“They’re not so much a builder as a 3-D printer.”

The Roman Real Estate Agency takes on two easy targets for humour—but pulls out one of their most engaging episodes to date.

Title: A House is Not A Home

Cast and Crew

Director: Danishka Esterhazy
Writer: Duana Taha

Tim Rozon as Luke Roman
Sarah Levy as Susan Ireland
Adam Korson as Father Phil Orley
Maurice Dean Wint as August Ripley
Savannah Basley as Zooey L’Enfant
Colin Furlong as Greg Chisholm
Laci J. Mailey as Sophie
Patrick Kwok-Choon as Duncan
A.C. Peterson as Nightingale
Tennille Read as Megan Donovan

Premise

Agency members bond as they attempt to solve two cases: a pair of entitled influencers whose dream-house has the wrong colour paint on the ceiling—and is also drowning in ghosts—and a cookie-cutter subdivision where identical houses experience identical phenomena.

High Points

I give them points for the concept of a mass-produced haunting, lost souls in a soulless place.

This episode highlights the show’s bizarre juxtaposition of the supernatural and the mundane: disinterested housepainters working alongside exorcists, small-town history clues at the local pub, and specters stalking the subdivision.

Low Point

I understand they have to keep the Megan plot alive for later developments, but it really feels tacked-on this week.

The Scores:

Originality: 3/6

Acting: 6/6 The actors clearly are enjoying the script. The actors portraying Sophie and Duncan understand they’re in a comedy, albeit one that involves saltwater-vomiting, grotesque ghosts, and a reckless spectral horseman. Regulars Sarah Levy and Savannah Basley, meanwhile, turn what could have been by-the-books bonding scenes into something credible and entertaining.

Story: 5/6

Production: 5/6 The show makes excellent use of its locations…

Effects: 5/6 …and practical effects. One again, we get a dramatic opening that uses traditional techniques. They’re not new, but they’ve been employed effectively. Only the fireball near the end looked too like CGI.

I feel like they should get a bonus for the deliberately ludicrous ghost-hunting devices.

Emotional Response: 5/6 I like that they work as a team, playing to their strengths as they pursue different clues to unravel the mysteries. Nevertheless, it would be nice to see a few episodes where they demonstrate their ensemble skills throughout.

Overall: 5/6 Susan finally gets to use her pyrokinetic powers.

In total, SurrealEstate, “A House is Not a Home,” receives 34/42