Which television shows are you watching? Part III

[AmazonQueen]

Watched the first episode of the BBC/HBO production of His Dark Materials. Not very exciting, mostly scene-setting, hopefully will get better.

 

[Arakhor]

I've only seen the first five minutes of that, but I liked what I saw of it so far.

 

[tjs282]

I've only seen the first five minutes of that, but I liked what I saw of it so far.

Better than the movie was?

 

[AmazonQueen]

Better than the movie was?

Closer to the books anyway. Too soon to tell IMO.

 

[Laurana Kanan]

Better than the movie was?

The movie is better left forgotten. My family rather enjoyed the first episode, but it might be a little confusing for those not familiar with the story - we needed to do some google searches for a couple things afterwards. For a TV show, the digital effects for the Daemons were pretty impressive - not perfect, but better than most shows with similar graphics. I read they are adhering to the books more closely so I'm tempted to pick them up since I haven't read them yet.

 

[Arakhor]

The film wasn't terrible, but they neutered the entire film by leaving off the dramatic climax. I expect that the books will be much better in that regard.

 

[tjs282]

I read they are adhering to the books more closely so I'm tempted to pick them up since I haven't read them yet.

The HDM books are well worth reading, if you haven't already. Though as Arakhor says, the movie chickened out on including the final chapter(?) of Northern Lights (which, without revealing too much, includes quite a shocking betrayal).

I just finished re-reading the Sally Lockhart 'quartet'*, which are also pretty good

Spoiler * :

Inverted commas, because it's really only a trilogy; the plot of the 4th book, The Tin Princess, is driven mainly by a supporting character from the previous three, with Sally herself only making a couple of very brief appearances, at the beginning and end.

The film wasn't terrible, but they neutered the entire film by leaving off the dramatic climax.

I thought it was actually a pretty good adaptation, right up until the last half-hour or so.

I understand why the scriptwriters switched the order of the third-act battles (though the purist in me wishes they hadn't!), and it didn't make a big difference to the movie's plot -- but, yeah, bottling out of showing the (book's) climax did. IIRC, the plan was to include that bit right at the beginning of the sequel (which then never got made).

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I mean what? The whole first season is Miller chasing down Mao? How is her story line discombobulated?

Did they ever say she was a Mao in the show when they first showed her? That's why I asked if they explained it. She just showed up and they were calling her by her alias, and didn't explain her mouth click trick before she used it and how it affected her, during and after. If I hadn't read the books, I would have had no clue.

I saw the show before I read the book and I didn't find her introduction to be discombobulating or confusing.

 

[Kyriakos]

So, is it worth re-looking into the series?
I dropped it half-way through season2. It just felt like a different show after the protagonist (detective) of s1 fused with the alien planet or something.

I recall that while some parts of the show were very nicely done, other elements were (imo) amateurish, like the UN comedy couple (particularly the husband) and the rather blunt soldier-protagonists.

 

[Arakhor]

I watched a bit of classic Star Trek today - A Taste of Armageddon (two planets fighting a simulated war) and Errand of Mercy (the Klingons and Federation fight over an primitive peaceful planet).

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I really like A Taste of Armageddon, it's a real stand out of that series with me.

 

[Arakhor]

I didn't recall watching that before, whereas I did remember Errand of Mercy, which I enjoyed more than last time, I think. (Last time being years and years ago.)

Do you have any other recommendations? (Mirror, Mirror is a given, of course.)

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I didn't recall watching that before, whereas I did remember Errand of Mercy, which I enjoyed more than last time, I think. (Last time being years and years ago.)

Do you have any other recommendations? (Mirror, Mirror is a given, of course.)

Unfortunately I don't as I'm not a big fan of the original series. The episode with Khan and Taste of Armageddon are the only two that stick out as pretty great in my memory- and I only know the name of the one episode because you said it first.

 

[Birdjaguar]

So, is it worth re-looking into the series?
I dropped it half-way through season2. It just felt like a different show after the protagonist (detective) of s1 fused with the alien planet or something.

I recall that while some parts of the show were very nicely done, other elements were (imo) amateurish, like the UN comedy couple (particularly the husband) and the rather blunt soldier-protagonists.

Read the books first.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I watched Green Frontier (8 episodes) Interesting story that takes place in the Amazon. Subtitled from Spanish and Indian. Detective, thriller, supernatural. I enjoyed it, but not a heavyweight show.

 

[Chukchi Husky]

I didn't recall watching that before, whereas I did remember Errand of Mercy, which I enjoyed more than last time, I think. (Last time being years and years ago.)

Do you have any other recommendations? (Mirror, Mirror is a given, of course.)

Balance of Terror.

 

[Arakhor]

I remember finding that one a bit boring, but I do know why it's famous. Thanks though.

 

[Mouthwash]

The Enemy Within, Balance of Terror, Arena, Space Seed, A Taste of Armageddon, This Side of Paradise, Mirror Mirror, A Piece of the Action, By Any Other Name, Is There in Truth No Beauty?, Day of the Dove, and All Our Yesterdays are the standout episodes. The Deadly Years is also good, but harrowing to watch. The City on the Edge of Forever and The Trouble With Tribbles are iconic, though I didn't think very much of them.

 

[Arakhor]

I think that All Our Yesterdays is one of my favourite episodes of the entire run. It even prompted two follow-up novels in the Pocket TOS series.

 

[Laurana Kanan]

The HDM books are well worth reading, if you haven't already.

Purchased the trilogy at Costco yesterday after having watched the second episode. It seems like one of those book to television series that while interesting and enjoyable on it's own, definitely benefits from having at least a basic knowledge from the books as not everything is explained very well.
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Watched the first four episodes of See on Apple TV+ over the weekend. I have to say the world-building, acting, set-design, et al. are top notch. Of course, I really love me some Jason Momoa!

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Also, got up extra early to watch the first episode of The Mandalorian this morning. Overall, it was an excellent start. I'm more intrigued with the Mandalorian character after 40 minutes than I am with any Sequel Trilogy character after two feature-length movies. The passion that Favreau & Filoni have for the SW universe definitely showed. The design of everything from costumes to aliens to environments was both satisfyingly familiar, yet different enough to not feel like a rehash. The ending especially had me squeeing like a little girl - need that character as a doll for my office ASAP!