Alex-372 I don't like this mini series. It tries to be "24", but it doesn't have the guts, the writing ability or the actors to get away with it.No one in this series is likable. I don't like the switching back and forth between uppercrust English (Hari Kumar, anyone?) and arabic dialog, because no one talks like that. Dermot Mulroney who is no Kiefer Sutherland, comes of as a selfrighteous prick, Jemma Redgrave looks plain (unlike the rest of the family), and the British cast seems to have walked straight out of one of the myriad of second tier British cop series.When watching this stuff, I thought "there are Miami Vice episodes made 20 years ago that this dreck couldn't touch". And that's with all modern technology.

Decrypt3 This comment contains spoilers, unless you've seen the third episode.The release of "The Grid" could not have come at a better time. One of the primary conflicts in the series is the bureaucracy involved between the various American and British intelligence agencies, right when we're in the midst of all this stuff in the real world about an "intelligence czar" and a national counter-terrorism center. One of the series' merits is that it shows what could happen if the government lets bureaucracy get in the way of actually fighting terrorism.Some have objected to "The Grid" on the basis of its being racist. I have two counter- arguments. The first is that Muslim extremists are the group identified by a lot of Americans as the primary terrorist group in the world, so involving any other group would not "click" with audiences. Sad but true, I know. The second counter-argument is that the series makes an effort to humanize the antagonists. Ragib Mutar, for example, gets unwillingly caught up in the terrorist plot, initially only because he wants the best for his patients, and he suffers greatly for his involvement.Most of the actors are good enough to hold up the story. The exceptions are, unfortunately, the two main actors, the only ones who are named in the trailers: Julianna Margulies and Dylan McDermott. Neither of them seems to be able to evoke the appropriate emotions on screen. I can't speak for Margulies, but I know McDermott is a fairly good actor (from seeing him on "The Practice"). Here, he's either not trying or he's miscast.The supporting actors are excellent, especially Tom Skerritt, Jemma Redgrave and Bernard Hill. Hill was a superb choice to play Derek Jennings - he is a natural tough guy and very British. He even looks like a grizzled veteran. You don't see him really act like one until the third episode - see below - but when he does, he's amazingly convincing. Redgrave creates mystery around her character very well - you can never be sure exactly what she's thinking or what her intentions are. We see that the character can be very cool and calm, but at other times she shows emotion, but you get the feelings those emotions might be fake.Especially during the pilot episode, the action seemed to drag a bit too long. The pace only really started to pick up towards the end, where the FBI raids a warehouse. I never really felt a lot of suspense and adrenaline except for one scene in the third episode involving Derek Jennings in an elevator. That made my heart pound crazily. You see Bernard Hill's skill as an actor - you can tell he's suspicious of the assassin, but you can't tell that he knows who he is. You wonder if Jennings' experience and training will save his life or if he will become just another victim.I look forward to the finale, when all the intricate plot threads will finally come together (hopefully). I will definitely be watching it, and I hope it doesn't go downhill.

e_clagerlof We set aside a quiet time to watch the tape of the first show, and just completed the second episode. The photography is wonderful. Most of the actors/characters are multi-dimensional and the story line is quite balanced in developing them. The pace of the show keeps you interested and engaged. I am disappointed, however, that we have yet one more show where 'terrorist' really only means Muslim, or at best, Arab. Last time I looked, there were terrorists from all countries, races, religions and genders. Oh well, another reason to read a good book, listen to music or take a walk on the beach. (The sunsets here are incredible!)

Justin I have just seen the first episode of the series, and it was compelling and well made.It reminded me of watching 24, without the high speed tension, and localized setting. This is a global 24 that isn't really hour by hour. But it works well, very well. In fact as you're watching you can sit there and see it working very well. It doesn't just involve the Americans doing everything, which is a nice change. I guess I should organize this a bit better and go into detail about a few of the things I like.First, I think recent events of the 9/11 commission and their ideas of making a centralized system, as seen in the show. It shows how the CIA and other agencies seem to dislike each other and in fact seems that it is quite like real life. These with recent events make it feel as if you could be watching the news of what could really be happening.Second, it's nice to be in London, seeing MI5 and MI6, doing their own work, and the relationship between those to agencies, as well as US intelligence.Third, the acting is quite good for a made for TV movie, and the development of each was well done. It is quite bloody, and has a nice amount of explosions. The camera work is nice and works well. Fourth, and lastly, the story itself seems to be very well crafted. It fits in so well to today's society that it is quite capable of being a news broadcast rather then fiction. In the end it is an all around well crafted TV "limited" series, and I will be back next Monday to watch it again! 9/10