SummaryA machine appears at a small town's store that promises to reveal a person's destiny in this comedy series from David West Read based on M.O. Walsh's novel of the same name.
SummaryA machine appears at a small town's store that promises to reveal a person's destiny in this comedy series from David West Read based on M.O. Walsh's novel of the same name.
Though most of The Big Door Prize is all about the characters, the series does tease big things to come from the machine, with its origins and future looking like they will be a big focus of a potential Season 2. The thing is, the rest of the show is so good that it doesn't need anything from the Morpho, but the added intrigue, accompanied by a delightfully magical original score, makes things even better.
The result is an engaging show with big heart. It takes a beat to get into the unique tone of the series, and to accept the magical realism that stops by now and again. But by the end you do care about what happens to these people. In fact, you’ll probably be left wanting more.
Although billed as a high-concept, sci-fi comedy, the series adaptation of M.O. Walsh’s novel of the same name feels more like an existentialist dramedy with more heart than humor, pondering deep, philosophical questions in punchy, half-hour installments that will leave viewers wanting more by the end of the 10-episode first season.
The result is a narrative more ambling than compelling, compounded by the fact that the season, though it will settle some characters’ business and make various philosophical points, ends at a kind of dramatic midpoint. Nevertheless, “The Big Door Prize” is easy to like and even embrace.
There is so much more this show tries to grasp in its minimal running time, and as a whole The Big Door Prize delivers some admirable drama. ... But irrespective of those whys and wherefores – The Big Door Prize ultimately falls short of greatness.
“The Big Door Prize,” Apple TV’s latest release, attempts to marry drama and comedy and fails at both, all while featuring Pinterest-perfect production design and writing that smarts of the Hallmark Channel.