unconventional ending series.

Ending series (The Walking Dead .. etc) are currently popular. The series "The Strain" is based on a book trilogy (The seed / blood / night) of the relatively well-known film director Guillermo del Toro ("Hellboy I and II", "Pan's Labyrinth"), along with Chuck Hogan. Whose book "Prince of Thieves" has also been made into a film and honored by Ben Affleck as "The Town".

With this knowledge I have therefore begun with rather high expectations "The Strain" to watch. First, I must say, the series manages relatively quickly build a high Next Look factor.

Main theme is first landing of an aircraft from Europe (more specifically from Germany / Berlin). Shortly after landing, the aircraft remains motionless. All passengers appear to be dead.
The disease expert and doctor Ephraim Good Weather (Corey Stoll) of the "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention" (CDC ~ Disease Control) survived by his wife and son separated. His ex wife (Natalie Brown) has a new partner and lives in her old house. Good Weather tries to bring about a shared custody of their son. This is rather hopeless, because he is the one married to his profession and secondly recovering alcoholic. The actor has starred in quite a few that I know films or series (eg House of cards). I think I credible and well cast him. But I do not hope that his roles carry autobiographical. Even in House of cards he played an alcoholic and narcotic addicts ... So a little troubled hero with obvious flaws, but ever quite good and interesting start and is better than to be "Too Smooth". But one reaps namely mostly empathy points of viewers (see, eg, Don Draper from Mad Men) and provides opportunities for identification.

Good Weather is supported by his Argentine colleague (and actually new) friend Dr. Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) and (from the "Lord of the Rings' known Sean Astin) wizard Jim Kent. Very worth mentioning is the superb cast, David Bradley (known from Harry Potter and Game of Thrones) as vampire hunter Abraham Setrakian. This has been in the Nazi era in Germany contact with the "Strigoi" - what is told in flashbacks.
Behind the death of the passengers apparently is the spread of a kind of virus that caused by a kind of ancient vampire king who apparently at the behest of an eccentric billionaire (Eldritch Palmer) arbeitet- in exchange for immortality and the like ... One of his henchmen is the German-born Thomas Eichhorst (Richard Sammel), which is far more than he seems initially.

Episode by episode, a team of most of the above actors and some minor characters, tackle the fight against the disease completes. So much in fact a good series. The acting performance / or possibly just the occupation of individuals I find particularly successful (Abraham Setrakian; Ephraim Good Weather, Thomas Eichhorst etc ..), but the rest also falls at least not unpleasant.

Let's talk about the weaknesses of the series:

1. In the first six episodes Although it is possible to create a high stay tuned factor, but one can not quite help but to feel that the time timing - is mainly how to spread the disease is poor. Also, the series hardly cares aim is to highlight the major impact of the vampire virus. The series creators focussieren more on the character representation of the main characters, which I think is not bad in principle. Nevertheless, they threaten to anything to get bogged down ...

2. The biology / pathophysiology of vampires, or should we rather say vampire zombies (?), Is also an issue on which I have touched up as an author something. I always emphasize in my reviews that authenticity I value (also in the context of the corresponding genres). The series creators define "vampire" in their own fashion which I find ok. However, here a very original mix of several elements takes place. If you remotely has idea about science, you realize that the makers have made here no big head. The one with the worms has a high ick factor and the humors are therefore extremely contagious. Nevertheless, the heads and dividing the vampire zombies inject much "juice" on the screen that actually each of the troops had already infected must be. I would have let me come up with a more plausible biology here or another somewhat more credible transmission.

3. The presentation of the vampires themselves, I find actually succeeded (with the trunk is not so ..) The master, however, is not just the series einheimsen the Special Effects Oscar. That's almost funny way so trashy poorly managed, that he did not act creepy. Should he be a relative of a carp? He has a head like a fish ... Well ...

Conclusion:

Overall, a very daring combination of different elements. Even the vampire genre is not spared before innovations. The contagion mode is relatively innovative, although biologically / medically quite logical (what bothers me a little). The plot is very focussed on the actors and their environment. Leaving aside the to, I would give the overall look of the series a 2.5 to 2.75. It is almost too good to portray them as bad.
The second season I want to see in any case. The books also interest me (have so far only given away) ...