Harsh Realm is one of those series that was cancelled even though it was pretty good. I mean, in the murky waters of TV series there are plenty other series floating belly up that just needed to be 'removed'. Now, there are many things you might expect from a series like this... first off it is not like the X Files... or pretty much any other Chris Carter show. Secondly it isn't a rip off of the Matrix. Though the plots are similar and Harsh Realm was released after The Matrix... it was actually made before the film (which explains the lack of 'bullet time' shots) Thirdly it isn't like the graphic novel. though it's true it was inspired by the Harsh Realm story. Carter only liked the idea, he didn't feel there was an audience for dragons and true fantasy...he wanted something real... or at least real enough.The plot of the series is pretty straight forward ... sort of. The military created a virtual world exactly like ours... using medical records and census they created a 'Virtual Character' for everyone. It's purpose was as a training programme. Sending army guys in (think Matrix chair) for battle Sims and terrorist stuff. But suddenly they have a problem. Harsh Realm is taken over by Santiago (the high scoring player) who is now going around creating his own super power and plotting terrorist action against the real world so that Harsh Realm is the only thing left. Hobbes is sent in to kill Santiago in the game (thus reclaiming the harsh realm) but it's never as easy as that. Apart from the fact Santiago has an army, everyone lives in fear of him plus him being a pretty smart guy. Harsh Realm is well Harsh, and the true nature of game is as simple as survival. the people are desperate and gangs, violence and some nasty bounty hunters make what was a fairly simple mission almost impossible.Of course, he finds friends (in way of another guy sent to kill Santiago), his old dog dexter (i know it doesn't really make sense) and a woman that doesn't speak but can maigcally heal people.some epsiodes aren't that good, they drag a little... though there are some that showed promise. like X files, those that dealt with the 'big plot' were some times a bit crap, where as the stand alone episodes were more fun. it's the same here. 'Three Percenters' is one of the best. and the WW2 battle Sim glitch was also well worth the watch. they have a bit of fun and creepiness about them. which i won't ruin for you. if you are hoping that they saw they were being cancelled and made a ditch attempt at an ending, you are gonna be let down. the series ends annoyingly at episode 9, romeo and Juliet story that gives no clue as to what would happen to our heroes. I imagine eventually they would get another chance to kill Santiago and he'd finally go home...

Okay, let me start off by saying I'd never heard of Harsh Realm. 1999 was a busy year for me, and when I heard the words "From the creator of the X-Files..." I didn't get to the end of any of the ads before I turned the channel. I never liked the X-Files, and for no particularly good reason. I might never have heard of Harsh Realm, but I work at Wal-Mart, and they got some DVD series in for fifteen bucks, and I thought "Hmmmm." I picked up Dark Angel first, another series I'd never heard of, then, the next week, I gave Harsh Realm a try. I enjoyed all 9 episodes very much, and I enjoyed the special feature's look behind the scenes. It was well put-together, and they didn't spend the whole time yelling about how they were never given a chance and all that, as some people like to do in their commentaries. I only wish the show had had a definitive ending, and, of course, that I had watched episode nine before episode eight, as I was instructed to do. I'm not going to say anything to spoil it, just that if you pick up the DVDs for yourself, you should watch nine, then eight, it gives it more of an "ending" feel, if only slightly....

MAKE AT LEAST A TV MOVIE TO FINISH IT OFFIt happens again a amazing and truly unique television show comes along with great acting and a great script and what happens it gets cancelled.I'm sure with all the money fox have made from the DVD sales they can see that there is interest there so how about following it up either with one movie or even a series.Even a made for TV movies series maybe 1 or 2 could give the show the end it deserves or even spark a mini franchise. Kojak was made it to a series of TV movies years after it was ended why not this.

The show is about a guy named Hobbes who is put into a sort of alternate reality (like the matrix, but knowingly). Hobbes wants to get out of this alternate reality and the only way is to kill a guy called Santiago. Chris Carter's (creator of the x-files) directing makes the show very good and have a great plot and acting. Another cool thing is the constant use of the song "Climbatize" by prodigy. Overall a great plot and very well made show. Was one of those summer shows on fox that was really good but never made it.