User reviews

Californication is one of my favorite shows from all times. When I started Aquarius I thought that I was going to see Hank Moody resolving crimes in the early 60s but the Duchovny acting as Samson was so convincing that not for a single moment I thought about Californication. The same occurs when you watch the X files: another character very well formed but completely different from the other Duchovny's roles . That's good acting. The show is convincing, realistic and has a great soundtrack. If it weren't for the brownish filter that they put in every single episode with the purpose of letting you know that the events take place in the 60s the show will be great.

I would like to know the shows the rest of the reviewers are watching that are so entertaining. I was impressed with how well Aquarius held my attention. Its not a documentary or biopic. If it was it wouldn't last beyond an hour long episode. Instead, Aquarius adds creative twists that make the show worth watching. I've never been interested in crime shows and I have a very short attention span. I had no problem making it through the first season of Aquarius and enjoyed every episode. I can't trust the snob reviews people post on here. This isn't the best show ever but it's certainly not bad. Duchovny does a great job as well as the rest of the cast. Gethin Anthony plays a great bad guy. His face makes me mad now. Sorry Gethin, but great job buddy!

I'm hearing a lot of negative comments in reference to this show and its realism especially as to the actor portraying Manson, I don't think that they got the info that the year this show is portraying is 1967, not 1969 when Mansons family did the killings and Manson was clearly then a madman.. I think the show is probably building up to it if the show last that long I personally think that the madness the actor is building up in his Manson character is exceptional, though this is my opinion and we all have one.

I find this series quite fascinating, it was a bit slow in the beginning but most new shows are. I found this show is different than all of the current cop shows on TV and I find it very entertaining. I was always a David Duchovny fan and I just discovered this show on demand over a weekend and spent the whole day watching all 12 episodes. The characters, to me, are mesmerizing, especially the guy who plays Manson (Genthon Anthony plays freaky amazingly well). I was never really into the whole Charlie Manson thing but my friend forced me to watch and I was hooked, in the beginning I thought that the plot would be the whole story line on Charlie Manson but there are other issues inter-weaved with the Charles Manson story not too mention the whole 60's era including the fashion, music, the attitude of the era between the hippy community and the so-called, overdrinking, straight laced adults which I really am enjoying. I'm hoping the show last a while.

From time to time, a jewel is created and Aquarius is one of those.

A mixture of fiction and reality alike, based on true events of the 1967-1969 period.

• Superb script and storylines with correct development. Some fillers were there, story and character-wise.
• Brilliant depiction of that period in all scenes.
• Superb and believable acting by all of the cast. They all shone unequivocally.
• Stellar accompanying music and sountrack.

I won't be repeating in details what some reviewers hinted regarding the brilliant cast. Nobody here was above the other. Everybody did his job correctly and awesomly and was part of the big picture. As always, David Duchovny enthralled with his ever-present charisma.

A pity that unknown events led to the cancellation of this shiny series, with only sadness and disappointment remaining...

Anyone that has done some research on Manson, the family and all circumstances that surrounded them before during and after the horrific countless murders that climaxed with the Tate La Bianca ones and the three ring circus that was the trial, knows that there was no need for writers and producers to embellish or go off book. Fact is stranger than fiction, especially in this story, you can't make this stuff up. The cast of characters, hippies, ranchers, runaways, satanic cultists, vindictive hells angels, black militants they re all there along with riff raff of all kind. Just read Ed Sanders The Family and Helter Skelter. There was no need to embellish, and the kids are way to contemporary. Some of the girls sound like jappy valley girls.

After about 4 or 5 episodes I find myself waiting for Duchovny to come back into a scene, he makes this whole show go forward; otherwise, a bit plodding in terms of story and script. The Manson actor good but in a scene with Duchovny, no contest who makes the scene memorable. Without Duchovny, a plodding script with pretty boy, pretty girl actors whom you want to be forgiving towards as it is obvious they are trying their best and good at it, but the script will not let you do it.

The show does a pretty good job of showing the times for what they were in terms of dress, cars, music and the like but at times, it gets in the way of the show. For example, the Duchovny characters son shows up having fled the war as an enlisted soldier appalled that he was in Cambodia fighting what he believed was an illegal war. Accurate but really off topic and this character is a diversion to the plot and unnecessary to illustrate the times. It is unlikely Manson did what he did because of this, so why throw this in the script (including the Black Panther movement angle)?

If the writers had stuck to the crime drama, dress, music, cars of the period it would have been a great series. Too many plot diversions that are unnecessary and make the script plodding.

BTW, David looks great for his age and his acting accomplished. He makes the pretty boy actors in the show look just that, boys and not men. Why I gave the show an 8/10. Without him in this show, try 6/10 at best.

