's just a story. It's fiction. It's not meant to test your prowess in math, but to entertain you. As all great storytellers know, they don't like to let the truth get in the way of a great story! Don't you do the same thing.