Harsh Realm

:

Season 1
  • Network: FOX
  • Series Premiere Date: Apr 28, 1999
Metascore
53

Mixed or average reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 25
  3. Negative: 6 out of 25

Critic Reviews

  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Howard Rosenberg
    Jun 9, 2015
    90
    One of the season's most promising new series.
  2. Kansas City Star
    Reviewed by: Aaron Barnhart
    Jun 9, 2015
    90
    "X-Files" fans have been talking up this show, sight unseen, for months, based mainly on rumors and snippets from the set. But Harsh Realm may well validate all that hype. [8 Oct 1999, p.F1]
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  3. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: David Zurawik
    Jun 9, 2015
    90
    Harsh Realm doesn't just resonate, it shakes, rattles and rocks the brain. [8 Oct 1999, p.1E]
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  5. Newark Star-Ledger
    Reviewed by: Matt Zoller Seitz
    Jun 10, 2015
    80
    What's there is fascinating. More than perhaps anyone writing for TV, Carter understands the tactical value of withholding information; he gives us just enough to pique our interest and then pulls back, promising to deliver more when the time is right. The first installment of Harsh Realm promises plenty. [8 Oct 1999, p.71]
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  6. Variety
    Reviewed by: Ray Richmond
    Jun 10, 2015
    70
    The early prognosis: bizarre, unsettling, perplexing, captivating. [6 Oct 1999, p.10]
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  7. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: John Levesque
    Jun 9, 2015
    70
    Viewers who like Carter's government-conspiracy paranoia and his penchant for confusing plots will embrace Harsh Realm. It requires close attention to details that propel the story, and it has instantly likable characters in Hobbes (Scott Bairstow) and Mike Pinocchio (D.B. Sweeney). [8 Oct 1999, p.38]
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  8. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Bianculli
    Jun 9, 2015
    63
    Tonight's premiere looks a little bleak and proceeds a little predictably but this may well be due to the amount of exposition necessary to establish the world Carter and company will be exploring. [8 Oct 1999, p.144]
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Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Best TV Season of 1999
11
#11 Most Discussed TV Season of 1999

User Reviews

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User Score
tbd

No user score yet- Awaiting 3 more ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. XavierBlaq
    Jan 7, 2014
    7
    Since Harsh Realm only filmed nine episodes, it is hard to give the show a high score. After all, the main plot of the show seems verySince Harsh Realm only filmed nine episodes, it is hard to give the show a high score. After all, the main plot of the show seems very underdeveloped, as the makers were cut off without warning. However, I would argue that a version of this show that felt complete would rival the X-Files for being the greatest thing Chris Carter. Strangely enough, I think that almost makes the show worse, as it is had so much potential, that its incomplete state can be hard to watch if you think about it too much (which then ruins the philosophical points of the show). Still, it is worth watching as a science fiction thriller that should have been a classic.… Full Review »