# New TV Show "The River" starts tonight, anyone watching? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 8, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tv-show-the-river-starts-tonight-anyone-watching/612142 "2012-02-08T00:20:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tv-show-the-river-starts-tonight-anyone-watching/612142/21 "2012-03-02T04:35:07Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > When they kept switching to the shot of the other boat after Cappy’s\* “OMGOSH SOMEONE’S OVER THERE” moment, were we supposed to see someone over there? Because I even paused it on that shot and couldn’t make out anything besides the boat sitting there. > > \*(sorry that was his name on Greek, so that’s what I’m gonna call him until I remember his name here) There a face in the aftmost porthole. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tv-show-the-river-starts-tonight-anyone-watching/612142/22 "2012-03-02T05:10:43Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > And the young girl somehow magically knows that there’s eeeeevillllll up that creek somewhere. I guess my patience with this claptrap isn’t what it used to be. It did make me laugh though when she said something like “Everyone’s afraid of me for some reason” to one of the guys from the other boat. Maybe because you hardly talk about anything other than all the various evil spirits around? I’m still watching but I won’t mourn it when the season is finished and probably the series is canceled. It might have worked better on premium cable where it wouldn’t have commercials interrupting it. First because having a JC Penney add somewhat dissipates any tension being built. And also it seems like before almost every commercial break there’s a jump scare of some kind, and if there wasn’t commercials they could build tension and creepiness more gradually and naturally. ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tv-show-the-river-starts-tonight-anyone-watching/612142/23 "2012-03-02T17:04:40Z")
Question about the last episode: how did the security guy get from being knocked out on the Magus to the hold of the Exodus? It seemed to me that he just kind of materialized there, but I suppose head zombie guy could have carried him (and we didn’t see it, because there were no cameras to record it). I liked the ending. I’m not sure why it didn’t occur to me that Peaches’ dad was already dead – in retrospect, all the clues were there – but it didn’t, and it genuinely touched me when he told her he couldn’t go with her. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tv-show-the-river-starts-tonight-anyone-watching/612142/24 "2012-03-02T18:21:14Z")
I’m liking the show. And I’m totally okay with every episode being a ghost-story instead of trying to cover a whole slew of other supernatural mythologies. According to the Wikipedia entry, early concepts for the show would have each season taking place in an entirely new location. That would be a good way to change things up. This season is ghost stories (mostly), the next season (if there is one) could be about cryptozoology, or alien abductions, or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tv-show-the-river-starts-tonight-anyone-watching/612142/25 "2012-03-02T20:39:06Z")
> [@Meltdown](#): > > Question about the last episode: how did the security guy get from being knocked out on the Magus to the hold of the Exodus? It seemed to me that he just kind of materialized there, but I suppose head zombie guy could have carried him (and we didn’t see it, because there were no cameras to record it). > > I liked the ending. I’m not sure why it didn’t occur to me that Peaches’ dad was already dead – in retrospect, all the clues were there – but it didn’t, and it genuinely touched me when he told her he couldn’t go with her. He got tossed in there by the ghost guy. I assume we didn’t see him being moved between boats, because there was no camera to show us that. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tv-show-the-river-starts-tonight-anyone-watching/612142/26 "2012-03-02T23:43:09Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > There a face in the aftmost porthole. I looked at the portholes and still saw nothing. Oh well. So much for HDTV. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tv-show-the-river-starts-tonight-anyone-watching/612142/27 "2012-03-27T14:33:55Z")
Okay, last night I finished watching through to last week’s episode (end of the season?), and I have to say it’s losing me. It’s _just_ on the wrong side of ridiculous, and I find myself caring less and less about what happens to these people. The acting is utilitarian at best, and the plot/writing is so heavy-handedly “we’re trying to be scary” and predictable that it’s almost crossing into comedy. It had potential, but I’m getting off this ship. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tv-show-the-river-starts-tonight-anyone-watching/612142/28 "2012-03-27T14:42:33Z")
Yep, didn’t hold my attention. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tv-show-the-river-starts-tonight-anyone-watching/612142/29 "2012-03-27T16:40:38Z")
I liked it. Kinda doubt it’ll get renewed for another season, so it doesn’t really matter any which way. But the setting was cool, I thought the acting was decent for this kind of show and the plot was interesting. Plus, I was pretty glad just to have a show where they actually _move the plot_ every episode. After so many sci-fi and fantasy TV shows that just tread water season after season, it was nice to see the characters actually start finding stuff out and succeeding in some of their main objectives just a few episodes in. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tv-show-the-river-starts-tonight-anyone-watching/612142/30 "2012-03-27T17:59:44Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Plus, I was pretty glad just to have a show where they actually _move the plot_ every episode. After so many sci-fi and fantasy TV shows that just tread water season after season, it was nice to see the characters actually start finding stuff out and succeeding in some of their main objectives just a few episodes in. I did appreciate that in earlier episodes, but as it went on and we were continually presented something mysterious, then received answers _immediately_, it became just as tedious; it just sucked all of the tension and intrigue right out of it, for me at least. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tv-show-the-river-starts-tonight-anyone-watching/612142/31 "2012-03-27T18:13:30Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Okay, last night I finished watching through to last week’s episode (end of the season?), and I have to say it’s losing me. It’s _just_ on the wrong side of ridiculous, and I find myself caring less and less about what happens to these people. Me too. maybe it’s because I don’t really like any of these people. I mean, the chick is hot, but even she is annoying. I don’t think there has been any humor thrown in. Even in tense times, as defense mechanism, humans showa sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tv-show-the-river-starts-tonight-anyone-watching/612142/32 "2012-03-27T19:48:48Z")
I thought it was decent and it had it’s moments, but also had wasted potential. And the finale was silly. First with the camera man trying to shoot Emmett while he was talking to his son seemed like a stupid way to try to kill him. Then even though for every previous episode the mechanic’s daughter has warned about threatening ghosts and spirits and how the crew should mess with things, in this episode she tells the mom that she can bring back Lincoln and doesn’t seem to think anything can go wrong. They could have easily fixed that by instead having her only help the mom reluctantly after the mom begs for help because she’s desperate to get her son back. And usually I’m not too bothered by the conventions of found footage. There’s always going to be times that make you wonder why the character is filming, or that it’s too convenient that the camera just happened to be in the right place, or other things that don’t completely make sense if it was actually found footage but I can usually roll with it. But with this series and I think with each episode, it showed us that Emmett Cole went missing, a crew went after him, and this footage is what was found. But the finale ends with them being trapped in the Bouina (sp?) seemingly for forever. Maybe I’m missing something or forgot something, but if they are trapped in the Amazon, how was their footage found? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tv-show-the-river-starts-tonight-anyone-watching/612142.md?page=1)