I think most of the critics are from people who did watch the movie in the 80's and are expecting this TV series to be a replica of the movie but I'm on the camp that it CAN NOT HAPPEN, this is not a TV Series based on a comic that has hundreds of volumes and enough story line to even make two or three movies besides the TV Series, we are talking that they are creating a TV Series that each episode is over forty five minutes, eight episodes per season that's like three times length of the original movie so yes they have includes things that didn't happen on the movie but keeping the essence, you cant expect Dan and Alex be fucking on the first episode and on the second having a knife fight.
I have only watch the first episode and find it good, not very good but good enough to keep me entertain, focus and wanting to watch the second episode, I think actors are doing a good job at taking their characters to life, Joshua Jackson who have work on great projects like Oceans Eleven, Cruel Intentions, The Affair just to mention a few, as Dan Gallagher and Lizzy Caplan from Truth Be Told, Castle Rock, Cloverfield playing Alex Forrest, this two playing the main characters so far are doing a good job at keeping things entertain and starting to build up some tense chemistry for each other with Alex been the one who started the fire.
At RTT this movie has a sixty nine percentage of acceptance by average audience meaning people who just want to be entertain and kill some time while thirty seven percent only from critics, at IMDB the story is not so different with a 5.9/10.
RTT : https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/fatal_attraction_2023
This is a series that at least for episode one goes back and forward in time, for some viewers that might be distracting and confuse at some times since the episodes does it without any warning and get you to those moments of "oohhh ...." when you actually connect the dots, Dan has been in jail for fifteen years after he was found guilty of the murder of Alex Forrest and is paroled, as his first step he decides to connect with his family specially with his daughter because his wife most likely wont see him, Dan tells a justice board government how he cant stop thinking about what he did, how he did it and why he did it to understand himself, it sounded very convincing besides the has been a good boy inside prison all this years, the board will consider if he can go on paroled, on this hearing was his daughter Ellen but he didn't notice.
Before everything went to hell, Dan was a very successful lawyer working for the government as prosecutor with a great record, a family man, dedicated to job, wife and daughter, clean record, smart, everyone at work like him and was always willing to help others with their different cases, he was waiting in line to be elected as judge but his wife for some reason keeps suggesting to working for a private firm that he doesn't need to be judge but becoming a judge if I'm not wrong is a dream come true for most lawyers, its probably the pinnacle of a career, there might be higher positions but been judge is when you actually make it, on average I think lawyers might consider it the case.
Dan and Alex meet for the first time after one of Alex coworker Conchita cant make it to court, she sends Alex instead to persecute a man for murder, they talk to the family victims giving them a few instructions on how to behave in front of the jury, basic lawyer instructions, after that moment they start to see each other more often not necessarily like Dan was looking for Alex but the opposite, Alex is a beautiful woman and its not secret that other lawyers friend of Dan wont mind banging Alex.
Dan had dinner with his wife family for his birthday, he is now 40, waiting in line to become a judge but not only his wife told him that's not necessary but I think I know from where she gets that, from her father, Dan father in law starts questioning his decision to become judge, about the dressing code with the rope, how been a judge makes no difference for him, how little money he would make with all the responsibility to take, how his judge salary wouldn't cover a private school for Ellen, Dan takes a lot of shit from others but to be honest they might be right.
Dan gets called by the judge who he is going to replace to let him know he didn't get the position and wont become a judge, he will now have to wait another four years if he still wants it, he didn't gets de judge position because of a corrupted move from the governor, this tip him over badly and start talking shit how he didn't want the job anyways, gets drunk, lets to his first close encounter with Alex, Dan to a near restaurant where most that work at court go to have a drink and there was Alex, they have a short talk and that was it but then he goes back to his office to pick up his car keys and cross her on the elevator where she makes the first lets say proposal to him, to pull the alarm button for the elevator and let it stop just to find out what happens, he was begging him to fuck her right there but the moment she was going to pull the button some other lawyers get into the elevator, Dan was a bit drunk but heavily distracted by everything that happen that day now have to deal with Alex, he ends up crashing his car. After this he starts looking for Alex but didn't want others to know, he was into her and wants her, this is when his entire life starts to go down hill.
Going back to the present, Dan gets on paroled, Ellen decides to meet him even after her mom told her she didn't want to but also told her that shouldn't be the reason she doesn't meet his father, they met and Dan explains Ellen his plan, first he only said he was guilty and did that time to get out, he didn't kill Ellen and now that he is out he will prove it.
How is that not entertaining, an ex lawyer with nothing to loose who manipulated the system to get out and now is going to prove he is innocent, it will all depend how sane he is after all that time and going through the experience of been in jail for that long.
