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fowler190
Reviews
Peacemaker (2022)
Sit back and enjoy the fun!
It's stupid, crazy, silly, dumb, violent and pokes fun at the cult of the "Super Hero". With some very clever writing that you expect from JG, a soundtrack that perfectly fits our hero and his exploits, it's a leave your brain at the door and just let the pleasure wash over you👍
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
Hmmmmmmm...
If you want to see how a great franchise can be ripped apart by people totally uninterested in ST cannon and more interested in box ticking, virtue signalling whilst more time is spent on screen having people hug, cry and discuss emotions, then this wins hands down.
Positives: Great physical sets, sharp and effective CGI, costumes and makeup all top notch.
Negatives: Weak characters, weaker main storyline, too much time lecturing at each other and those watching and generally a dull and uninteresting watch.
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (2020)
Enjoyable and interesting.
I watched this season but had never watched any other of the seasons, and so I viewed it without comparing it to them.
As a stand alone season, I found it had good characters, a solid "quirky/alt history" story, great sets and a solid grasp of the period. The pace was good as new characters were brought in and added to the depth and width of the story.
It has periods of darkness/horror and watching the ensuing evil Invade people's lives and unwittingly become the tools of their own destruction was done very well.
Hunters (2020)
Solid cast, clever writing and always interesting.
Watching an almost make believe 70's America where the truth of the US Government secretly bringing in top Nazi scientists after WW2 is twisted and mixed with geriatric Nazi hunters and a funky soundtrack - you know this is going to get interesting......and it is!
I found the story, the development of the characters mixed with a strong cast all worked well. There are some very violent scenes which you watch with care, but the next second you could have a car full if Nazi thugs singing along to a country and western classic!
The series keeps the pace up with excellent flashbacks to add depth to the current action. And yes, in some places you laugh as well as cry, but the "feel" of the series was one I thoroughly enjoyed and look forward to Season 2.
Vienna Blood (2019)
Just watched all 3 episodes
Just discovered Vienna Blood after downloading the first season (3 episodes). Very impressed by the writing, acting and it's very atmospheric feel. Good adult writing, great characters and as the backstories of the main protagonists are revealed simply add more pleasure. Really wanted to go straight into the next season - so when will that be!
Star Trek: Picard (2020)
Two Episodes in - initial thoughts
I find the poor reviews a little odd. This is a personal ST story based around a man separated from the one constant and secure place in his life - Starfleet. The writing is mature and the acting hits all the right notes. I found the mix of humanity, intrigue and ST references created a world I knew yet one I did not really know, a great joy discovering this new world. So yes, this is not STNG or Voyager in style, but that is why this works so well. I am looking forward to seeing where this journey takes us all.
Avenue 5 (2020)
2 episodes - 1 laugh
So I gave it 2 episodes after laughing just once in the first episode on the off chance it would get funnier. Sadly episode 2 gave us weak comedy, one dimensional characters and an unfunny script. I'm British so I do get sarcasm, dry humour and wit, but I heard the lines and they didn't raise a smile. Can't see me bothering with this.
Troy: Fall of a City (2018)
Nope
The words "modern retelling" are usually enough to deter me, but I gave it a go. This is not epic saga staged against the backdrop of two powerful nations and leaders. This is a seemingly random mix of myth, semi historical people and places and a great deal of "soap opera" scripting.
Look, it may get better over time, but I am not invested after episode one so I wont be taking to Troy again.
Bron/Broen (2011)
Season 2 over.
Having being thrilled, shocked and enthralled by the first excellently written and acted season of "The Bridge", I wondered how and if "The Bridge 2" could ever measure up.
I am happy to say that having just watched the last episode of "The Bridge 2" on the BBC (bless them), I am staggered at the ability of the writer to engage our minds and tap into our emotions so easily and skillfully. But the writing would be nothing without a core of actors able to turn those words into a believable and passionate story, and boy do they! The two main actors are of course the heart of the story, but this is a true ensemble piece.
For lovers of adult drama, well written and well acted, which keeps you both visually entertained as well as mentally entertained, then watch season 1 first and then move on to enjoy a spectacular Season 2.
Game of Thrones (2011)
100% Flawless TV
An amazingly strong cast of Britains best actors and actresses work alongside some of their quality Stateside fellows. A strong script taken from a well loved series of books, weaves and creates a place populated by real people where the cut and thrust of normal life plays alongside the Epic nature of the Royal and Knightly families. Scenery, wardrobe, CGI, etc all maintain the highest of HBO's standard.
I am sure there are some, aka the "Twighlight" type audience, who will find this story too complex, too "wordy" and too epic to grasp. But those of us who loved HBO's "ROME" and the screen epic "LOTR", watch this series with wonder and a big smile on our faces.......Raymond E Feist's "Magician" next please.
All at HBO take a bloody well deserved bow.......
Outcasts: Episode #1.5 (2011)
Dumb and dumber..........
I have watched all the episodes so far (and commented on 3). i decided to watch the next few before posting a comment again.
The biggest problem i have with "Outcasts" is that it does not know what it wants to be. It is certainly a "personal issues" soap opera. I find the characters very thin and lightweight, the plot, dull and plodding with easy to guess story lines and how the next few episodes and the internal "political conflicts" will go. So episode 2 we have the "bad" guy, who by episode 4 is going to "take over", yawn.
