TV Series General Discussion

[wasteyouryouth]

I think in an attempt to not binge; watching four different shows yesterday may have scrambled my brain. Particularly two new/new to me shows (Fallout and Mr Inbetween).

 

[ahmedleo414]

I just watched the first episode of fallout, I really enjoyed it

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Finished Fallout and I really enjoyed it.

 

[asprin]

So..... 3 Body Problem.

I'll again start by saying that the books are incredibly awesome and must reads if you're a fan of science-fiction of any kind. Skip through the really dry or cringe inducing parts if you want (I'd be lying if I said I didn't do that for parts of the second book which is still my favorite in the series) but it's a classic of the genre regardless of those parts.

Now... who would I recommend this series to?

Someone who likes big budget productions, science-fiction content of any type, wants something to binge over a weekend that can be quite thought provoking or someone who wants to see physicists being awesome.

I'm too much of a fan of the books to be an objective judge of the series so I'll just list the things I liked and disliked.


A lot of the big moments are really awesome or emotion inducing. The big budget helps but they're also really good as moments and for the most part, they do justice to those scenes from the books. I think they'll land even harder or better if you've never read the books and went into it blind since a lot of the awe factor for me wasn't present due to knowing what happens, still appreciated how well those scenes were (and there's one particular scene that really made my jaw drop despite knowing what happens).
The trilogy isn't in chronological order technically and so they've opted to adapt parts of the next two books alongside the first one for this season, a change that I liked. Some fan favorite characters appear early faithful to their original story and some have creative liberties taken to ensure they fit in this season. Either way, I like most of these decisions they took.
I don't remember the villains or the characters on their side being as sympathetic or compelling in the books. There's definitely more moral grayness added to the TV show and it's another change I like, it does seem like every villain is becoming more and more sympathetic with each new TV show or movie though. We do have a few unsympathetic, evil characters though so it's not all "everything is a shade of grey" in this show.
The original books are heavily Sinocentric due to the author being Chinese, almost equal to how Independence Day is US-centric. I like the show choosing to make it more global or adapted for a Western audience. There's still a Tencent version (should be available on YouTube) that is extremely faithful to the original books (to the point of being adapted page by page in many places) if you want the Sinocentric version or if you want even more of the series. I'm not the biggest fan of how the scope seems to be narrowed down for characters being acquaintances of each other at the very least but I appreciate that this is the best way to create narrative interest in a TV show with a set of characters that feel interconnected to have most major characters of the series in the very first season.

Some of the acting felt wooden. I'm also not the biggest fan of a few story arcs reaching their conclusions or progressing via plot reinforcement in a rigid manner rather than naturally progressing via better storytelling and acting. Time may have been a constraint that forced this but we're seeing it be a big problem in more and more shows these days that are stubbornly stuck to one season every two years with an eight episode release format. Where it most causes an impact is in the agency of certain characters... it almost feels like they're being railroaded to their conclusions for this season and for one fan favorite character in particular it's an issue throughout the season.
The first book had more of a mystery element to it along with the sci-fi content that I've seen that has been neglected in the show. It's another thing that they may have been forced into due to time but I think the show is poorer for it. They instead cut to the chase to show all the cool stuff... and I'd add that some of the really cool scenes/big moments also don't get as much time to breathe before being rushed to. I don't know if this was something they realised wasn't a good thing later on because the episodes that come afterwards all have more time in the prelude and during the big moments to breathe and shine that make them more memorable from a story perspective and I'd add that they also left more of a mark on the show's characters.
The CGI in the later episodes felt cheap. I'm not sure if this was because I failed to notice it during the earlier ones but the later ones stood out badly. Speaking of which... there's also an unnatural bokeh effect in way too many scenes that I thought had significance like in other media content wherein it implies that the scene is happening outside of the regular, established places but.... it didn't seem to be the case? Not an artistic choice I'm a fan of.


I think further discussion would veer heavily into spoiler territory so I'll refrain from that.

How would I rate the show?

If you've read the books, 7.5/10. Seeing all of the cool moments you read about be adapted to a visual medium is awesome and there's enough of them to love. However, you're also likely to notice just how much potential was squandered and how much better it could have been with some of the talent on the show and the money involved. Seems to be an increasing trend with adaptations of previously popular content, even Dune 2 which has been widely praised and appreciated for being a banger of a movie has some hardcore fans completely hating the director's decisions to add agency to a certain character.

