Clevercell Very disappointing...

LastingAware The greatest movie ever!

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

born-giantsfan Being a Lake Bell fan I have known about Surface but not watched it until now. I really wanted to like it - sci-fi, mysterious creatures, Lake Bell, etc. And while I am working my way through the series (at episode 9 now) there are enough problems that I can see why it didn't get picked up for a second season.Overall it is a fun premise and a reasonably enjoyable show. There is family entertainment, strange creatures, mysterious sci-fi aspects, sinister government agents, good looking men and women, and "teenage" girls in bikinis (kudos for casting Leslie Fisher as Amber).I would say that the biggest issue is the sub-par writing, followed by the low budget CGI, inconsistent editing and directing, and the occasional mediocre acting.While I won't write any spoilers, I will mention a few plot points going forward.The script writing is filled with many issues, I found it distracting. A perfect example is episode 4 which is filled with numerous inconsistencies, totally silly situations, and other significant problems.For example, what is the purpose of Cirko's presentation at the beginning to to a room full of stereotypical clueless military generals and advisers when he really doesn't (or isn't allowed to) say anything about the discovery other than a few veiled warnings. Such a big assembly of the top brass for a ecological lesson? But a much bigger problem with the episode is the whole "stranded on a boat" section - when the creature pulses and fries all the electronics on the boat that Laura and Jackson "borrowed". This set of scenes demonstrates all the problems with the show and seems to be written just to get Lake Bell into a bikini and in the water (not that I am objecting to that).Three of the significant issues with that selection of scenes are: 1.They find a whole pod of dead whales, but they don't see it until they are right up next to the 2 of them - even though when they walk back to the rear of the boat there are 3 in the water behind the boat (and the ones in front of the boat are no longer visible). A little more CGI and better editing would have caught all the visual discrepancies with the viewing (or lack of seeing) the dead whale pod.2. the damage to the electronics caused by the pulse can't simply be fixed by cleaning some contacts and splitting the fused ignition wires. A pulse strong enough to cause sparks and smoke fried every bit of electronics on the boat, yet with a few hand tools they were able to get the boat running again. And the next morning they got the boat running just fine and all the electronics and computers on the boat were working well. The pulse would have shorted out all the IC's in the computer, fish finder, GPS tracker, etc.3. The final repair of the "prop is busted" is a sheered prop/shaft key that need to be replaced - this is a mechanical failure which could be caused if the engine was running at load when the pulse occurred. Yet the boat was idling and dead in the water when the pulse hit. So this would not have occurred. And the whole fix was completely bogus.The whole repair is badly set up to get Lake to strip down to her designer bikini (making it worth watching). The reason for her going in the water is because Jackson can't fit his hand into the area where the replacement of the sheered key needs to be done. But when Lake goes into the water to do the repair, all she does is fiddle with a bolt at the end of the shaft. There is no reaching into an area where a smaller hand is required and no replacing of any parts - no action validating the need for her to go into the water. Total inconsistency in the writing, directing, and editing.I can put up with the silliness in the scene such as when Lake Bell is "documenting the creature" she is actually pointing the camera at a downward angle towards the boat controls, or when the pulse hits Lake falls over as if she were knocked over by an EMT pulse, or when they are sitting on the boat at night watching guard against this massive creature Lake is holding an oar (completely useless in this situation).But the larger issues mentioned above are too off-pitting to ignore and show that the show was poorly done. With a little more CGI budget and a little bit better writing, directing, and editing - this show could have been a winner.And I watched that scene multiple times just to make sure I caught all the details - it had nothing to do with Lake Bell in a red bikini.One final issue in the episode that made me laugh - when Connelly takes his small boat out to the oil rig at night, he throws his anchor into the water. The anchor had about 20 feet of rope on it yet it was already determine that the water there was over 200 feet deep. A few minutes later the boat is seen being held in place by the anchor and rope where the rope is held away from the boat by the anchor - yet in 200 feet of water the anchor would be hanging straight down.So in summary, a fun little series that will titillate, entice, and promise, but will fail to deliver.

Niko Bellic Lake Bell is quite possibly one of the worst actresses I have ever had to endure. The personal insults about her looks are uncalled for, probably mostly just vitriolic women, but wow she seems annoying. It's like watching a nativity play in a nut house.If I had ever seen porn, which obviously I would never have done as a 30 something single man, I would expect better acting from the lady that 'comes to fix your pipes'.I must like the show to be six episodes in but I'm becoming increasingly annoyed by some of the woeful acting on display. It's not like it is a tongue cheek, poking fun at itself type of acting, it is just dismal.The sister of the nerd kid, with the stripper's name, is pretty. Pretty disappointing in her range. Apparently she is quite well known now. I'm glad she's stayed off my radar. Their mum is also not the greatest.The best actors in this decent show are the two boys who do well with some not quite up to par CGI.The insurance man is OK, considering what he has to work with and his wife seems like a realistic character so far, so I must give credit to her.The scientists and feds are all pretty standard and uninspiring.I love the story so far though and I will persist. I just feel that whoever had the concept must be sorely disappointed by the execution of their vision.Decent family friendly show with an interesting story. Just prepare yourself for some amateur hour acting.

bushido1287 Surface had enormous potential to be one of the BEST TV shows. with a story that grabs hold of your imagination and doesn't let it go, one can't expect any less from such a show. Sadly though the series was put on hiatus in 2006 by NBC for summer Olympics. With enough imagination, even now in 2012 this series could still be revived and potentially be one of the best shows on TV. The only faults I have with the surface series is the rather poor cg graphics in the beginning ( probably due to low budget), and the dead end plot points of a few episodes that have no meaning to the outcome of the story. of course the most disappointing is the cliff hanger ending. The negative points aside, I loved surface. The plot twist, the unforeseen outcomes, great acting, very imaginative story, and of course Nimrod. All of these things brought this TV series together, and it is my hope to see an appropriate ending to this fantastic show.

randy woods Terrific show extremely well acted by a bunch of unknowns. Great story and special effects and a terrific scenic spot (Wilmington NC). The show had so much promise and it ended with no ending...It should have been continued for at least another year. The oceanographers son in the show was also in Martian Child, and he is a terrific young actor at all of about 6 or 7 years old. I would put this on a par with Invasion but with better and more special effects and shots of the "creatures". The premise of a creature being created by a corporation who was years ahead of the rest of the world in scientific knowledge was not that far out of the realm of possibility. It just ended with no real closure. I have an ulterior motive to having it continue, it was largely filmed right down the street from my house.