DMZ

“DMZ” feels both too short and too long. It’s too short to build out the world that was needed to make it work and too long to spin its wheels with clunky dialogue about the dynamics between Alma and everyone she encounters for four hours.

It’s a political drama that’s studiedly nonpartisan. Whether that makes the show universal, or too cautious to risk possible future seasons, depends on which side you’re coming from.

A series built around a US civil war is bound to get attention, especially in these polarized times. But "DMZ" merely uses that backdrop as a device to introduce another dystopian drama based on a DC graphic novel, basically "The Walking Dead" meets the '70s artifact "The Warriors." The result is an uninvolving miniseries that, at four parts, feels either too long or not nearly long enough.

Dickerson orchestrates the series’ only memorable action set piece in the third episode, only to follow that up with a “finale” that’s a mixture of artificial conclusions and hopeful set-ups for future adventures in case audiences flock to this series. It’s easy to see how these four episodes might evoke enough curiosity to get viewers in the door, but harder to see how DMZ will keep them watching.