jonathan-riedmair
Sadly enough this series is rated as high as 8+, it's almost unconscionable to watch this series in german. I may try the original language at a later time, but yet it's hard to like the voices that seem to have been randomly assigned to the actors. Even Damian's (main actor) voice is not the one he used to get. Don't know if his voice in this title was the common voice for him at the time around 2007, but it's totally misplaced!Cannot tell much about the story, since I've only seen the first 20 minutes. I feel bad about rating this (4 stars) at all, because a movie should never be rated by it's syncro in my opinion.So if I have time to watch this in english, I'll comeback and edit my review (for sure!). Yet it totally sucks.
bstover1960
Even though this show only lasts 2 seasons, they could not have gone much longer without running out of read headed actors.What is that about?Even brown haired people are often Auburn!Is there some hidden message? Is that a way to show that this is not based on reality? Perhaps Charlie is just dreaming and he is still married and in uniform...It is the unreal aspects of the show that make it entertaining.
Wm_Gardner
Not sure what happened to season #2. Season #1 was VERY strong, although short. Season #1 was either in the year of the writer's strike or was a mid-season replacement for something else.Much of the concept you have read already, the main character was framed for murder and sentenced to life in prison (hence the show title). After 12 years he was exonerated as the crime could not have been committed by him. He chose, as part of the settlement with the city, to take a boatload of money and a job as a police detective.Story line is good and strong, especially in season one. Season two got a little weird. They felt a need to keep the conspiracy thing going but it got a little...... IDK, messy? Not so much hard to follow as much as there were so many people involved, or potentially involved, that you sort of lost interest in the conspiracy itself (even when it dominated the last few episodes) and wished they would go back to working cases again. The last 1/3 - 1/2 of season 2 took a whole new vibe and just was not as good. Acting suffered, the script was weak, and the whole thing (knowing there were only 2 seasons produced) had either a "we have been canceled so we have to wrap this all up" feel or a "we have been canceled so our hearts are no longer into this" feel. The best of the actors still managed to shine a little, but the rest felt weak and contrived. Unfortunately I was "invested" in the characters by this point and had to see it through to the end. (which is wrapped up nice and neat with Charlie Crews seeming almost god-like)-Damian Lewis was, as usual, very good. -Sarah Shahi was incredible! A hundred times better than in her current show, "Fairly Legal" on USA. Depth of character, a broad range of emotions, fighting addiction issues, emotional vulnerability, issues with trust of her father, issues with trust of her partner, issues with trust of herself....... VERY enjoyable to watch, up until the last couple of episodes when she went "on loan" to the FBI. By then, the whole show had changed though. -Adam Arkin did a great job -Brooke Langton was great and the interaction (and potential for relationship) between her character and Damian Lewis' was great to watch. Her character sort of got phased out though, in Season #2, much to the loss of the overall series. -Donal Logue...... Now this is a tough one for me to rate. I usually like his work, a lot. He was a season 2 replacement for Robin Weigert's character (although they did have one episode together). I had a hard time liking his character and did not feel he fit in well, at first. He did start growing on me though and by the end of the series, really liked him (again). His potential to shine, at the end, was limited by the way Charlie Crews had morphed into something only this side of god.....Other notable performances (not necessarily in order) include: Robin Weigert, Victor Rivers, Christina Hendricks, Shashawnee Hall, Brent Sexton, Jessy Schram, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and (not so much her 1st episode) Gabrielle Union. There is a lot of good acting throughout the series and I know I have missed a few on my list.In short, there is a lot of great acting to see here. Just be prepared for season #2 not to be as good as season #1 and for the last half of season #2 to feel rushed together. It started out as a 10, ended as a 6 or 7, causing me to give the overall score of 8
