Lost Signs (TV Mini Series 2007– ) ⭐ 4.5 | Mystery, Sci-Fi (original) (raw)

Just saw the final episode of this miniseries on our national public Television (RTBF - Belgium) and the least that could be said is that the title itself is the total opposite of the content.

Unfortunately, the plot is easily predictable (more on this below), the screenplay is childish, the acting is poor (note that the actors cannot be blamed on this point, some cast members have already seen in other productions with a lot more consistency to their part), special effects are so-so.

Probably the worst weakness in the series is how the audience is considered stupid and unable to understand situations without being told what is obvious on the screen. And of course there are those numerous re-shots, sometimes through even one episode.

On the positive side we can pick some interesting pieces of score and a photography generally good, unfortunately spoiled by some show-off camera effects.

As for the plot, one might expect some elements of science-fiction or at least a bit of mystery (hence the title), but as said before, mystery, there is none but a few, and the scenario revolves more around secret military operations, police investigation and family drama. Don't expect any introspection of the human spirit, or too many illuminations about possible alien life, those are merely diluted in what could be else described as a "typical French soap".

To illustrate the poor quality of the base material, I'll just say that the spine of the story is based upon mysterious apparitions of crop circles. As those were mysterious and cool ten years ago, it has been widely accepted today that those are obviously not alien-made. People don't even bother to watch when one appears (which happened a few weeks before the opening of the show) Honestly, I do not see the need of spending too much time in front of this show, most of what is seen there has already been shown somewhere else, and unfortunately this show does not contains the best elements found in earlier works.