The TV Series discussion thread

[JDR13]

A Blade Runner limited series has been greenlighted with Ridley Scott as executive producer.

‘Blade Runner 2099’ Limited Series a Go at Amazon

Ridley Scott will serve as an executive producer on the show from 'Shining Girls' creator Silka Luisa.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

The bad news? It's Amazon Prime, and we've recently seen what they can do to iconic IP's.

 

[DArtagnan]

I also finished S5 of Cobra Kai btw, and found it as silly and implausible as ever - but still strangely compelling dumb fun.

Probably 5/10 - or 6/10 if I'm being generous.

 

[JFarrell71]

Silly yes, implausible no. That's exactly how things played out between the competing karate dojos in my city.

 

[Carnifex]

I've polished three episodes off of For All Mankind, and the show keeps improving. I'm not the biggest fan of that bloke from the Killing/Altered Carbon, yet others like Bauer keep me well intrigued. I hope it can maintain this goodness.

 

[wiretripped]

More mediocre fan service incoming...

The Mandalorian: Season 3

I actually really enjoyed the Mandalorian. As far as Star Wars shows goes (and I gotta say, they're really milking it now) I thought it was entertaining: I liked how more "grounded" it was (no flashy Jedi all over the place), I liked the art direction, the main theme and the Mandalorian itself as a character.

Haven't watched Book of Boba Fett yet, but I have watched Obi Wan and though it was really slow first 4 episodes or so, only really picking up in the final 2. I'd grade the Mandalorian above it, for sure.

 

[danutz_plusplus]

A Blade Runner limited series has been greenlighted with Ridley Scott as executive producer.

‘Blade Runner 2099’ Limited Series a Go at Amazon

Ridley Scott will serve as an executive producer on the show from 'Shining Girls' creator Silka Luisa.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

The bad news? It's Amazon Prime, and we've recently seen what they can do to iconic IP's.

Blade Runner 2099: ‘provocative’ TV sequel greenlit by Amazon

With Ridley Scott as executive producer, Amazon promises the TV show ‘will uphold the intellect, themes and spirit of its film predecessors’

www.theguardian.com

And, “Silka Luisa, who has worked on Halo and adapted and worked as showrunner on the Apple TV+ sci-fi thriller Shining Girls, will serve as showrunner on Blade Runner 2099.”

Does not sound good.

 

[Ripper]

Lucifer was gender-swapped, too. I read that the choice was made in part for practical reasons in order to distinguish her from the version in the Lucifer TV show, which was male but eventually diverged too much from the source material. I think it works well enough. Neil Gaiman gave similar reasons for Johanna Constantine: they used her for two different roles to save on actors - as her own ancestress and as the Constantine in the Sandman universe. I remember her from Doctor Who and really liked her as in this role. Again, there seems to be a different (chain-smoking, unkempt) Constantine in one of the DC shows.

All the gender and race swapping works in this universe because Sandman is about archetypes, which are fairly neutral to begin with.

I still wouldn't read too much into it though. A lot of the woke-ness in todays media is glaring because very often it's way too "in-your-face" and over the top. I think it's because the producers don't quite know how to properly deal with it yet. So instead of having stories that simply flow and just are, there is a lot of finger-pointing going on, both from the producers' and the viewers' sides. From the producers' side it's awkward because they are inexperienced and are working with tools they are not familiar with, so they tend to over-represent new themes. From the viewers' side it's awkward because the woke sticks out and everything feels off.

Today there also seems to be a whole anti-woke movement, which looks very much like an allergic reaction and is, by definition, too extreme. It also makes people point their finger at every little detail rather than enjoy something as a whole for what it is (supposed to be).

In Star Trek: Discovery I thought the woke was too much and cringey. In The Magicians the themes were handled very well and felt natural, in that I didn't notice them at all. And just today I read about a huge backlash for Disney's new The Little Mermaid trailer, because Ariel is played by Halle Bailey. That's an instance where it seems obvious to me that the problem probably lies firmly with the viewers, not with the film.

Yes I agree. I mentioned a couple of pages back that I don't see the inclusion of elements that could be called 'woke' as a problem in themselves, but rather that when you have folks that are firstly interested in pushing what they see as a progressive agenda, those people tend not to produce great material. And, I think that's generally going to be the case, no matter what the political angle. I think Nu Trek is a prime example.

I've got an old making-of documentary about the movie Aliens, which is a favourite of mine. James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd are absolutely explicit about the feminist angle, and being interested in a heroine for that type of movie. Then they created a beautifully-structured film, cast the master actor Sigourney Weaver, and had it crescendo with a kind of classical, archetypal, battle of the fierce mothers. Bravo, everyone!

And with The Little Mermaid, that's not really my cup of tea, but I've seen the Disney cartoon, and I feel it took just a few liberties with the original story. Having the mermaid be a slightly different shade in the live action remake? Not really getting the outrage.

So, when I see folks criticising things for being woke, I like to think they're seeing it somewhat similarly to me, in that the problem is when productions are dominated by people that labour their political points crudely, they tend to be pretty crap. But, of course, there are plenty of characters out there who use woke criticism as a cipher for their own issues.

