It's Only The River

I just caught the first two hours of The River, yet another entry in the recreate Lost sweepstakes.  Dr. Emmet Cole is a famous TV naturalist who disappears one day while traveling up the Amazon.  His wife and grown son, who appeared with him on his show, star in a new show (which bankrolls them) to find him.  The first season--which will only be eight hours--is about mom, son and crew as they travel through an uncharted bend of the Amazon (do uncharted sections exist?) and uncover the deeper mystery.

I suppose it's well done for what it is, but what it is isn't something I generally go for.  It's created by the guys who did Paranormal Activity, and has a similar format in that everything we see is shot by cameras that exist within the story.  Maybe putting up with that as a one-time twist in a movie can work, but it gets tiresome week after week (and also makes it hard to buy--the camera always conveniently catches what it needs to?).

What they find is an awful lot of magical stuff, which, as a plot device, tends to cheapen drama unless handled well--there are no rules, after all.  Also, it's horror, one of my least favorite genres, and as such often relies on cheap tricks to give us a jolt.

I could forgive everything if it had solid characters, but so far, I don't particularly like these people, nor do I find them that interesting.  I'm sure much more will be revealed, but I think I'll disembark now. (I watch too much TV anyway.)