Small review, no point in large reviewThe series was briliant. New idea for the time of mystical story of trying to retrieve their father from the jungle down a mysterious river. However strange things happen on the way. Its an extremely brilliant story, excellent characters. I dont understand wht they never made the second series, It doesnt make sense, even stephen king liked the series...MAKE THE SECOND SERIES!!!!!!

"The River" is one of those great shows that you can't help but wonder what could have been. The show is about a famous explorer and naturalist, Dr. Emmet Cole (played by Bruce Greenwood) who mysteriously disappears without a trace in the Amazon. When he is declared dead, his son wants to move on. However, his mother, convinces him to come along with her to the Amazon to find the location where the Dr's beacon was last seen. There's a catch though. In order to be able to do this, they have to travel with a documentary film crew or else there will be no funding. This is where we get the Blair witch look and feel to the show, which should come as no surprise since Oren Peli of "Paranormal Activity" fame created the show. Unbeknowst to our heroes, the area where Emmet Cole was last tracked is a place where very few people have gone to and returned, for this area is controlled by the powers of darkness and inhabited by all sorts of ghosts, spirits, demons, zombies, and powerful shaman natives. All of this equals some pretty cool and spooky episodes. One episode that was particularly creepy was the one that dealt with the vengeful spirit of a little girl and her doll collection. When you see it, you'll know what I'm talking about. Along the way, we learn more about the Cole family and how things were not as perfect as they seemed, such as the strained relationship between Emmet and his son, Lincoln. There's also something shady about the expedition's security chief, though we never find out exactly what's going on. Which brings me to my next point, the fact that despite all of this, the show still got canceled. Perhaps this is one of those shows that should have been on cable, since such shows do not require as much ratings and often times deal with more dark subject matters than your typical broadcast network show. Then again, in this age of gutter reality TV shows like "The Jersey Shore", maybe people just don't know what good television is anymore. And that's something more terrifying than any ghost or goblin.

Was really enjoying this show, was somewhat slow paced at first but got interesting and kept me into it.... however as the first season ends (only 8 episodes) I really thought it got worse and the final two episodes just got somewhat stupid and I was at the point where I almost shut it off and gave up, but figured may as well watch the remainder. With the mixture of "Lost" storytelling and "Paranormal Activity", well it soon became "the exorcist" in the finale, far fetched and just plain stupid I thought. I doubt this series will be renewed for a second season, if it is I won't bother watching it, what looked like a promising good series ending up being a disappointment for me.

This show (The River) is one of the most dramatic and scary TV SHOWS ever filmed. If this was a movie, I would as it needed work, but since it is on TV and there is only so much you can show on TV before it wouldn't pass the sensors .... it is great! It is shot in the perspective of a bouncy TV camera or home video camera, while running through the jungle, caves, cramped boat/ship hallways etc ... Anyone who has seen "Jaws" knows that the less you show of the shark, the more horror and suspense is left up to the imagination ... and that is how this show is shot ... with many chase scenes, dark jungles, and unexplained scary events that Americans can not explain because the mysterious happenings in the show happen due to the weird lifestyle of the Amazonian creatures and peoples. This is a TOTALLY NEW concept for a TV show! It isn't another "cop" show with a new fancy name, or another medical show that has magical miracle doctors with soap opera personal lives.... It is strange, suspenseful,sexy, mysterious and very intriguing.... each episode is totally different than the last, but you must watch them in order to understand because they do follow a plot path and time-line. REMEMBER when you would watch a horror flick and yell at the hot babe who was about to open the door even though you knew the murderer was on the other side, or when she was being chased, she ran up the stairs instead of out the door .... that is how this TV show is. Honestly, I know I would not do the stuff they do .... even if my dad was missing and out there .... Plus, I Ain't NEVER GOING TO THE AMAZON NOW! Please, dismiss what the other review say, and watch the show for yourself if you want to see a great new concept for a TV show. Start at episode 1 and work right through in order .... I promise, you will want to watch the episodes in succession one right after the other. Enjoy