I will admit I often have trouble with book adaptations, but even so this was quite disappointing. I kept going till about mid episode 5 hoping for it to get better, but it rather seemed to be getting worse.

My main gripe is that there is not a single character here who seems to have a personality. It's like they're just wandering around saying things with no real motivation. It's not just that many of the characters are unlike their book counterparts, they're just not really there, at all. Where is the passion? Where is the love, hate, amusement, fear? It's just all completely flat.

One of Deborah Harkness's main strengths IMO is not just her thorough research but her ability to create multi-faceted and believable characters that you really start to care about, as well as invoke a strong atmosphere. Sadly this has not translated to the screen at all.