If you haven't read the books, I'd say the show is 9/10 or if you're particularly harsh, 8.5. There's a lot of incredibly cool scenes to see visually, the concepts of the show are very unique and it's well paced for a sci-fi adaptation with enough care put into it.

That should give an overall score of 8/10 which feels about right. Hope they do justice to the second book since it's my favourite in the series and it gave birth to a very popular and scary hypothesis.

I got no clue about the books, but watched the 1st episode. I was intrigued to say the least. I do not want to binge watch as I would have nothing in a day or two then. So the wait between episodes is excruciatingly painful.

 

[Master Khan]

Just watched this and it was really good.
It's also a true story.

 

[Bevab]

I got no clue about the books, but watched the 1st episode. I was intrigued to say the least. I do not want to binge watch as I would have nothing in a day or two then. So the wait between episodes is excruciatingly painful.

I would say that the first couple of episodes are the weakest so if you liked them you’ll love the rest of it.

 

[icyman]

How would I rate the show?

If you've read the books, 7.5/10. Seeing all of the cool moments you read about be adapted to a visual medium is awesome and there's enough of them to love. However, you're also likely to notice just how much potential was squandered and how much better it could have been with some of the talent on the show and the money involved. Seems to be an increasing trend with adaptations of previously popular content, even Dune 2 which has been widely praised and appreciated for being a banger of a movie has some hardcore fans completely hating the director's decisions to add agency to a certain character.

I got no clue about the books, but watched the 1st episode. I was intrigued to say the least. I do not want to binge watch as I would have nothing in a day or two then. So the wait between episodes is excruciatingly painful.

I have to say it started off on a high. I had great expectations here. While I havent read the books, the show, atleast in the first few episodes seemed to be a breath of fresh air. However, the storyline really tapered off towards the end there. From Ep5 onwards, the show was painfully slow and the climax was just not right. For me, it became a drag and there were moments wherein I wanted to skip through a few sections.

I would rate if 7/10 for its ability to pull in the viewer at the very beginning. Had the climax been somewhat better ,it would have demanded a 9/10.

 

[asprin]

I would say that the first couple of episodes are the weakest

However, the storyline really tapered off towards the end there

Elegant way to confuse a person intending to watch this show.

 

[Bevab]

I have to say it started off on a high. I had great expectations here. While I havent read the books, the show, atleast in the first few episodes seemed to be a breath of fresh air. However, the storyline really tapered off towards the end there. From Ep5 onwards, the show was painfully slow and the climax was just not right. For me, it became a drag and there were moments wherein I wanted to skip through a few sections.

I would rate if 7/10 for its ability to pull in the viewer at the very beginning. Had the climax been somewhat better ,it would have demanded a 9/10.

Spoiler: Since aspirin hasn’t finished the series yet

The first five episodes are from the first book in the trilogy with some segments of the second and third books that happened concurrently. I suppose that’s why you’ve felt a jarring difference since the rest of it was from the start of the second book plot wise.

The feeling of it becoming a drag and wanting to skip are quite faithful to the book series in all honesty , some of the book sections and even plots are an extreme slog to get through and I’ve gotta say that the Netflix show vastly improves on it. There’s a Tencent version on YouTube that’s more or less a chapter by chapter adaptation that should show the difference, it’s nearly 30 episodes I believe and some book fans love it for the authenticity whilst some hate it for being too much of a drag.

 

[ShamiLoverGlipGlops]

Finished Taarak Mehta's first 1000 episode, 1000th time. Very mysterious series. Tapu's character is deep, Jethalal is the best super hero in recent era.

 

[icyman]

Finished Taarak Mehta's first 1000 episode, 1000th time. Very mysterious series. Tapu's character is deep, Jethalal is the best super hero in recent era.

Great, now do a re-watch of 'Kyunki Saas bhi kabhi bahu thi' (Once upon a time, the mother-in-law was a daughter-in-law)

 

[ShamiLoverGlipGlops]

Great, now do a re-watch of 'Kyunki Saas bhi kabhi bahu thi' (Once upon a time, the mother-in-law was a daughter-in-law)

Is that the one where the vampire grand mother never dies and is 1000 + years old?

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Episode 9 of Shogun was a cracker. Looking forward to the finale.

Also, watched season 1 of 'Dave' on Disney. Very good, going to enjoy watching the next two seasons. Kind of a Curb Your Enthusiasm but with rap.

 

[ahmedleo414]

Been loving shogun

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Been loving shogun

I loved Mariko's stand off vs Ichido's men. Really great emotional, action scene.