It is SciFi in as much as it is on an Alien World.
But those who see mankind's first colony as a great story for the exploration of this new world, mapping and traveling this strange land will feel let down. No strange animals, no maps of the land (well not seen on screen), no outposts, no farming of the land, no economy that we can see, no roads or tracks, no vehicles, no aircraft, no wells, no wind or solar power plants etc etc etc People seem to live in the town and drink in bars, walk around and well....thats it.
The idea that the "ACs", a large group of genetically engineered clones are somehow hidden from the thousands of colonists is a stretch. But now they live a la Mad Max, like some hip and trendy cult outside the town. They live in and on the land, they know where water is and how food can be got, yet the people in Forthaven seem never to go outside and have no idea of their local surroundings.
And so we find in episode 5 that the first man to land on the planet is not dead, but alive. He wanders into the town, sprinkles diamonds on the bar and the place goes crazy. So the town starts to fall apart in five minutes flat, muggings take place as diamonds are sought,society crumbles......A lazy and more dumb piece of writing i have yet to see. And then we throw in a "touching" scene of finding the perfectly formed bodies of a "human like" man, woman and baby fossilized by the sea in the sand rich with thousands of diamonds.
The BBC are moving it to a late night Sunday "Dead spot" from now on. I am sad to see such a chance lost, the story has been weak and slow from day one. If the story was better, the characters better written and the plot more believable, then maybe it would not be the flop it is.
Outcasts: Episode #1.3 (2011)
Episode 3 (very minor spoilers)
So that was episode 3 then? The question is, what is "Outcasts" supposed to be? It is based on an Alien world, so its placed into the Sci Fi slot, but apart from that, it is really about people and "life situations".
Now i do enjoy good, structured and interesting writing, i really do. But when we have a man due to get married the next day, setting out to fix a transmitter before the "killer" sandstorm arrives, only to get trapped before it! Will he be saved, will he get to the ceremony on time? Well, i tell you what. Lets send the ex of his wife to be, to save him! Seriously!!!
The killer "Sandstorm/Whiteout" is a sloppy tool to get the "Wunderkind" involved. A Mega scientist writes dozens of sheets of complex formula and hands them to his wife before she escapes the crashing spaceship.....and only he can sort them out!Oh, and as a gift for "helping", he gets to use the machine that allows him to see his sisters he left behind on earth. Cue, soft music, four sisters and him as a small boy racing through the fields and through the trees like some hair product commercial in slow motion, fade to him crying....end credits.
I love the BBC and admire its vision and quality and i am proud to have it here in the UK. But i find "Outcasts" a let down as a Sci Fi fan. It is simply being used as a tool to have some "Soap Opera" family drama and "situations".
I want it to be more than it is, or more like i would want it to be.
Outcasts: Episode #1.2 (2011)
Episode 2 - (very minor spoilers)
Just finished watching episode 2 on BBC TV. Same as the first, it talks about "issues", flawed personalities and the problems within relationships. Any "action" seems thrown in just to keep you following this soap opera.
But tonight i find myself wondering "why?" a lot.
For instance, we have an ex child "prodigy" who, now get this, when they chose him to travel for 5 years to the new planet brought along about a hundred Vinyl LPs (Records) and a turntable and speakers. Now i am sure that i might be just getting picky, but one assumes that mankind's first colony ships would be quite full with more vital items than a 12 year olds music collection?
I hope you are fit and healthy in the new future? Well you need to be! Half a dozen crashed life-pods scattered through the alien landscape.....then lets walk. What, no motorbikes? No 4x4? No Helicopters? No Remote control aircraft? Hmmmm, the future looks bleak for the petrol heads.
When the survivors are rescued from the life pods and brought to their new alien home, and after 5 years in space, is there a smooth reception system ready to care and look after them? Are there groups of doctors, medics, social care workers and family members there to ease them into a new life? Well, no actually. People seem to wander around, are offered some fruit and the settlers smile at them. Oh, and one of the rescued might be a peadophile/religious/power mad killer with "followers"....oh dear oh dear.
After 2 episodes I feel let down by the usually excellent BBC, and can only think that "Outcasts" seems to be a missed opportunity.
Outcasts (2010)
Episode 1 (very minor spoilers)
OK, its the BBC and i do enjoy the quality production values etc etc.
But Episode 1 of "Outcasts" failed to deliver a watchable or interesting story. Everyone, and i mean everyone, we met in this episode had "problems" or were dealing with life "situations". A slow, even dull, plodding underlying tale, dotted with one dimensional characters.We had a psycho "Ranger" type thrown in to keep us interested. I did not care if he killed anyone or killed himself. And how can you make the arrival of new settlers and the potential explosion of the craft carrying them into such a slow and boring segment of the story....well they managed it! There is no SciFi Techie stuff to keep the geeks happy, everyone carries pistols and rifles. No aircraft/helicopters/flight vehicles to be seen, no Aliens, no strange creatures/animals etc.But they might all be along in later episodes? It has obviously started by going for adult "gritty human tales" in this strange new world, rather than Star Trek/Galactica action or feel. I await episode 2 tonight........