 

[JDR13]

I actually really enjoyed the Mandalorian. As far as Star Wars shows goes (and I gotta say, they're really milking it now) I thought it was entertaining: I liked how more "grounded" it was (no flashy Jedi all over the place), I liked the art direction, the main theme and the Mandalorian itself as a character.

Haven't watched Book of Boba Fett yet, but I have watched Obi Wan and though it was really slow first 4 episodes or so, only really picking up in the final 2. I'd grade the Mandalorian above it, for sure.

I enjoyed the first two seasons of The Madalorian well enough. TBoBF was awful though. There was so much they could have done there, but they chose to turn it into pure fan service that had little to do with Boba Fett. By the end of the season, he was just a side character.

I might still check out Obi Wan since it's only 6 episodes, but I'll be going in with very low expectations.

 

[Corwin]

Obi Wan is definitely superior to BF, but while I enjoyed it, it too has a few issues. Good, but not Great!!

 

[DArtagnan]

Obi Wan is terrible, imo.

Finished Tokyo Vice (turns out it's only 8 episodes) - and it was very good.

Not a huge fan of the main character, but loved a few of the others. The secondary lead (Sato) was my favorite - with a fascinating combination of vulnerability, kindness, strength and ruthlessness.

It reminded me a little of The Wire - in how the show touches upon most aspects of society and paints everything in the most real of colors: grey.

I wouldn't recommend it for action hounds or thrill-seekers - as that's not really what it is.

It's a slow burn crime drama with a very deliberate approach. There's sex and violence - but it's handled very subtly and subdued.

Good news is that it's been renewed for a second season, and it would have been sad otherwise - as it ends quite abruptly without any climax.

Overall 7.5/10

 

[JDR13]

Obi Wan is terrible, imo.

What was it in particular that you found so bad about it?

 

[DArtagnan]

What was it in particular that you found so bad about it?

There's a bunch of stuff that I couldn't stand.

First of all, the main villain is played by an actress that's trying really hard to come off as "bad-ass" - but she's really, really terrible at being convincing in that role.

Then there's the action sequences - almost all of which are incredibly poor given what I consider a pretty decent budget.

There's a particular chase sequence early on, that is among the most laughably dumb things I think I've ever seen. You'll know which one when you see it.

Beyond that, I think it does a disservice to the character of Obi-Wan - who is almost reduced to a secondary character, to make room for other much less compelling characters.

Then there's the fact that the show has maybe 1-1.5 hours of interesting content (interesting in terms of potential, not execution) - and it's stretched out over 6 episodes (IIRC).

Some major logical leaps here and there in terms of character behavior didn't help, either.

It does have a single decent sequence between two major characters towards the end - and I think that's about if for what I liked about it.

 

[Carnifex]

For All Mankind is still proving to be intriguing, now with six episodes fully under my belt. It seems to be hitting an "average" now though for quality, I'm hoping it picks up to where it was for the first two episodes.

 

[DArtagnan]

Considering giving Stargate SG-1 another go.

I never managed to get into it, and I think I've watched 4-5 episodes of the first season - all of which were pretty meh with a couple of terrible ones.

Is it worth it for a Trekkie? Does it get a lot better?

 

[bjon045]

For All Mankind is still proving to be intriguing, now with six episodes fully under my belt. It seems to be hitting an "average" now though for quality, I'm hoping it picks up to where it was for the first two episodes.

I thought it varied from average to very good across all 3 seasons but the majority of episodes were good and there were a few that were so very good that just by themselves they justify the entire series. It's worth sticking with for sure.

 

[danutz_plusplus]

I tried giving it a change, but I cannot take Stargate SG-1 very seriously. It's way too lighthearted and comical in approach for the serious subject of contacting alien worlds. Or maybe I'm being too rigid.

 

[Pladio]

Considering giving Stargate SG-1 another go.

I never managed to get into it, and I think I've watched 4-5 episodes of the first season - all of which were pretty meh with a couple of terrible ones.

Is it worth it for a Trekkie? Does it get a lot better?

It is very light-hearted. It's not meant to be a serious show and it doesn't take itself seriously. If you're looking for a serious show this isn't it.


I liked it a lot when I was younger and I still remember some really cool episodes, but overall it isn't sci fi as much as it is fantasy with some sci fi thrown into it.

Lots of things don't make sense in the grand scheme of things so if you can't overlook those things it's not for you.

If you're looking for easy watching though then it's pretty good in my opinion.

 

[Carnifex]

I was a huge fan of the original Stargate film and telly show and, to a lesser extent, Atlantis. Not sure if I'd enjoy them as much these days, tbh.

 

[DArtagnan]

I could do with something light-hearted. As long as it's not dumb, I actually enjoy that sort of thing.

 

[Carnifex]

Don't try She-hulk, you'll thank me later. The writing is beyond awful, especially if you actually enjoyed the comics, and there's really something wrong with She-Hulks face. I cannot put my finger on it, yet something seems really off or just truly bland, while Jen Walters seems fine.