What could go wrong? A new series with David Duchovny playing a detective. An interesting period like the sixties. Bigger than life villains like Manson. Check, check, check... it had all the elements to succeed. And I guess it didn't really fail for me, it just fell so far short of what I had hoped for. Regular old TV instead of something special. Too many clichés, unoriginal plot devices and 2 dimensional characters. And Manson... I usually don't mind an artistic license but his story is so well known. I felt like some kind of line was crossed with his character. The way race was introduced felt too abrupt and crude too. I wouldn't say "don't watch this" but... I wouldn't want you to expect something special or memorable. It's just a TV show, average or slightly below.

There are some shows that don't really click with you. They can be well filmed, they can be well acted, but you just can't get enthusiastic about them. For me, Aquarius is one of those series.

There were things that started putting me off right away. The cinematography was slick but uninteresting. And I love 60s music, but I'm a little tired of this idea that you have to have people constantly listening to all the coolest songs from the 60s.

I didn't find most of the characters interesting, including Manson. I admit, Manson is tough, in that it's possible he really was kind of uninteresting but good at talking to particularly dumb girls, but to me he seems transparent and that makes his success puzzling.

For me, the only real bright spot was Grey Damon as an undercover cop. His scenes were all good, and I enjoyed the banter between Damon and Duchovny (although the rest of the time I found Duchovny flat).

I think this series is well enough made that there are people who will really like it, but I felt restless within the first 10 minutes and nothing in the rest of the first episode pulled me in after that. So I'll skip it.

I'm halfway through the first season of Aquarius and am thoroughly enjoying it. The acting is superb and the sets from the 60's are remarkable. Duchovny, Grey Damon and Gethin Anthony all hit home runs with their characters. NBC took a gigantic gamble by making the entire season available online once the premier episode aired. I respect and appreciate that decision because this show is a great one to binge on. Making such a bold move seems to have pushed expectations to unattainable heights based on some of the reviews I've seen. This is a good series. Anyone rating it or any of the episodes 1/10 should be ignored. I just hope the opinions of "haters" don't cause a show as entertaining as this to be canceled.

It's 1967 Los Angeles. LAPD detective Sam Hodiak (David Duchovny) searches for his ex Grace Karn and her politically active husband Ken's runaway daughter Emma. Sam uses young undercover detective Brian Shafe and rookie cop Charmain Tully. Brian deals with racial tension being married to African American Kristin. Emma has fallen under the influence of Charles Manson and joins his family. Manson tries to be a singer with Brian Wilson and rails for a race war eventually leading to the Tate-LaBianca murders.

This has a brooding mood that fits nicely with a grimy 60's vibe. Duchovny is a solid leading TV actor. His younger partner's story is good especially with his black wife and the racial clash. Emma Dumont provides the connective tissue between the two sides of the show and is overwhelmed by the responsibility. Her character never takes charge of her own story although she is suppose to submit to Manson. Gethin Anthony plays Manson functionally but he needs to overpower. The first season meanders. The second season is much more compelling with the most epic of the Manson story. The show has some interesting stuff.

I lived through the Sixties as a young woman. The dialogue in Aquarius is ridiculous. None of us talked that way - especially not with Valley Girl accents. The writers have used contemporary teen talk, made-up cop insults and the worst of Jim Morrison's yowling poetry. The costumes are absurd - the writers seem to think that all you have to do to create a hippie character is give them dirty and ragged clothes. The clash with the cops is ludicrous - nobody used the insults the mob shouts. Not only weren't the hippies all white, many of us were older. Many of us believed in and worked at building a viable counter-culture. As for Manson - who seems to have become an object of juvenile fascination - he was singular. There were serious communes all over the States. All in all, miss this shoddy piece of exploitation. If you want to know what it was like being a hippie, find an old hippie and ask them.

Aquarius has good foundations for a drama thriller with its time period and decent cast. That being said, it doesn't really excite. The atmosphere is drab, not in intentionally classic manner, and the plot isn't audience friendly due to the vague script. The most it can offer is buddy cop mystery or the chase of an enigmatic villain, which is actually decent. However, as audiences have known better mystery show like True Detective or even The Following which has remarkably similar concept, Aquarius might not reach the iconic stature of its original source.

The show opens with a missing girl. Sam (David Duchovny) is called by his associates to look for the girl, who unfortunately has record of misbehavior. Then he embarks on the investigation, meeting potential suspect and hardheaded colleagues as the show frequently switches to the antagonist's point of view. It tries to give perspective of both sides in parallel.

It's properly made with sandy visual flair and hefty influence of the era like the baggy costume or old-fashioned tune. However, the introductions of the characters are bland. They are not memorable, even the role of Charles Manson is overly cryptic. It gets the story going, but doubtfully captives the audience. The songs and gimmick feel cosmetic, they don't emphasis much on the time except occasional reminders of trivial hippie style.

David Duchovny also isn't that engaging as the lead. He seems flat and is an uninteresting reminiscence of cop stereotype. Gethin Anthony as Charles Manson does a decent role of creepy yet alluring mysterious man, although he might not be that psychologically menacing. The script could've done a better job on setting the era or the character, but as much of the dialogues feel forced in hope to be edgy but ends up unrelatable.

