Isn't it unusual that reviews of an entire series are appearing in print before most of the public has had a chance to see a single episode? I don't recall seeing anything like this before (all 10 eps were screened for the press, which the last 2 reviewers have made abundantly clear).
From what I gather, it's not unusual for HBO, but then their seasons are much shorter than the regular networks, so the situation is a bit different. Some television critics were given access to the complete ten-episode package on DVD. What was shown at the TV Critics Association meeting, from what I understand, was a highlight reel. Most, but not all, of the advance "reviews" are based on an actual screening of the full series.
Some of them, I am sad to say, are little more than thinly veiled reworkings of HBO's press release for the series with a few personal expressions of shock and disbelief tossed in. Many of the reviews would make fabulous material for a composition or critical reading instructor trying to demonstrate the concept of unstated assumptions. Some of the reviews reveal much more about the reviewer's attitudes toward issues like age, sex, and gender than they do about the series.
