Topic: The TV Show Thread

Magic User's Club - Anime series revolving around the relationships of group of Japanese high schoolers as they practice sorcery with the help of an ancient tome found in a cave... which also happens to bring them to the attention of the occupying alien overlords who have so far thwarted all resistance from the world's militaries.

I thought it was pretty cute. It actually consists of a 6 episode OVA series followed by a 13 episode TV series, and of the two I prefer the former. The TV series (despite tying up some loose ends in the first episode) completely drops the sci-fi element, and changes focus almost entirely to the slice of life relationship element (there is a mystery revolving around, an obviously supernaturally related, new student, though I had the truth figured out pretty early on).

Again, it's pretty cute throughout, though I lament the excising of the OVA's sci-fi element (which I thought brought a nice contrast to the magic). Just be aware of typical anime tropes if you decide to watch it.

Finished up Moon Knight last night.

It had it's moments (and I thought episode 5 in particular was interesting), but overall I think it's the weakest Disney+ exclusive yet (between the Marvel & Star Wars stuff). The blackout segments were fun at first (and I really did like the car chase scene early on in the series), but I wasn't a fan as they went on (especially since they used one to skip over how he got the upper hand in the final fight, even though I knew what twist they were foreshadowing), other times it was so dark I could barely see what was going on (especially during the episode in the tomb), and I was really disappointed that after how relatively little we saw him suit up (and with how personal the conflict between Khonsu & Ammit is) that the final fight wasn't a one on one (multiple personalities notwithstanding), and that they insisted on introducing another hero last second to take part (by all means introduce them, but maybe wait until season 2). I don't really mind the "Are you an Egyptian Superhero!?" bit, other than the fact that it wasn't directed at the titular Egyptian themed superhero. Also, entities that regular people can't see (outside of outright ghosts) are a bit of a pet peeve of mine for whatever reason, so I didn't care for the bits with the invisible Jackals (or whatever they're supposed to be).

@LN78 Yeah, I’m real happy about Ncuti Gatwa being selected. More than anything, I’m happy because he auditioned and impressed during the audition. There’s nothing worse than people getting the job just because the showrunner’s worked with them before. I kinda hope that they do tackle the fact he’s a black man going back in time though, they touched on it with Martha as a companion. I feel like the Rosa Parks episode would have resonated better with the Doctor experiencing racism themselves despite not even being human, just because of their skin tone. They handled it well in the fairly terrible show Timeless on US TV so I have no doubt that RTD could absolutely write it in.

@LN78 Oh definitely, Olly Alexander I think would have been great but I’m just happy proper process was followed. Whittaker, Tennant and Colin Baker all got the part through basically knowing the showrunner and definitely got a leg up on the competition. We know how two of those runs ended up going!

@LN78 I made it a couple of episodes into It’s A Sin but neither my mum or I could stomach finishing it because it was so incredibly harrowing. It was fantastically acted and it definitely knew how to tug on the heartstrings but I’m not good with that sort of thing!

Goku: Midnight Eye - Two episode OVA series that follows a private investigator named Goku (not THAT Goku) as he takes on criminals outside the reach of the law in the cyberpunk dystopia of Tokyo... in 2014. Aiding him in his quest are a cybernetic eye that gives him control of every computer system on the planet, and an extendable staff that shoots lasers.

It doesn't have much of an overarching narrative (each episode is largely standalone, and how he got the eye/staff is a mystery even to the protag), but it's worth checking out if a gritty sci-fi anime with gratuitous violence/nudity that wears it's Blade Runner/Mad Max inspirations on it's sleeve floats your boat (just be aware that it's still in SD). Free on Tubi.

currently watching Season 2 of Freddy's Nightmares on Tubi.

the show gets really violent and graphic and has some nudity during some scenes like the brain transplant episode. damn NBC lol. Even Freddy tortured a victim in the dreamworld nightmare by stabbing the guy in the crotch at least 2 times

re watching Preacher a great show and Cassidy is such a great character

Just finished Outer Range on Amazon. I like ambiguity and the just plain weird… so I liked it. It’s like Yellowstone meets Twin Peaks with a touch of Lost. No answers at the seasons climax, so I’m hoping it gets a season 2. Great cast and beautifully shot.

@trev666 I’m glad you’re enjoying it… I’m a huge fan of the comic book and as a result really struggled to enjoy it. Probably my favourite comic of all time, so had really high hopes for the show and was left a bit disappointed. My missus, who hadn’t read the source material absolutely loved the show though.

@LN78 That would be even crazier, considering what a horrific time he had on set. The poor guy only recently joined the audio stories so I would be surprised if he came back to the screen.

@LN78 yeah he was excellent in all fairness… and Joe Gilgun was pretty good as Cassidy too. Cooper and Negga as Jesse and Tulip just really didn’t do it for me though.

@LN78 I totally agree… it’s just one of those things though I guess. Still, a new audience got to enjoy a different version of the story and… at least we still have the comics.

@LN78 I actually enjoyed elements of the adaptation of Y: The Last Man such as the more complicated grey areas with regards to trans men given the difference in the world between 2002 and now. The comics are great even if they have aged a little bit, but I always kinda knew they were practically unfilmable. The tone which works so well in the comics might come across a bit crass on TV so I understand why they made it a bit more serious. I also think the guy who played Yorick was decent even if it was a bit hard to understand why we were supposed to care about him with such little growth due to it being cancelled. Something about it just didn’t work. Maybe it was the overly serious tone, maybe it was the fact we’ve seen a million post-apocalyptic stories before. It could have had something really interesting to say but I honestly don’t think the TV world is ready for it.

@LN78 Yep, the ‘formula’ they settled on of Yorick meeting somebody, spending an episode with them and then moving on just did not work on TV. There was basically nothing moving forward after each episode so you felt as if you’d had the TV equivalent of Special K. Dust with the occasional freeze-dried strawberry.

@LN78 I think the issue is probably that’s it’s a far too interesting world and setting for that format to really do it justice.

Halo - mostly meh, ok at best, unfortunately

Any other Love, Death & Robots fans out there. I'm not always a fan of the stories but even then there is usually something to enjoy from a visual standpoint and they're all pretty short anyway.
I think 'Bad Travelling' was my favourite this season for both storytelling and visual. 'Three Robots' was entertaining again and 'NIGHT OF THE MINI DEAD' was certainly novel and fun. The later almost looked like it could have been an intro cinematic for Dead Nation.
I've long had an interest in animation and think Blur Studio has done some very impressive stuff. They've done plenty for the games industry with their Elder Scrolls work being my favourites. They could probably make an epic film out of those.

@BearsEatBeets I'm a fan. I would like a bit more variety in the types of animation, as it's very heavy on the life like CGI where as I'd love to see more hand drawn and stop motion stuff. As it stands though it's a neat series.