There is entertaining television, crazy television, educational television, even intelligent television. Unfortunately, if there are cancellations, it seems like the intelligent shows get canceled. I have the unfortunate task of reviewing ABC's The River; unfortunate, not because it is a bad show but because it was an intelligent show I liked, that has been canceled after one season. At least this thought-provoking, at times supernatural, horror series concludes the first season in a way that won't have too many people too upset. There is another hope though for fans of the show; that the DVD itself will be successful enough that at least concepts of the series, whether by story, television, cable, or something else, could live on. While I don't expect it, I can hope. Unfortunately, The River is a show that in my opinion was never given a chance. ABC should have tried different times, days, or something, even giving it another year, but as I have mentioned in the past, some of the networks don't seem to care about the existence of loyal fans.

The Riverhad an intriguing and interesting concept. Dr. Emmet Cole, (Bruce Greenwood) and his family take part in a television nature show called The Undiscovered Country. After the show has aired for some time, Dr. Cole decides to go deep into the Amazon to explore some supernatural rumors of the region. He leaves his son, Lincoln, (Joe Anderson) and wife Tess, (Leslie Hope.) He goes off with a film crew and ultimately disappears. Later on some discoveries are made and Tess gets her son Lincoln, along with some of the old film crew, to help track down and find Dr. Cole.

What transpires is a supernatural thriller that at times crosses boundaries for television in the way it is presented. This well told, acted, edited, and scripted story includes creators like Orin Peli, known for his movie Paranormal Activity, and a little known producer some folks have heard about named Steven Spielberg. Unfortunately, this eight episode, midseason replacement is never given a chance to develop an audience by ABC and as a result, after one shortened season, the series was canceled. That doesn't prevent this DVD of the first season from being worth owning though; not only is it worth owning, it plays and presents itself better than the television version, as it ends up playing like a long, entertaining, intelligent supernatural movie.

AsThe Riverprogresses we see the development of various characters including Dr. Cole, who is presented primarily in video segments the rescue crew discovers on his old research boat, The Magus. The ship sits like a ghost ship in the Amazon Basin and it is here the crew gets the ship up and running to search for Dr. Cole. It is here we see the family dynamics start to come into play. There is another dynamic presented as the characters develop trust in some relationships and concern in others. A part of the development schemes does not know the characters or how they are intertwined, if they are intertwined at all. The hand held camera work used in many of the sequences keeps the viewer involved in the story; we develop our opinions about the characters, which constantly change through all eight episodes.

If the series' unique and intelligent character development is partly due to our continuing uncertainty and questions about the characters, this is especially true with the Cole family and other characters, such as Captain Kurt Brynildson, a bodyguard played very nicely by Thomas Kretschmann. While some may make comparisons to other hand held camera programs, this one is unique in the way it involves the viewer in the action and it is done in a way that is much easier to watch than previous efforts.

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