Aquarius doesn't have glaring flaws, it doesn't possess clever hook or identifiable characters either. It's an average mystery drama with all of its aspects intact, but it is not as exalted as the real life source.

This is a pretty interesting series. It shows different aspects of the late 60's and issues that plagued L.A. I really enjoy the dialogue between Charlie Manson trying to make his stake in L.A. His lawyer's back story will be interesting to see how he turns out. I also don't think the wife has the family's best interest at heart. David Duchoviny's doing a great job as the lead detective. I didn't think this would pan out to be to appealing,but I was wrong. It's well shot and the acting is great. The whole series is very easy to watch and catch up on as a mini series. I don't really see this lasting beyond a few years. Give it a try. Even if it might take a while. I'm definitely checking out the X-Files now!

This show fails to capture the era on so many levels. Mad Men, although not perfect in this regards, does a much, much better job with the styles, culture, etc. of the period. With Aquarius, they barely even made an effort to get the clothes, hair, furniture, etc. to look like the 60s. In fact, it looks more like 1997 than 1967.

Completely sloppy and uninspiring. It's like no one bothered to grow their hair out from the current 21st century styles because they never expected the series to get picked up. "Ah, just throw in a bunch of overused, cliché 60s hits. The millennials will never know the difference!"

I loved Californication, except for the seventh season, which I'd like to forget ever existed. Don't even get me started on that stinker! But Californication was unique... a bit of low-brow adult fun.

Aquarius has no raison d'être. I mean why rewrite history when the real events are sensational enough? Last summer I read "Mason: The life and times of Charles Manson." That was a page-turner! There's more than enough interesting material to make a TV series out of. The actor they chose to play Charles Manson just doesn't fit. He needs to conjure up less Ashton Kutcher and more Brad Pitt in Twelve Monkeys.

I wouldn't say I hate this series, but I could barely get through the pilot. It's too bad, because the concept (i.e. real events) have a lot of potential. A perfect example is the movie "Zodiac". If the writers/producers had created a series like that, it would have been quite captivating. I'll give Aquarius another watch at some point to see if I can get past its flaws, but at the moment I can't rate it more than 3-5/10.

I have to be honest; this was initially hard to get into. This was due, in my case, to the fact that I wasn't sure what this show was originally supposed to be focused on. During the initial launch, it seemed to be tied more into Charles Manson and the Tate-LaBianca murders and I thought that the series would be focused on the officers and detectives that caught the case. Not true. THis was a gritty, film noirish, slice of sixties life, after the "summer of love" and touches on politics, family, dissolution with the Vietnam war, communes, race relations, the good and bad of police forces and their employees, women in the workforce, crimes unrelated to the Manson murders and many other issues of the time.

The scripts were well written and casting was excellent. You will see many familiar faces and of the new ones, many that you should see again. I especially enjoyed the work of David Duchovny and Grey Damon, who played the two detective leads. Also very good were Gethin Anthony (Manson), Claire Holt and Michaela McManus. But honestly, I found most of the characters realistic and the roles well acted.

During the two seasons, the creative team covered a lot of varied stories and they provided a satisfying ending to the series. I am not sure that it is necessary for this show to return for a third season, but if it does, I will definitely tune in.

Hope you give this series a chance as it is worth it!

The series has a very similar style and feel to that show and the 60's setting is captured perfectly. There is a lot going on in the background of this atmospheric drama: racial tensions, sexism towards female police workers, sexual exploitation and the growing of many recreational drug culture, all that being explored in the storylines whilst remaining firmly centred around the creepy Charles Manson, played brilliantly by Gethin Antony. David Duchovny simply great.

This was my era. I was a young adult during the Vietnam war. I remember Kennedy being assassinated. I remember Sharon Tate being crucified. This show is garbage. Does not catch the atmosphere of the times. The writing is insipid and stupid. The acting is awful. The casting is dreadful. Stay away.

And I was really looking forward this show with anticipation. Garbage. Duchovny looks like a tired dolt. Gethin Anthony is an awful Charlie Manson. What were they thinking? Granted he is a fine actor but as Charlie Manson, he does not get it. An awful awful show. I predict that it won't even last a season.

An original, sprawling, epic television event and as riveting a mini- series ever produced for television. The story is engrossing and the period atmosphere precise and overwhelming. The writing is absolutely superb, sometimes even brilliant. Among the many elements that make this such a special event is the cinematography. It recalls film noir and still captures the color and off kilter tones of the 60's. The acting is uniformly excellent, with David Duchovny giving a stunning performance as the detective, Hodiak. It is stellar work and deserving of an Emmy nomination at least. In fact, there is little that isn't award worthy in Aquarius. Intense, fascinating, and utterly enthralling, this is television at its very finest.