Amazon Civil War show "Point of Honor" offers poor slavery plot, "woody" dialogue, boring characters; Only "The Man in the High Castle" worth watching from Amazon's pilots?

By Staff Writer

Jan 20 2015, 08:46 AM EST

Amazon's Civil War offering, "Point of Honor," is not doing well on reviews because of its disregard for the effects of slavery on slaves.

Instead, it circles around a Virginia family whose members are divided by war, with two brothers-in-law, John Rhodes (Nathan Parsons) and Robert Sunmer (Christopher O'Shea) being in opposing sides. According to Entertainment Weekly, the story is focused on how the Rhodes family is torn apart by war.

The show focuses on Brett Cullen's Ralston Rhodes, John, and his three daughters. Additional cast include Luke Benward, Hanna Mangan Lawrence, Patrick Heusinger, and Annabelle Stephenson. "Point of Honor" is an offering by Randall Wallace, writer of "Braveheart," and Carlton Cuse, executive producer of "Lost."

Though it is supposed to touch up on slavery and The Civil War, it is not garnering the support it needs because the show apparently only keeps the slaves in the background instead of focusing on how they had been affected by war and slavery. Critics say this made the show an "incomplete" recollection of a certain time in history. Reviews for the show also say that the dialogue is "woody" and the main characters are "poorly developed."

"Point of Honor" joins twelve others in Amazon's 13 pilot episodes streamed on the site for free. Amazon encourages viewers to vote "and choose the next big hit," describes Uproxx.

Prior to its scheduled release date, January 15, "Point of Honor" has been flagged as a not-so-interesting pilot for 2015, with Wired saying that in Amazon's pilot lineup, only "The Man in the High Castle" is worth seeing.

"The Man in the High Castle" is a book adaptation from the works of Philip K. Dick and shows America in 1962, except that the Allies had lost in the Second World War.

"In this alternate universe the United States has been split three ways: the Nazi-controlled east coast, renamed the Greater Reich, the Japanese 'Pacific States' on the west coast, and the 'neutral zone' in the center of the country," explains the article.

The series is expected to be accepted like "Transparent," which proceeded to win at the Golden Globes.

Aside from "Point of Honor" and "The Man in the High Castle," Amazon's 2015 pilots include children shows, short film documentaries, docu-series, and a short film featuring Alan Cumming and Brett Gelman.