Turn: Washington's Spies

It helps that the show is well-acted, and that everything from the fonts to the costumes to the camerawork are gorgeous. You may need a while to puzzle out what's happening on screen, but at least you can enjoy some lovely scenery.

It puts a fresh lens on events that shaped America, and in the process it spins a good yarn.

Bell, who started out as a child actor, has matured into a compelling leading man and he seems capable of conveying Abraham’s troubling journey into the underbelly of the war effort.

Bell is key, so plainly direct and unstudied that we see the past through his eyes. [14 Apr 2014, p.50]

By the end of the first episode, who’s who and what’s what have begun to sort themselves out, and Turn looks like a series that will be absorbing to follow for its characters, not just its action.

It may not be as intriguing as "Thrones" or as tense as FX's spy thriller "The Americans," but Turn--which touches on still-relevant topics like torture, homosexuality and politics--offers a fresh spin on the War of Independence.

Turn becomes more tense with each episode, at least through the first three, and that’s a very good sign.

Beneath these sometimes confusing layers lurks a promising show about a relatively unexplored chapter in U.S. military history.

Provocative ideas are hit upon-- torture, homosexuality, politics--and more inventive spy-game fun--Turn could keep us loyal to the cause of watching.

Once the ring gets going and the espionage kicks in, the story becomes clear and exciting. The battle scenes are disturbingly vivid, and most of the characters are interesting right off the bat.... But the premiere episode assumes that viewers are so familiar with the period and this more obscure chapter of history that the main characters’ allegiances, motives, and struggles will be clear from the outset. They are not.

Despite some stiffness (and a whole lot of words crammed into the characters’ mouths, hastily delivered in an array of accents) Turn succeeds in making the War of Independence seem like a vital and fresh saga.... But the show struggles to lay out its characters and conflicts in a way that feels instantly addictive.

This is a thoughtful, dutiful historic drama filled with all the requisite period details and British accents, too. But what's missing here, glaringly so, are passion and sweep .

The story piques your curiosity, but it takes too long to gain traction. The characters are certainly functional, but they lack compelling quirks. The subject matter is worthy, but it just doesn't crackle.

It's quite a story, but the pilot for Turn takes a long time to get going, and isn't all that compelling.

Turn can be described as both sturdy and unsteady.... Mr. Bell is a less-than-charismatic centerpiece, but he also makes emotional sense.

I just wish that its 90-minute premiere was a tad more entertaining, because I found a lot to like in two subsequent episodes.

An uneven, if promising, period drama set during the American Revolution.

In choosing to center its story of Revolutionary War-era spies on relationships (particularly between Abraham and Anna and Abraham and his father), it has a fighting chance at finding its way to something compelling. The problem is that the show has yet to figure out a way to make those relationships fresh or interesting in the slightest.

Turn should be a lot more exciting than it is. It may eventually get there--but a lot of AMC’s series not named Mad Men, Breaking Bad or The Walking Dead never got there. And that’s an ongoing problem.

Turn isn't bad, but it's also too forgettable to deserve a long look, cool credits or no.

[A] stubbornly bland potboiler.

The problem is that for all its talk of Washington and Redcoats and all its shots of British warships in New York Harbor, nothing in Turn ever leaves you with any true feel for the period.

Turn never quite turns the corner in its first three episodes, but perhaps will perk up a bit if the recurring George Washington (Ian Kahn) finally makes his presence felt.

Turn is a fairly standard spy story. That doesn't mean it's bad, just not up there with what we've come to see as the gold standard for AMC: "Breaking Bad," "Mad Men" and "The Walking Dead."

Dull and sometimes confusing--why are those British soldiers loyal to the Red Coats not wearing red?--the 90-minute premiere too often encourages viewers to turn away in boredom or frustration.

Despite this highly dramatic premise, Turn feels small and dull: if you want to have some fun learning about the Revolution, wait until Fox’s cheeky Sleepy Hollow returns.

In execution, Turn is plodding, predictable and a bit confusing, though I might have tried harder to follow the plot had any of the characters made it worth my while. As it is, the characters are mostly paper-thin and forgettable.