THE PURGE

            The Purge: A 50 Minute Premier with Mixed Reactions!!

  
During a 12-hour period when all crime -- including murder -- is legal, a group of seemingly unrelated characters cross paths in a city in an altered America. While the clock winds down, some will fight, some will hide, others will embrace what it means to purge to its fullest extent -- whether for revenge, personal gain, protection, or unadulterated glee. As each character is forced to reckon with his or her past and plot how to better their futures, they soon discover how far they will go on Purge Night.

  We don't need to delve into the plot or story as we are all familiar with the concept of The Purge, from its Movie heritage. It's even basically simple, 12 hours within which period Violence is legal. Some people try to survive through the 12 hours while some make the best use of the holiday by unleashing the beast in them.
  Now it's tv adaptation premiered yesterday 4th September 2018, and my God people were pumped for its release. Basically everyone was interested in 2 things; seeing the franchise bring unrestrained and unexplained violence to the small screens, and also how the creators will be able to fit the events of a 12 hour period into a 10 episode tv show. We expected that to achieve this, the otherwise concentrated theme and plot of the movie franchise will need undoubtedly be diluted with elements such as emotional factors, family ties, romance and perhaps revenge/ betrayal cycles. We only hoped that Michael Bay and Fuller had the right formular to achieve the desired objective; bring the big screen to our TV while retaining the original concept and it's effect on the viewers / audience.
  The season premier of The Purge started a whole 80 minutes before the commencement of the Purge Night, and we must confess that it was a bold move and brilliant one. The absence of this pre-purge moments would have put a strain on the storyline and perhaps cause an even bigger strain on the overall outlook of the series.

 The first episode has done a good job of introducing the principal actors or characters in the TV show, with a view to presenting the viewers with their take on the Purge concept, how they intended to deal with it, and ultimately what they MAY be doing on Purge Night.
Miguel (Gabriel Chavarria) is on a quest to find his sister who is missing. His quest has led him to different locations,which in essence kept him outside his home for the commencement of The Purge. Mention must also be made of the fact that he is a Marine, making him one of the characters to watch out for during Purge Night.
Jane( Amanda Warren) a hardworking finance professional. We see that she has to work on Purge Night, and has to leave her sick mom in bed at a hospital. We also realise that she has a transaction with a shady individual whom we believe will be a Purge assassin( since there is no Purge allowed on the office floor). Her angle will perhaps make for a compelling narrative.
Rick( Colin Woodell) who is finally climbing the social ladder after a lifetime of being on the sidelines. He is invited for a dinner with the pre-purge elite, and he decides to attend with his business partner/ wife with the hope of closing one of the biggest deals in their lives. They perhaps have other unimaginable things coming their way? We'd love to see how that plays out.
 Penelope (Jessica Garza) Miguel 's sister,  who is also a member of a Purge - worshipping cult devoted to sacrificing for the benefit of the Purge. Her Faith is tested for the first time when she witnesses the Purge of one of her fellow members. We already know that she will be rescued by Miguel, so not much to anticipate there.
  From the first episode, we realise that there is a lot of potential stories that could develop or be developed therefrom, so we think on the stories side and the storytelling aspect, the show has hit the ground running, the plot may not be rock solid, but it's bound to be compelling and maybe even rivetting.

 But, and a big BUT; WHERE IS THE VIOLENCE???? It's a big ask, and we must ask it. Where is the violence associated with the movie franchise? Where is the gore? Where are the adrenaline inducing scenes  and most importantly, where is the BLOOD? The Purge franchise is not for kids and we don't expect the TV adaptation to be. We want to sed the violence, we want to see man's expression of violence, maniacal portrayal of our innate inner beast, unleashing of our inner beasts and the uprising of our demons.
  As things stand from the Premier, it may be easily deduced that perhaps the creators are playing it safe by producing a content suited for all audience? That would be a very bad move. The situation is not helped in any way by the concluding scenes of the first episode which saw the first Purge and it was poor, it was disastrous. It was presented in mere silhouette. We are not impressed!
FCA'S AppR :7/10 for effort.
It can get better.