So, while I was browsing through the new entries on Netflix, I chanced upon the new series The I-Land, which had a feel similar to Lost with some Survivor thrown in. I was in the mood for something short and with only seven episodes, the series seems to fit the bill. Unfortunately, it was so bad that I failed to make it halfway through the third episode. Yup. That bad.

Synopsis: Ten people wake up in a seemingly abandoned island with no recollection of how they got there. They find items on the island that serve as clues to help them survive. As it turns out, survival in the island is a far more complicated challenge that any one of them expects.

So here’s the deal. The I-Land was presented as an ensemble drama meaning, there should at least be some character development for all the people in the island, right? Or perhaps, one would expect that the series would at least rotate the focus on the different characters with the different episodes, right? Wrong, and wrong.

The first three episodes of The I-Land revolved solely around the character of Chase (Natalie Martinez) and how “bada*s” she is and how tough she is and how smart she is. 70 percent of the scenes involved her running around on the beach, discovering something major and kicking the as* of anyone who got in their way. I get that the series wanted to invest in a strong female character but really? And does all the shots have to focus on her toned body or show portions of her cleavage? Seriously.

The script is laughable. There was no substance to it at all. All the dialogue seemed forced to reinforce Chase’s character and demolish anyone else. Everyone seemed to make stupid choices all the time and were only required to sit around on the beach doing menial stuff like fish and make hats. The character of Mason and Hayden looked like they were on to something with the calculations but surprisingly, when faced with doubt from the rest of the survivors, they abandoned all of their brilliant ideas quickly enough. Again, this was done to show that Chase was the only person who had enough sense to follow through on the lead and discover the tent and gear on the water.

The character of Kate Bosworth, KC should have been interesting as she seems to be harboring deep secrets and trauma, but instead of exploring this, Hayden drones on about women not being responsible for their assaults. As the villain, Alex Pettyfer’s Brody seemed annoying enough but came across as a thug who preyed on women and celebrated his own power. Very typical, not original. Good riddance. But when the supposed heroine commands as much hatred, and even more, than the villain, you definitely know something is not right.

There were also a lot opf pregnant pauses and awkward silences filled with scenes showing Chase’s displeasure at everything. The problem — Natalie Martinez doesn’t seem like a good enough actress to deliver on what was required of her.

When the twist was revealed in the third episode, it was really anticlimactic because this was not the first time this premise was used on a sci-fi flick. It also made me less interested to see what the heck was going on. In the interest of fairness though, I tried to research how the series ended and suffice to say, I am satisfied with my choice to abort the mission instead of spending another four hours of my life on this nonsense.

Word of caution, enter The I-Land at your own risk. Don’t be deceived by the trailer.