Series: General Discussion

Another one for the list of "interesting concept, but what a shit ending".

I just finished watching Glitch. An Australian series, which centers around a group of people who come back from the dead, in a small town in bumfuck nowhere, Australia. There are a bunch of drama elements attached to this, as they return without their memory, but it slowly comes back to them, piece by piece. One of the "Risen", has to deal with how she was murdered, and her killer who is likely still alive. Another has to deal with his homosexuality, which was outlawed when he was still alive.

It sounds interesting, dead people coming back alive, trying to come to grip with their death and the new world they woke up in. But, the series centers more around why they came back. An interesting and important question, for sure, but also the reason it just goes haywire. To get answers, a metric fuckload of deceit, and lies, and backstabbing is done. Everybody keeps saying that they should trust eachother, right before not trusting the others, and running away for some idiotic reason. Most of the problems in this series could have been solved by just sitting down, explaining things, and then having a bit of patience.

The ending (in fact, the whole last season) is just plain weird. Major characters suddenly get their moral compas switched around, for complete bullshit reasons, and the climax is just stupid.

All in all, I wouldn't recommend it, but I wouldn't advise against it either. It does have some parts that have great acting. And the casting for the returned WWI soldier is just spot on. Dude looks like he walked straight out of an old, yellowed, photo.
 
Another one for the list of "interesting concept, but what a shit ending".

I just finished watching Glitch. An Australian series, which centers around a group of people who come back from the dead, in a small town in bumfuck nowhere, Australia. There are a bunch of drama elements attached to this, as they return without their memory, but it slowly comes back to them, piece by piece. One of the "Risen", has to deal with how she was murdered, and her killer who is likely still alive. Another has to deal with his homosexuality, which was outlawed when he was still alive.

It sounds interesting, dead people coming back alive, trying to come to grip with their death and the new world they woke up in. But, the series centers more around why they came back. An interesting and important question, for sure, but also the reason it just goes haywire. To get answers, a metric fuckload of deceit, and lies, and backstabbing is done. Everybody keeps saying that they should trust eachother, right before not trusting the others, and running away for some idiotic reason. Most of the problems in this series could have been solved by just sitting down, explaining things, and then having a bit of patience.

The ending (in fact, the whole last season) is just plain weird. Major characters suddenly get their moral compas switched around, for complete bullshit reasons, and the climax is just stupid.

All in all, I wouldn't recommend it, but I wouldn't advise against it either. It does have some parts that have great acting. And the casting for the returned WWI soldier is just spot on. Dude looks like he walked straight out of an old, yellowed, photo.

For a second I really thought the town name was Bumfuck Nowhere.
I'll add it to my watchlist but on really low prio.




Stay strong Bob!

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So, unless you've been living under a rock for the past 10 years, you know of League of Legends. It's an PvP MOBA game, and is created by Riot.
Riot has a history of creating cinematics, music, and other stuff to promote their games, either their flagship LoL, or their other games like Valorant or Project L.

One of their most recent promotional stuff is Arcane, a 9 episode miniseries based on 3 of the characters from League of Legends (Vi, Jinx, and Caitlyn). Although, calling it just "promotional stuff" is a massive understatement. They've been working on this for 6 years, and the story told in the series does not line up with the lore from the game.

But it's GOOD.

I cannot understate how good this series is. The story is great. The characters are stunning. The character and world design is top notch. The voice acting is good. The music in amazing. There are scenes with characters losing their minds, and those are done so exceptionally well. They're chilling, and heartbreaking at the same time. The ending of the third episode is just heart wrenching. This is easily my favorite series I've seen this past year.

And don't worry about not knowing anything about the game. The series is completely standalone. If anything, it'll make it better, since there is no pre-existing lore getting in the way. I never played the game, and I watched it with my GF, who didn't even know that the game existed. We both loved it. I highly recommend this.
It's fully on Netflix, and the second season has been announced as well (which was to be expected, as the ending is pretty open).
 
So, unless you've been living under a rock for the past 10 years, you know of League of Legends. It's an PvP MOBA game, and is created by Riot.
Riot has a history of creating cinematics, music, and other stuff to promote their games, either their flagship LoL, or their other games like Valorant or Project L.

One of their most recent promotional stuff is Arcane, a 9 episode miniseries based on 3 of the characters from League of Legends (Vi, Jinx, and Caitlyn). Although, calling it just "promotional stuff" is a massive understatement. They've been working on this for 6 years, and the story told in the series does not line up with the lore from the game.

But it's GOOD.

I cannot understate how good this series is. The story is great. The characters are stunning. The character and world design is top notch. The voice acting is good. The music in amazing. There are scenes with characters losing their minds, and those are done so exceptionally well. They're chilling, and heartbreaking at the same time. The ending of the third episode is just heart wrenching. This is easily my favorite series I've seen this past year.

And don't worry about not knowing anything about the game. The series is completely standalone. If anything, it'll make it better, since there is no pre-existing lore getting in the way. I never played the game, and I watched it with my GF, who didn't even know that the game existed. We both loved it. I highly recommend this.
It's fully on Netflix, and the second season has been announced as well (which was to be expected, as the ending is pretty open).
Okay you've convinced me. I'm gonna watch this.
 
Finally a date for Better Call Saul S06E01. I hid the spoiler description btw.

