"the grid" is a well written, tightly directed thriller/miniseries.i was hooked from the beginning of the first episode right to the end of the last episode.it was well paced, moving along quickly when it had to, and also slowing down when necessary for dramatic purposes, such as showing the home life of some of the characters,not just their work lives.this really put a human touch to the show and made you feel for the characters and root for them.it also showed them as infallible human beings,lending an air of authenticity to the show.there also dramatic scenes of tenderness between characters, which were well shot,and well acted.as a result rather than drag the film down, these scenes made it all the more riveting.all the actors were great, but i have to single out julianna margulies as the standout.i thought she was brilliant in this mini series showing great range.based on this performance, i would say she is one of the most underrated actors around.anyway,if you get a chance, watch this miniseries.you won't regret it.

Just before THE GRID was broadcast I came to this page and found out that THE GRID was a BBC / American co-production and had first been screened on US television . This utterly surprised me since all the trailers seemed to make a big thing about the British cast ( Most notably Bernard Hill who not only appeared in every trailer for this but every single trailer for the Olympic games too ) but upon watching the first episode it becomes very obvious the amount of American involvement in this drama . This might not have been a bad thing since American television has brought us some great dramas in the last few years ( Am I the only Brit who loved OZ ? ) but THE GRID isn't one of them Despite having only one director and two credited writers THE GRID feels it was produced by a commitee numbering several hundred people and this shows through on screen Will it appeal to Tom Clancy junkies ? - Check Are there bedhopping scenes to appeal to SEX AND THE CITY fans ? - CheckAre there both good and bad Muslim characters to show that not all Muslims are terrorists . We don't want allegations of racism with this show - CheckThis is a drama /thriller that is trying to appeal to the entire TV audience on both sides of the Atlantic and this is where the mini series fails . Maren Jackson might be a hot American babe while Emily Tuthill will appeal to those viewers who like frosty English ice maidens but are their sex lives that important to the plot ? ( A plot which I thought was overstretched ) Mind you when you've got dialogue like" Come to spoil the tea party ? " " I've no intention of spoiling your tea party . I drink my tea in Long Island - Ice cold " I guess you might expect a bit of sex since it sounds like it came out of a blue movie So THE GRID fails down to the fact there seems to be too many cooks pouring some iced tea

An interesting joint venture between BBC, Fox and TNT. The problems of international cooperation between security agencies loom large in the mini-series (shown in three parts by the BBC). But they also seem to have affected the production itself. The first two parts were exciting, despite having to keep tabs on fast-moving events across the globe and track a number of one-dimensional characters.The final section tried to give some more flesh to these characters - and that's when the problems started. The two 'leads' (at least their names came up before the title) were pathetic, with wooden acting, embarrassing dialogue and trashy sentimentality. Who are Dylan McDermott and Juliana Marguelis and how did they get the leads? They are handicapped even further with silly names - Marin and Max Canary, though not as silly as Tom Skerritt's "Acton Sandman"!The 'minor' actors, notably Bernard Hill - superb as a grizzled security chief showing Skerritt what real acting is all about - along with Piter Fattouche, who triumphs over the disadvantage of being cast as the "good Moslem" and Jemma Redgrave, who was absolutely brilliant as a troubled British security agent. But the final part had too much of the Americans, presumably to justify the Fox/TNT money, and it fell away sadly. So the high opinion I had of The Grid after Part two was drastically modified by the end of Part three, confirming my belief that I do not want to see IMDb reviews from reviewers who have only seen part of a series.

This comment contains spoilers, unless you've seen the third episode.The release of "The Grid" could not have come at a better time. One of the primary conflicts in the series is the bureaucracy involved between the various American and British intelligence agencies, right when we're in the midst of all this stuff in the real world about an "intelligence czar" and a national counter-terrorism center. One of the series' merits is that it shows what could happen if the government lets bureaucracy get in the way of actually fighting terrorism.Some have objected to "The Grid" on the basis of its being racist. I have two counter- arguments. The first is that Muslim extremists are the group identified by a lot of Americans as the primary terrorist group in the world, so involving any other group would not "click" with audiences. Sad but true, I know. The second counter-argument is that the series makes an effort to humanize the antagonists. Ragib Mutar, for example, gets unwillingly caught up in the terrorist plot, initially only because he wants the best for his patients, and he suffers greatly for his involvement.Most of the actors are good enough to hold up the story. The exceptions are, unfortunately, the two main actors, the only ones who are named in the trailers: Julianna Margulies and Dylan McDermott. Neither of them seems to be able to evoke the appropriate emotions on screen. I can't speak for Margulies, but I know McDermott is a fairly good actor (from seeing him on "The Practice"). Here, he's either not trying or he's miscast.The supporting actors are excellent, especially Tom Skerritt, Jemma Redgrave and Bernard Hill. Hill was a superb choice to play Derek Jennings - he is a natural tough guy and very British. He even looks like a grizzled veteran. You don't see him really act like one until the third episode - see below - but when he does, he's amazingly convincing. Redgrave creates mystery around her character very well - you can never be sure exactly what she's thinking or what her intentions are. We see that the character can be very cool and calm, but at other times she shows emotion, but you get the feelings those emotions might be fake.Especially during the pilot episode, the action seemed to drag a bit too long. The pace only really started to pick up towards the end, where the FBI raids a warehouse. I never really felt a lot of suspense and adrenaline except for one scene in the third episode involving Derek Jennings in an elevator. That made my heart pound crazily. You see Bernard Hill's skill as an actor - you can tell he's suspicious of the assassin, but you can't tell that he knows who he is. You wonder if Jennings' experience and training will save his life or if he will become just another victim.I look forward to the finale, when all the intricate plot threads will finally come together (hopefully). I will definitely be watching it, and I hope it doesn't go downhill.