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- ABC
- Jan 2, 2014
- ABC
- Jan 2, 2014
Summary CIA-counterintelligence-analyst-turned-soviet-spy Aldrich Ames (Paul Rhys) tries to stay one step ahead of CIA agents Sandy Grimes (Jodie Whittaker) and Jeanne Vertefuille (Harriet Walter), who want to stop the person responsible for the leaks before they endanger more people in this eight-episode miniseries based on the book "Circle of ...
- ABC
- Jan 2, 2014
- ABC
- Jan 2, 2014
Summary CIA-counterintelligence-analyst-turned-soviet-spy Aldrich Ames (Paul Rhys) tries to stay one step ahead of CIA agents Sandy Grimes (Jodie Whittaker) and Jeanne Vertefuille (Harriet Walter), who want to stop the person responsible for the leaks before they endanger more people in this eight-episode miniseries based on the book "Circle of ...
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Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 15 Critic Reviews
58
33% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
60% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
7% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 15 Critic Reviews
58
33% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
60% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
7% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
The Assets isn't flashy, but boy, is it effective. It just grinds away, laying down intriguing details of "asset" care and feeding, made vivid through determined performances and intense crescendos.
Rhys and Whittaker are terrific and the two big reasons to watch the series.... Speaking of assets, credibility of the story is nicely enhanced by muted cinematography and art direction, emphasizing that catching spies is done by nondescript men and women who lead seemingly normal lives and work in under-decorated offices deciphering codes and other information.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 15 User Ratings
5.9
47% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
33% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
20% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 15 User Ratings
5.9
47% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
33% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
20% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
This was an incredible telling of a story I remembered from the headlines. It was exciting and enthralling. Every bit as thrilling as Netflix's House of Cards. Best series I've seen in a long time.
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SEASON 1
Great acting and solid story. Underpromoted by network suits, it didn't get a big audience. A shame, as the true story is well told and convincingly portrayed with good period details (80s). Best bet is to wait for it to show up on Netflix or Hulu and watch the whole thing through.
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SEASON 1
Not a brilliant effort, but worth a look.
In Assets, I wanted more about Ames and his motives--and maybe that will come later--but this is Grimes’ story, right down to how her job affected her home life.
The Assets is uneven, with some excellent scenes and quite a few bad ones.
he only time The Assets comes alive is when the focus falls on the soon-to-be-notorious turncoat Ames, a compellingly twitchy Paul Rhys.... The Assets reduces the complex world of espionage to laughably simplistic terms.
The Assets just can’t get untracked, lumbering through its first two hours without any sense of purpose, style or urgency.
The night I taped this pilot we had a power outage, so I had to search up the episode on the network website. It was okay. The story is interesting, but the actors are boring. It did remind me, however, that I'm glad the 80s, with their shoulder pads, punk rock styles and perms are over, so A+ for costuming.
So much of the show seemed to be in dark light. It was almost as if they had found an old copy of a film from the 80s, but forgot to restore it for HD TV.
I will say this, though. I will be buying the book. This is about an important part of American history and having a chance to understand it from the viewpoint of the people who were there is worth the price of a book.
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SEASON 1
Good and potentially compelling concept made into soap opera quality by wooden acting mixed with overly-emotional, huskily-whispered or loudly argued exchanges between CIA personnel. In what world is it that every CEO or head doctor or chief of staff is a very young, perfectly made-up, blond woman? Jodie Whittaker may be a good actress, but in this series, she comes off as quite unbelievable as a major player in the CIA. It may be the directing, it may be the producers, or everyone involved, but making a potentially tense, political drama into another witless, poorly acted series was not a brilliant idea.
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SEASON 1
Fascinating story which I remember from its actual occurrence years ago. The problems I have with this show stem from its incredibly uneven and confusing writing and a level of acting that barely exceeds afternoon soap opera standards. The Americans all seem a bit stupid (except for our heroine) but considering how obvious Aldrich Ames's unexplained new wealth was maybe that is true. The Russians are all gruff and insulting and, well, "comic Russian".
I will continue to watch the series only because the actual events fascinated me but I feel that this production belongs more on a high school stage than on a major TV network.
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SEASON 1
