I just watched the first episode of Dracula 2020, and I’m not quite sure what to think about it. At one point it’s a poor man’s Hannibal, next it’s self-aware over-the-top shlocky fun, next it steps over that fine line and becomes way too self-aware shlocky cringe, and then characters start passing the idiot ball among each other for plot convenience… which I wouldn’t necessarily mind, but at least don’t do it in such a needlessly contrived way. Also, I kept rolling my eyes at the compulsive, non-period-appropriate, sometimes weirdly out-of-the-blue quipping. When did this become a thing?
Anyone who has watched further, which way does the show go - fun or cringe?
Also, I can’t help but find it hilarious that Budapest almost always stands in for other places in foreign productions, but the one time a story actually takes place here? They shoot it somewhere else.
(And this is such a minor thing, but I just have to get it off my chest - diversity is all good, but this is Eastern Europe, if we’re going there why not have nuns of Roma, Turkish, etc. origins? At first I thought the nuns were Agatha’s personal combat team, but turns out they’re local, in which case period-appropriate local ethnic minorities would have made a lot more sense… But then, I guess nobody on the casting team even thought that far.)
I have 1 episode of the witcher left to watch and it’s pretty damn great, eh? It moves the fantasy furniture around in ways that are unexpected but welcome.
Particularly loving the bard’s songs (possible spoilers)…
Oh absolutely, many times you think it’s going a typical fantasy route but it then goes against your expectations or they’ll directly comment on the fantasy cliches like geralt in episode one being told by stregobor about the curse of the black sun but sarcastically replying it can’t be true because it doesn’t rhyme. Also, i have to say that yennefer’s transformation for me was one of the best moments of tv i’ve seen, it was an eye opening moment.
Although, not everyone is happy with the adaptation. I’ve not read the books myself so can’t comment on that.
One thing is we expect Geralt to be the protagonist, but really he’s more like a prize to be won, by somebody, eventually—Yennefer is on a more typical protagonist arc
I also haven’t read the source material or ever played any of the games; I’m solely judging the show on it’s own merits, as someone who enjoys fantasy/scifi lore in general.
That’s one of the subverted tropes I’m really enjoying.
Yeah… at one point I would have been ecstatic over the idea… but I’m thinking its time has passed. It would be very difficult to get the whole cast back together, for one, and their camaraderie was a big part of the show’s success. Two, it doesn’t have to be “updated” or “relevant for our time”-- it’s set in the future, for heaven’s sake. They’re just going to mess it up. And last… I’ve cooled on Joss Whedon, after certain things that came out. I’ll always love the previous stories told (which I still appreciate as a team effort), but I’m not sure I want to go on any new voyages with him at the helm.
As much as I liked the show, I mostly agree with the critique. Only it is actually three audiences the show has to please. As they said those who never had much contact with the franchise, those that read the books and a third party which only knows the franchise from the game - and there in particular the third one. What irked me most personally was the stupid and inconsistent change to the magic system that can only produce more problems as the show goes on.
And for pleasing the gaming fans who are yet still quite happy with the show, that most likely will backfire. It already does a bit with so many stating how unhappy they are about the casting of Triss, who not even has the fiery red hair she has in the games. Except show Triss has exactly the hair color described in the books. But the worst awakening for the gaming crowd will be when they are finally confronted with the truth - the whole gaming part of the franchise is (well made) fan fiction and a fix fic at that.
Randonly ran across this show on the netflix, Cells at Work, and it’s freaking adorable… it’s about cells inside the body and the things they have to do on a daily basis. It follows a red blood cell, as she gets constantly lost trying to deliver her packages each episode and her interactions with other cells, such as the white blood cells…
Each episode the body gets attacked by some new threat, and the action is usually the white blood cells attacking them… who inexplicably get covered in blood each time they fight something…
But best of all? The tiny, adorable Platelets… here they are, dealing with a cut and helping to fix up the skin by building a scab out of red blood cells… (she’s the tiny platelet leader there in the blue shirt with the flag):
One more because Platelets!
Anyway, just a cute little anime that’s been a lot of fun so far.
So, in my slog through ALL the Law & Orders, I came across this SVU episode from nine years ago, which is TOTALLY a thinly-veiled story about Jeffrey Epstein. But of course, this episode “is fictional, and does not depict any actual person or event”.
I apologize if any of this is repetitive, not obscure enough, already well loved or already deeply hated… I haven’t been following along and don’t have the time to read through or even search 961 comments. I’m not as much of a tv junkie as it might seem, as this represents the last couple of years of viewing.
The Americans: Deep-cover KGB spies juggle work and family in 1980s Washington, DC. TW: violence including sexual violence. Often deeply uneasy viewing but overall an all-time great IMO. I think of it not as a drama, but as a sweeping Russian tragedy.
If you liked that, check out Deutschland 83, Deutschland 86 and The Same Sky. German series about Stasi spies in the West and life in the East.
Fartsa. Here’s something truly obscure. This Russian series follows a group of buddies in 1960s Moscow as they dabble in black marketeering. Dabbling turns to immersion and things get dangerous. Never seen the USSR depicted as a colourful, swinging-60s wonderland with a bit of a dark side? Here you go. Sadly it seems to be dead after one season.
Love, Death & Robots: an anthology of animated shorts. I’m not big on modern animation so I honestly don’t know how this stacks up but I enjoyed most of them. Kind of a Black Mirror-ish and/or PKDickian vibe.
Counterpart: speaking of Dickian things, this series (not based on anything by PKD, but still) about a world in which someone somehow created a copy of the universe and a bridge between the original and the copy, then the universes started to diverge, IMO doesn’t fully live up to its appealing (to me) premise, but it’s still worth a look. (It’s also another spy thriller.)
Castle Rock: “based on characters and settings by Stephen King”. While I’ve come to respect and (mostly) enjoy King in my dotage, I’m not super familiar with his universe. I still enjoyed this quite a lot, particularly the first season.
