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CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
22
Mixed:
9
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews
Jan 8, 2017
Jan 9, 2017
Jan 10, 2017
Season 1 Review:
Like “Peaky Blinders,” Taboo is not easy watching. It requires intense focus to keep track of historical references, multiple characters and the complex storylines of his scheming enemies (or are they the good guys?). ... But it’s worth the effort. ... Hardy gives us such a magnetic central character with Delaney that he alone could carry the drama.
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Jan 5, 2017
Season 1 Review:
I was fascinated by the first three episodes of Taboo. Some of the storytelling is muddled, which may well be intentional, and the hints of the supernatural are at times distracting. But still, if you like your historical fiction grim and your cobblestones dirt-caked, if you don’t mind looking into some of humanity’s bleaker facets, this one’s for you.
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Jan 9, 2017
Season 1 Review:
Hardy's showmanship is nearly matched by many of his costars, particularly Jonathan Pryce as the head of the villainous East India Company, a prototype for the corporatization currently eating this world alive. ... Yet, there's something conventionally nagging about Taboo: The series never entirely tumbles down the rabbit hole with its characters into the mouth of chaos and madness, as the best expressionist TV shows do.
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Jan 10, 2017
RogerEbert.comJan 9, 2017
Season 1 Review:
At first, it feels like little more than an exercise in period style, even with a great, charismatic performance at its center, but subsequent episodes hint at a complex, rewarding drama to come. It’s the kind of program that’s remarkably hard to review off only three episodes, but I’m certainly excited to see more.
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Jan 4, 2017
Season 1 Review:
Despite coming out of the gates slower than is ideal in a crowded landscape, the series shows signs in the early going of blossoming into something much bigger and better. Before committing, however, you should be all in on Hardy. If not, look elsewhere, because this is absolutely his show.
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Jan 9, 2017
Season 1 Review:
A decidedly odd and generally unpleasant big swing that marks the network's attempt to enter the dark fantasy epic territory occupied by Thrones--with a little Thrones incest thrown in for good measure. What it lacks, unfortunately, is Thrones' sweep, moments of playfulness, and narrative drive--or any drive at all.
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Jan 9, 2017
Season 1 Review:
In addition to Mr. Pryce, a number of familiar British character actors acquit themselves well, including David Hayman as Delaney’s factotum, and Nicholas Woodeson as a slippery lawyer. But the focus on grim portentousness and rank atmosphere keeps bogging down the story, which needed more attention to achieve the balance it seeks among gothic bodice-ripper, “Heart of Darkness” social tract and corporate thriller.
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Jan 10, 2017
Season 1 Review:
Taboo seem to have aspired to explore a number of complex, uncomfortable issues in the three episodes made available to critics without concretely establishing a thesis about any of them. Provided the viewer isn’t utterly bored or bewildered by what she sees, the show thus far seems like it could go to interesting places. As to where that is exactly, who can say?
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Jan 5, 2017
Season 1 Review:
Taboo has far too much going on for its relatively thin material; it insinuates more than it says, and the first episodes only make sense if you are willing to believe that there is something intriguing about the “darkness” that James and sometimes Zilpha have at their core.
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UPROXXJan 6, 2017
Season 1 Review:
Taboo is slow, dark (visually as well as tonally) and unrelentingly humorless. Any of those three qualities on its own would be fine, but put together in service of what’s ultimately a trashy, if pretentious, revenge story, it’s an utter slog, and the biggest creative misstep FX has made in a while.
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