The Official, Long Awaited, TV Shows Thread

I really loved both seasons of the Get Down. Highly recommend, you have to at least watch the first season. I also have been watching more of the Good Wife and that has remained pretty high quality for the nearly six seasons I've watched so far. I also watched more Designated Survivor which is merely ok really.
 
I can't remember if I mentioned "Rick and Morty", but I haven't been able to stop watching the first episode of season 3 since they surprise released it on April Fool's Day. (They live streamed it for 2 hours repeatedly, with no hype or pre-announcement...GREAT GAG!)
 
I really loved both seasons of the Get Down. Highly recommend, you have to at least watch the first season. I also have been watching more of the Good Wife and that has remained pretty high quality for the nearly six seasons I've watched so far. I also watched more Designated Survivor which is merely ok really.

I quite enjoyed it as well. Only thing that's bugging me is that the contemporary rap music they are using as a framing device for the episodes (is the rapper supposed to be an older version of Zeke? If it is him, then he must be in his late fifties) is so much worse than the stuff Zeke and the rest of the Get Down Brothers are coming up with during the late 70s parts of the show.
 
American Gods, first episode

I've read Neil Gaiman's fantastic book upon its release and was thoroughly impressed with it; also revisited it recently to prepare for the TV show. I've also checked a lot of news about the cast, crew and approach so I've been sort of adjusting my expectations to the adaptation.

The premise is not really a spoiler, so let's get through it: humanity's faith in their imaginary deities has the power to actually manifest these beings and even give them some supernatural abilities. And so, through the past millennia, all the people coming to America have brought their gods with them to this new world. But as history went on, beliefs have changed and old gods have started to fade while new and much stranger ones have appeared.
The central character, Shadow, is a convict who, upon his release from prison, finds his previous life gone; but meets a strange old con man and eventually decides to become his errand man. As they travel through the US, he slowly learns about the conflict between the gods and gets to play an important role in its resolution.

The book has many strengths; Gaiman has an incredibly deep knowledge of myths and folklore, and also based most of the "road trip" aspects of Shadow's journey on his own experiences in the US. The story is compelling, surprising, funny, tragic, and somewhat melancholic; there are lost and lots of wonderful characters and incredible places, and even the ending is amazing.


So, the first episode was a bit mixed IMHO, but mostly good.

One of the stranger things is how it changes from following the book almost to the letter at one point, and then doing something completely different at another; stuff that isn't really validated by the fact that a lot of written things just wouldn't work on the screen. For example, I understand that Shadow can't be as stoic and silent as a main character, but this also takes away some of the subtle atmosphere of the book.
It's also a bit strange to see such over-the-top visuals: one of the guys from the Spartacus show is in the creative team, so there's a LOT of blood and other stylized stuff that makes the whole thing a little less effective.
It also doesn't help a first time viewer that there are a lot of things to set up, so the first episode is really confusing, and makes little sense. There are a few "vignette" episodes (even the opening scene itself) and trippy dream sequences, that will only make sense later on, especially to people with less knowledge of folklore and mythology.

Still, the adaptation seems to be quite faithful to the original, and hopefully the hype was strong enough to keep people watching for the next few episodes. I believe the story is strong enough to engage viewers in a short while, and fortunately the casting seems to be near perfect as well. Ian McShane in particular, while completely different from how I've imagined his character, seems to enjoy this almost too much :), and I really can't wait to see what he does with the more complex aspects of Mr. Wednesday. Not to mention Peter Stormaire (yet to be introduced) or Orlando Jones, who play some of the best and most engaging characters from the book.

All in all, at this point I'd still mostly recommend it based on the strengths of the book; but the first episode is promising enough to suggest that the show will live up to it. The first season will only cover 1/3rd of the novel, but it seems to be almost certain that they'll get to do more. In the mean time, everyone can catch up with their reading on myths and such :)
 
I've started watching The Handmaid's Tale (based on the Margaret Atwood novel) which is science fiction no matter what Atwood says; she conflates space opera and science fiction.

It is terrific and I use that word for all it's worth: it is great and terrifying at the same time.
 
Yep :)

Second episode in, and I imagine it still doesn't make enough sense for newcomers... Reviewers were writing about the first 4 episodes though, and I expect it's because they need that much to get the story properly started.
I was also surprised to find out that a second season has not been ordered yet.

However, the show has now introduced many of its strongest characters - Czernobog, Anansi and Media are all perfectly cast and executed :)
A couple of things were changed from the book though, but it all seems to work very well. Can't wait for the rest.
 
For those who haven't read the book, American Gods might be best appreciated after all the episodes have aired, and there have been some spoilers posted in articles that discuss it. The book slowly eases you into its universe in a way a TV show would find unpractical. Once you get the basics of the tale, you can settle in and enjoy the ride.
 
It was. And none of the other bits made any sense either. I have better ways to spend the hours in my life.
 
Netflix to Produce The Witcher TV Series
Netflix will develop and produce a new show based on The Witcher Saga, the series of eight novels by Andrzej Sapkowski that inspired the hugely popular CD Projekt Red RPG games.

Sapkowski - who does not profit from the game series - will serve as a creative consultant on the series. “I’m thrilled that Netflix will be doing an adaptation of my stories," he explained in a press release, "staying true to the source material and the themes that I have spent over thirty years writing."
...
Platige Image, a Polish production and visual effects house will co-produce. Executive producers Baginski and Jarek Sawko emphasised that the books' subtexts will not be lost in the adaptation: "There is a moral and intellectual depth in these books which goes beyond genre. It is a story about today and today’s challenges, hidden under a fantasy cover. It is a story about us, about the monster and the hero inside all of our hearts.”
http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/05/17/netflix-to-produce-the-witcher-tv-series

Should be interesting.
 
Just started watching Marvels Daredevil because a friend recommended it to me. It is pretty damn good! Good acting, good writing, interesting story and characters and an all around very easy to watch series. Hopefully the Witcher series is of a similar quality :)
 
Donated all my free time to Daredevil, just finished season 2. Best Punisher I've seen on screen for sure, dude was a badass.

You can continue with Jessica Jones, then Luke Cage and after that IronFist. There is an ensemble cast series this summer with all of them called "The Defenders".

I think there is as well a proper "The Punisher" series in the works.

IMO the best series is DD, but if you want to watch the Defenders, probably you´ll need some background lol
 
I much preferred Jessica Jones, and then Luke Cage. DD is a chore. Literally just grinding through the last couple episodes of season 2. Iron Fist LOL.
 
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