Topic: The TV Show Thread

@Jimmer-jammer I too find it really weird when a comic book I've read gets made into a TV show or film, as it is initially difficult to get my head round some of the the changes.

I can remember when Preacher first aired and it took me a few episodes to get used to the casting of Tulip, but I soon warmed to her as they got her personality pretty much bang on.

I've been quite lucky in that respect as only The Boys and Preacher have been made, and I've been really happy with the final product. Everything else has already been made into a TV show or film by the time I've read the comics.

@JohnnyShoulder I knew nothing about Preacher going in but I loved Ruth Negga as Tulip so it's interesting to hear that.

I take it she looks entirely different in the comics.

One thing I will say is I feel like they, idk, neutered her in the second season (or was that the third?) so I'm curious if that tracks with the comics?

Lol.

The Hallmark Channel presents... The Last of Us.

The missus and I bunged Sweet Tooth yesterday. We liked it. The ending was a bit anticlimactic as it just kinda sets up the next season but was good all things considered. Very apt what with pandemics and such too

@zupertramp @Jimmer-jammer Admittedly, I've not finish the Preacher comics yet, think I have a couple of the TP collections to go, but no I don't recall Tulip's softer edges coming through that much, and yeah she looks totally different in the TV show. All the other characters were pretty much spot on though.

When I'm watching something like this, I'm not expecting them to follow the story and character arcs 100%, just that they get the tone from the source material right. There is things from Preacher and The Boys comics that I do not think could be filmed, and they are already quite graphic in terms of violence and stuff.

@JohnnyShoulder @Jimmer-jammer I’m a huge Preacher comic book fan but, while I watched the whole tv show through... I couldn’t say I enjoyed it much. They nailed Cassidy... but not much else IMO.

Cutie Honey Universe (HiDive via VRV) - Reboot of a classic Go Nagai (Mazinger Z, Devilman) property, that follows Honey Kusaragi, a seemingly average high school student who is really the magical girl superhero Cutie Honey (and can take on other forms as well, such as the biker persona Hurricane Honey), who battles a terror group of female beast people called Panther Claw.

It was okay, but I wasn't terribly enthralled by it. Though it did have some cool action scenes, in general it had a feeling of cheapness about it, I didn't care for the general enemy design, and most of it's attempts at humour didn't click for me. That, and you'd have to have a unique taste in fanservice (the standard transformation & bathing scenes are one thing, but it also has a bit of a masochistic bent with female characters often getting their clothes torn off by whip, including leaving marks, if not by that episode's villain, than by the surprisingly harsh teachers at the school).

Invincible season 1 (Amazon Prime Video) - Mark is your average high schooler, except that his dad is Omni-Man (the "Superman" like figure in this world of superheroes), and when he finally develops his own powers he's eager to get his start in on the family business, however pops' mission on Earth is quickly revealed (to the audience) to be not so benevolent, and there's only one other person on Earth who, might, be able to go toe to toe with him.

This was actually pretty good. Much of the character design screams "Justice League" knockoff, but that's pretty obviously intentional, but the show is varied by it's intense action sequences (which are often very gory), and the unravelling drama of Omni-Man's family & co-workers slowly discovering his secret. There's also some personal romance drama centered around Mark that's not as interesting.

the Sacred Blacksmith (Funimation) - Medieval fantasy series that focuses on young knight Cecily Campbell & how she gets mixed up in the affairs of the blacksmith Luke, the only one in town who can forge Katanas (blades much superior to what people usually carry around). However he has a chip on his shoulder & refuses to make any more, and Cecily gets dragged into a decades long struggle involving demons, magical demon swords, & more.

I remember watching this a long time ago back when I was still watching anime via unofficial means and really liking it, and I still really enjoyed it. It's generally animated quite well with a few fantastic action sequences, I liked the character design overall, and it has the right mix of light hearted humor, surprisingly dark moments, and light fanservice that I think would go over well with fans of shows like Is it Wrong to try & Pick up Girls in a Dungeon? Unfortunately it clearly didn't hit it's mark back when it aired & it only has one season, with plenty of plot threads left dangling.

Watched through the office last week and extras this week. Such brilliant shows, had me cracking up. I always felt like Gervais fell off a bit after that but I have heard After Life is good so I might give that a try at some point soonish.

Just lookin at what Gervais stuff is available on Netflix, I think I've seen the first two movies and I don't remember them being very good. I haven't seen that special correspondents. I remember watching a bit of Derek when it came out on channel 4 and thinking it could have been good if Gervais hadn't used a similar persona as a joke in previous shows. Was a bit cringey but not in a good way. Might give it another go when extras is less fresh in my mind and maybe it will gel with me a bit better. It looks like a good show, just not a good show for Gervais to be in. Might just be too depressing, I mean extras and the office are depressing too but they laugh at how pointless life is so they are mega funny.

