SnoopyStyle Marta Walraven (Radha Mitchell) comes from a crime family, and when her husband is gunned down, she finds herself entangled by his underworld business. Crime boss Nicholae Schiller (Goran Visnjic) blames her husband for stealing his drugs, and forces her to work for him. It turns out that her brother Irwin Petrov (Wil Traval) was actually the one who stole the drugs.All the underworld crime drama isn't anything new. But in order to get involved, there has to be some rooting interest. The fact is there is nobody likable. Every character is problematic, even the kids. The girl is clueless. The boy is annoyingly idiotic. The family is completely dysfunctional. So who cares what happens to these people. Certainly not me.

noche101 I was willing to give this would-be thriller/drama a chance to develop. Damsel in distress. Check. Damsel has the potential to kick ass. Check. Menacing characters. Almost. Colorful characters. Meh. Sexual tension. Check. Spoiler Alert! First of all, it's ridiculous that Schiller went from being a menacing figure who presumably killed Marta's husband, to being a nice guy that she can take home to the kids. It leaves us without a mysterious villain..... Marta's dad killed her husband? She hardly seems bothered by it. Secondly, they should not have killed Luther. If anything, they should have killed the brother. Killing Luther allows the show to have false closure regarding the death of Marta's husband. Marta's father ordered the killing and she knows it. I have no doubt that next season they'll gloss over this and she will reconcile with her father. There existed sexual tension between Luther and Marta - as much more so than with her and Schiller. It would have made for an excellent triangle. Instead the goofy bozo brother is still around. By killing the dad's girlfriend they are further tightening the immediate family relationships. Dad embraces goofy brother. Mom wants dad back in her bed. Luther should have lived and the dad should have been in the ICU, with his girlfriend at his side. Finally, the killing of Alexandra, was not surprising... but it serves to now unite the Schiller and Marta against Alexandra's family who will seek revenge. Yawn. Why don't they just get married?Oh, and that last scene.... silliness at it's worst. You could almost see Schiller thinking: my future girlfriend's daughter sure has spunk!

jack-mckay-291-882636 Can Marta successfully transform herself from soccer-mom suburban housewife to big-league drug smuggler? She's quite delicious, and convincing, too, as she struggles with her new, and very much unwanted, role. She fumbles and stumbles, and we agonize over her struggle, rooting for this very nice young mother to succeed in the world of tough drug smuggling. Talk about being out of one's depth! But she is, after all, the daughter of a Russian mobster, so evidently she's got the genes for the job. "Marta, you've changed," her father says, impressed with her new toughness. Indeed! And we get to root for her to be successful in a serious criminal activity. I have to wonder how the writers will resolve the dilemma of allowing a criminal action to succeed, while not offering any approval of heroin smuggling.Or will she succeed? If she does not, how will she keep her family safe? Who shot her husband dead? Who took the 75 kilos of heroin that had been stashed in her boat? Man, am I hooked on this show.It helps that Radha Mitchell is intensely desirable. If there's a serious flaw in the plot, it's the way Bob shrugs off her advances, as she tries to befriend him, planning to bribe him to be a partner in the crime. It's hard enough to believe that Marta could enjoy a luxurious life in an expensive Marin County home while never noticing that her husband's rental-fishboat profession cannot possibly support such a rich lifestyle. It's much harder to believe that any man with normal hormones could blithely brush off the advances of such a woman, slender, sexy, and clearly interested in him. That just does not compute.Marta is the heart of the show, and manages to be credible at both soccer-momhood, and wannabe-drug smuggler. One moment she's laughing with ice cream and her children – and then the phone rings, and she's back in the drug-smuggling world, and utterly terrified. That's what makes the show work. We love her, and we really want her to succeed in this awful Russian-mobster role. I can't wait until Sunday, and the next episode.

Ben Jammin Yet another TV show that is supposed to be taking place somewhere other than in beautiful British Columbia Canada where this series is apparently filmed.It's starting to get ridiculous how many shows are filming up there. At least they don't have to bring in the potted plastic palm trees like they do in Psych (which is supposed to be in Santa Barbara) as Red Widow is supposed to be in San Francisco.It seems like Red Widow is devoid of any good acting or character building and doesn't seen to have a plot worth staying awake for.I watched the first 50 minutes and decided there wasn't anything worth spending any more time on.I'd say this show will be a one and done...if it even makes it through the first season. This is not ABC's winner.