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So, I freaking love The Mandalorian. Its visuals, its story, its characters - they're all amazing. The creators did an excellent job, and are clearly fans of Star Wars itself, with all the tie-ins and references they make. I can heartily recommend the first season, for everyone. Even for those without previous knowledge about the movies or the expanded universe, it's an incredible watch. They don't really demand much knowledge, it's just a series set in the Star Wars universe.

But, then there's season 2. It contains a bunch more stuff that's unexplained, even for people who've seen (and liked) the movies. Stuff about Mandalore, and its former leaders. Stuff about Jedi, and their impact. Stuff involving the New Republic, and its leadership.

It gets even worse with the spin-off, Book of Boba Fett.

Both those series fully expect you to have knowledge of the creators' earlier work, which was The Clone Wars series. Returning characters, plot points,... It's still doable without knowing anything about it, but... Well, most of the stuff has much less of an impact. The appearance of Ashoka in the second Mandalorian season. The involvement of Bo-Katan Kryze. The whole plot revolving around the Kryze clan, and the fall of Mandalore. It's all explained through nods and references, but unless you already know about it, you're just left in the semi-dark.

And that's just the Mandalorian. The Book of Boba Fett takes those fanservice moments, and cranks it up to 11. The first on-screen showing of Black Krssantan, who was a major antagonist in the comics, is much more awkward if you don't know who he is. They show him as some sort of terrifying threat, but, well, unless you read the comics, you don't really know what the hubbub is about. Similarly, the first appearance of CAD FREAKING BANE is super tense, and dramatic. But it looses all impact, if you don't know the character or how dangerous he is. I was grinning my ears off, my GF was confused.
The last few episodes of the series are awesome if you recognize all the stuff from the movies. The Starfighter Anakin stole on Naboo. The appearance of R2-D2. The base where Luke later on trains younglings, before Kylo Ren gets uppity. All of it is just so. freaking. cool. But it doesn't mean shit unless you're a Star Wars fan.

Don't get me wrong, it's still really, really pretty, and cool to see if you're not, but... Well, it's like being told an inside joke. It's still funny, but it's better if you're on the level.
 
So, I freaking love The Mandalorian. Its visuals, its story, its characters - they're all amazing. The creators did an excellent job, and are clearly fans of Star Wars itself, with all the tie-ins and references they make. I can heartily recommend the first season, for everyone. Even for those without previous knowledge about the movies or the expanded universe, it's an incredible watch. They don't really demand much knowledge, it's just a series set in the Star Wars universe.

But, then there's season 2. It contains a bunch more stuff that's unexplained, even for people who've seen (and liked) the movies. Stuff about Mandalore, and its former leaders. Stuff about Jedi, and their impact. Stuff involving the New Republic, and its leadership.

It gets even worse with the spin-off, Book of Boba Fett.

Both those series fully expect you to have knowledge of the creators' earlier work, which was The Clone Wars series. Returning characters, plot points,... It's still doable without knowing anything about it, but... Well, most of the stuff has much less of an impact. The appearance of Ashoka in the second Mandalorian season. The involvement of Bo-Katan Kryze. The whole plot revolving around the Kryze clan, and the fall of Mandalore. It's all explained through nods and references, but unless you already know about it, you're just left in the semi-dark.

And that's just the Mandalorian. The Book of Boba Fett takes those fanservice moments, and cranks it up to 11. The first on-screen showing of Black Krssantan, who was a major antagonist in the comics, is much more awkward if you don't know who he is. They show him as some sort of terrifying threat, but, well, unless you read the comics, you don't really know what the hubbub is about. Similarly, the first appearance of CAD FREAKING BANE is super tense, and dramatic. But it looses all impact, if you don't know the character or how dangerous he is. I was grinning my ears off, my GF was confused.
The last few episodes of the series are awesome if you recognize all the stuff from the movies. The Starfighter Anakin stole on Naboo. The appearance of R2-D2. The base where Luke later on trains younglings, before Kylo Ren gets uppity. All of it is just so. freaking. cool. But it doesn't mean shit unless you're a Star Wars fan.

Don't get me wrong, it's still really, really pretty, and cool to see if you're not, but... Well, it's like being told an inside joke. It's still funny, but it's better if you're on the level.
Damnit, I was holding out on watching this to see the general reactions. Why are studios so good at fucking up proper franchises? I was thinking earlier today about the Max Payne movie, another great failed example.
 
Damnit, I was holding out on watching this to see the general reactions. Why are studios so good at fucking up proper franchises? I was thinking earlier today about the Max Payne movie, another great failed example.
Oh no, don't get me wrong. It's still absolutely stunning. You could still watch it, it's just that the specific reveals don't hit as hard. The whole setting and mood are still absolutely great, though. I still recommend it.

I complain about it, but honestly, it's just the flicking of stale popcorn at an otherwise solid piece of entertainment. Boba Fett is less impressive than The Mandalorian, yes, but it's still great fun to watch.
 
GF and I started watching The Expanse, after I repeatedly kept seeing online comments about how great it was.
And it is! We're only in the start of the second season, but it's insanely intriguing. Some of the plot points are visible from a mile away, but that's only a few.

Fun (or well, not so fun) side note: I was watching through the reviews of the second season's opening, and one stood out to me. The episode in questions introduces some new characters; a group of Marines. And two of those marines are female.

Can you guess why the review was negative?


It got funnier when the guy started explaining that "he was a marine himself, and female soldiers is completely unrealistic". I can guarantee you though, the guy has not been a marine in the Martian Marine Corps in the 24th century.
Such a smooth-brained comment. I couldn't help but laugh.
 
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