Also watched the first two eps of Loki last night. Enjoyed it, it is good so far. Bit similar to legends of tomorrow I guess but I am excited to see where it goes.

That Sean Bean prison thing was proper good. Now I want a second season directed by Guy Ritchie like Prison Break UK.

Been spending the past month rewatching all seasons of Better Call Saul. Really phenomenal show. It's possibly better than Breaking Bad imo. At times it's a heist show. Other times a court room drama. There's plenty of subtle social commentary mixed in, which I don't really recall of Breaking Bad (but in fairness it's been awhile). Plenty of humor, some dark some not. And the multiple character studies at the heart of the show are just so incredibly compelling. I honestly don't know how every arc seems to maintain the same level of quality.

Anyway, just found that I had a much deeper appreciation for the show on my second watch. I also want to know where Rhea Seehorn has been all this time. She's really incredible. Michael Mando too. Just recently found out he's Canadian which was a bit of a shock to me. Gilligan and Gould probably deserve much of the credit but in any case, I look forward to seeing many of these actors in other projects.

Watched The IT Crowd over the last few days/weekend. It's not top tier comedy for me but it's still really funny. Not as good as Father Ted.

Just watched the first season of After Life, blimmin' brilliant! Really glad I watched it. It's really sad but also really funny, it's a good mix. Can't wait to watch season 2 tomorrow.

I was thinking of getting a trial of that BritBox streaming service so I can watch Father Ted. Free trial for 30 days then there's an offer for 2.99/month after that for 3 months. One problem, no app on Xbox or PlayStation... What is the point lol. Aparently there's an app for Roku so I'll have to see if my partner's nowTV box can get it as I believe they are branded rokus. Not that I could watch it when I get home though 😅. Maybe I can find a currently unused Chromecast knocking about in a drawer at home somewhere

@ralphdibny After Life was really good. I didn't like it at first as I found Ricky Gervais' character quite unlikeable, but I think that was intentional as you warm to him the more the season goes on.

@RogerRoger Good to hear about the Loki show. I think the Falcon show may have taken the wind out of the Marvel sails. Well, I’m sure the pandemic madness also hasn’t helped in halting momentum too. I found myself really enjoying WandaVision but then after watching one episode of Falcon, I just kind didn’t feel compelled to make it a priority. And you know how big a Marvel fan I’ve been. Even the new Black Widow movie has me feeling, “Eh, oh yeah — I forgot about that” whereas before I’d be champing at the bit to see it. I dunno, maybe it’s a me problem rather than an issue with the products themselves. Knowing Loki is turning out good has me motivated though to push on through Falcon.

@RogerRoger I’ve seen the first two episodes of Loki and while I’ve quite enjoyed it, it does feel a bit flat. Like might be a Covid thing but every scene feels kinda small, as if the set is a wee room and there’s about 4 people in it. The soundtrack’s great and Owen Wilson is brilliant as usual but yeah, it’s a weird one. Interesting to see Ravonna though, which makes me think this will massively tie into the next Ant-Man given who the baddie in that was confirmed to be.

@JohnnyShoulder yeah he does start off as a bit of a dingus but has a redemption arc. I don't know, it's quite understandable and somewhat relatable considering the stuff the character is going through

@nessisonett There's a theory going around that THAT guy is supposed to be one of the Time Keepers based on that little animatic narrated by Miss Minutes and while I don't really find that plausible, bringing Renslayer in is definitely leading to that. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he ends up cameoing as a post-credits thing since they already cast Jonathan Majors

@TheFrenchiestFry My current theory is that the Time Keepers are just completely made up. It’s a cover-up so that Kang can continue influencing the timeline to be beneficial towards him and his legacy.

@nessisonett That honestly kind of works considering one of the topics this show really seems to be exploring is how it feels to be influenced by higher powers or how people in the TVA have more of a free will than those being dictated by them on other worlds. Considering Lady Loki seems to have an end goal of literally destroying all of time and space continuity based on the last episode, that might be a front to the truth about what the Time Keepers actually are

@RogerRoger CGI cheating isn't new to pandemic productions! I've been on some films where they stitch together shots of the same big crowd multiple times to make it look like an even bigger crowd. (War Horse)

I've even been on one film where they literally filmed us walking individually or in pairs in front of a green screen on a treadmill that had been painted green! (Victor Frankenstein) so they could insert us in to shots later in production!

Then there's practical cheating methods too. Lookalikes etc

I know that's not exactly what you mean for the covid restrictions etc but it seems like they use the same/similar/adapted methods only much more frequently!

Watched after life S2 last night and boy did moments of it have me hiding tears from my partner sitting on the sofa next to me. Brilliant show!

Started watching Father Ted on BritBox too. Have to watch it on the computer because BritBox doesn't have an app for PLaystation or Xbox. I just don't understand it, probably won't let my sub renew for that if I have to watch things on the computer instead of the TV