Why You Should Be Watching ABC’s ‘Resurrection’ – Stream Episodes For Free

The last time that I got into a TV show was a few years back when ABC 'resurrected' Kenneth Johnson's alien invasion story called simply 'V' standing for 'Visitors' that I grew up with as a kid in the 80's. Now, the network is on to something really interesting and new and for the first time in years, I find myself looking forward to a date with the TV. Besides, what else could you POSSIBLY be doing Sunday nights at 9?

It's called Resurrection and the basic premise is to ask the question, What would you do if someone that you loved passed away and then one day, years later they suddenly showed up on your doorstep at the exact age they were when you lost them? That question alone was enough to hook me and after watching the first episode a month ago, ABC instantly turned me into a tube zombie for at least one hour a week anyway. I normally dislike TV shows in general because the production, acting, music, and writing are usually subpar to feature films and rightly so because they don't have the cash to blow that movies houses do. But this series FEELS like a film (albeit disseminated in weekly 40-minute bites) and gets my 5-star vote in every category I can think of.

Although the show seems rooted in science fiction and explores why people keep rising from the grave in this small town, it spends much more time exploring the impact that events like this have on each character's interactions with each other. You instantly find yourself caring about each character and projecting both how it might feel as either a left-behind loved one or the returned themselves. Contrast that experience with Aronofsky's big-budget blockbuster 'Noah' in which I didn't really find myself drawn to any of the all-star cast, music, effects or story in the 140 straight minutes that I sat through it. Resurrection has wracked up 120 minutes so far in the first four episodes and I can tell you that I was instantly sucked in from the first frames of the first episode when the little boy in the red shirt woke up in a rice field.

Of course just like radio, TV shows are designed to leave you wanting more every minute so you stick around through commercial breaks and keep coming back week after week but it's not every day that a show rivets me like this. It's like a book that you can't put down, and speaking of books, this whole show is based on a book written by first-time writer Jason Mott aptly titled 'The Returned'. Not bad for his debut work and of course I went out and grabbed it once I saw it referenced in the credits of the show. Think I've cracked it open yet? Nope. I'm worried that if I pick it up it'll spoil all of the suspense and surprises that the show has in store. I still may cave in and dive into it hungrily, but until then there it sits on my nightstand. Taunting me.

Now if you're like me, it's hard to get into a story-driven show midway through, so if you'd like to binge-watch what's happened so far, ABC is streaming every episode for free here and if you'd like to own these tiny masterpieces, they're available on iTunes for the customary $3 per episode too. If your Sunday nights were boring and drab, they certainly aren't anymore.