Sunday, April 6, 2014, Turn made its TV debut on AMC at 9PM. The ads hyped up the show and definitely portrayed the show accurately.
This new series is about the colonial days of the United States. The first episode takes place in the fall of 1776 in Long Island just a year after the Revolutionary War started and focuses more on the American spy ring. The American spy ring was a network of spies that General Washington recruited to spy on the British to provide information to the Continental Army. Abraham Woodhull (Abe), the main character of the show, is recruited as an American spy for George Washington and his forces.
The first scene of the show starts off with Abe helping his one year old son to learn how to walk. His wife becomes concerned with her son walking so early because the sooner he learned to walk the sooner he will learn to march and then be sent into battle. After this scene the war becomes more real for the Americans in the show. The premier episode follows Abe through his new struggles: he owes money, he must keep his friend out of jail, and the British believe he killed a British soldier.
Many aspects of the Revolutionary War that students learn in history class are very present in the show especially the Quartering Act: numerous times British soldiers appear edin citizen’s houses and told the owner of a property that they will now be staying in their home.
Jamie Bell, who plays Abe in the show, does a great job of portraying the man who is conflicted within himself, and the man who will do anything for his family. The audience quickly learns about Abe’s financial problems due to his bad harvest the year before, and the harvest that isn’t looking so well again.
This show is informative from a historical stand point and mildly action-packed. It is not over done with gore or violence. Some parts of the show do seem to drag on a bit, however, the viewer can piece the story together later in the show.
History buffs and mystery and investigative show seekers should definitely tune in to this show. The show portrayed its time period very well and will definitely keep recruiting viewers as the season progresses. Turn seems promising as another hit on AMC.
