What are you watching? (television thread)
- Thread starter Oburi
- Start date
Griffith
With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Yeah, I was naturally skeptical, the first episode feels very nostalgia-driven like something that could be mindlessly exploitative, but even all that material turned out to have a purpose and overall this was clearly made with a lot of authenticity and love for the comics.
I thought it was basically state-mandated for all parents with children under 13!? Yeah, they got me back with one of those $2 a month for three months deals and by the end of that my daughter had discovered Bluey and it was all over, so I subscribed to the $9 ad bundle with Hulu, which at least gives you some variety for your buck. The wife and I re-watched Buffy and it had the added bonus of keeping our daughter scared away from our bedroom and into bed at night.
nomad
"Bring the light of day"
Indeed. I'm in the same boat as you. I'm taken by surprise of how good they really made it. Back then they were loyal to the comics and I dare say one of the few that did specially back then. Now they seem to not only have the support but to also add a more mature take on it. Stuff that you couldn't do at FOX network back then. If you know the comics you know damn well where they are going... And I look forward to it.
Season 2 gladly has been already been written by the same showrunner. Despite his termination, I truly hope that he is brought back for more.
Griffith
With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
X-Men '97 - So, not surprisingly, they didn't just stick the landing with aplomb, like this was as epic as could be and more than I expected frankly, but then did a pirouette into a surprise encore routine that just so happened to fulfill my one lingering desire for this season while setting up season 2. Bravo.
I hope I'm not overselling it, it's still Saturday morning cartoon X-Men, that's part of the charm, but it's at about as high a level as you can do that without it becoming something else. It actually uses that to its advantage to touch or brush on events and themes much darker than it, or seemingly any mainstream X-Men adaptation, effectively could if it had to really deal with them outside this format where they can plumb the depths without getting bogged down in them. They can just hit the high notes and move on to the next thing without lingering too long. In no particular order here's some of the shit it meaningfully references, sometimes briefly so don't assume all of these are big spoilers (I'll still tag them since SOME technically are, but it's all things you've likely heard of if you're an X-Fan =):
Prejudice (duh)
Mojo
Master Mold
Sentinels
January 6th
The Shi'ar
The Phoenix Force
Goblin Queen
Mr. Sinister
Magneto was right
Terrorism
Slavery
Genocide
Forge
Adversary
Apocalypse
Nimrod
Cable
The Askani
Asteroid M
Genosha
Spider-Man '94
Marvel heroes
The future
The past
The Alpha (not Flight)
The Omega (Red)
There's one name I specifically didn't mention because it was the surprise of the season and very effectively tied it all together. I hope they can surprise me as much with whatever direction they turn next season as well.
I hope I'm not overselling it, it's still Saturday morning cartoon X-Men, that's part of the charm, but it's at about as high a level as you can do that without it becoming something else. It actually uses that to its advantage to touch or brush on events and themes much darker than it, or seemingly any mainstream X-Men adaptation, effectively could if it had to really deal with them outside this format where they can plumb the depths without getting bogged down in them. They can just hit the high notes and move on to the next thing without lingering too long. In no particular order here's some of the shit it meaningfully references, sometimes briefly so don't assume all of these are big spoilers (I'll still tag them since SOME technically are, but it's all things you've likely heard of if you're an X-Fan =):
Prejudice (duh)
Mojo
Master Mold
Sentinels
January 6th
The Shi'ar
The Phoenix Force
Goblin Queen
Mr. Sinister
Magneto was right
Terrorism
Slavery
Genocide
Forge
Adversary
Apocalypse
Nimrod
Cable
The Askani
Asteroid M
Genosha
Spider-Man '94
Marvel heroes
The future
The past
The Alpha (not Flight)
The Omega (Red)
There's one name I specifically didn't mention because it was the surprise of the season and very effectively tied it all together. I hope they can surprise me as much with whatever direction they turn next season as well.
Well one thing I apparently won't be watching is Scavengers Reign Season 2, since it just got canceled. This is a bummer... Season 1 was very promising, doing cool shit with sci-fi in a way that's just not done anymore. Check it out if you're at all interested in the genre.
Just finished X-Men '97. First off, I really appreciate that Griff and @nomad let us all know that this was worth checking out afterall, because I watched the trailer and it looked like nostalgia garbage. But the truth is, it’s nostalgia junk food!
This show feels like it came from the heart of a fan who really loved and understood the 1990s X-Men comics, and Disney/Marvel offered them a blank check for how to best digest some of that series' biggest milestones. It's kind of incredible just how many of the BIG DEAL story arcs they successfully crammed into 10 episodes. You can honestly watch this Saturday Morning version of X-Men and NOT have to read about a decade's worth of comics.
I did feel that it starts super strong but kind of lost steam toward the end. The cost of turning these massive story arcs into bite-sized ones was that it sacrificed a lot of the character development, team-building, and overall camaraderie that would naturally happen in the margins of the comics. Instead, a lot of that is supplanted with quippy dialogue each episode, and that tone overstayed its welcome in a Whedon-esque way, for me. My other gripe is that the voice actors got on my nerves quite a bit, in particular Rogue, who now sounds like a grandma instead of a smoky Southern belle. But it's also incredible how many of the actors sound spot-on from the original cartoon. Was that the RIGHT decision, though?
Anyway, I'm still amazed it's as good as it is, given that as @Griffith said, is essentially a modern Saturday Morning Cartoon that hits all the right notes for '90s X-Men. I do hope they can maintain this quality going forward, because I'd really like to see where they take things, and ultimately which arcs they'll embrace or discard.
Just finished X-Men '97. First off, I really appreciate that Griff and @nomad let us all know that this was worth checking out afterall, because I watched the trailer and it looked like nostalgia garbage. But the truth is, it’s nostalgia junk food!
This show feels like it came from the heart of a fan who really loved and understood the 1990s X-Men comics, and Disney/Marvel offered them a blank check for how to best digest some of that series' biggest milestones. It's kind of incredible just how many of the BIG DEAL story arcs they successfully crammed into 10 episodes. You can honestly watch this Saturday Morning version of X-Men and NOT have to read about a decade's worth of comics.
I did feel that it starts super strong but kind of lost steam toward the end. The cost of turning these massive story arcs into bite-sized ones was that it sacrificed a lot of the character development, team-building, and overall camaraderie that would naturally happen in the margins of the comics. Instead, a lot of that is supplanted with quippy dialogue each episode, and that tone overstayed its welcome in a Whedon-esque way, for me. My other gripe is that the voice actors got on my nerves quite a bit, in particular Rogue, who now sounds like a grandma instead of a smoky Southern belle. But it's also incredible how many of the actors sound spot-on from the original cartoon. Was that the RIGHT decision, though?
Anyway, I'm still amazed it's as good as it is, given that as @Griffith said, is essentially a modern Saturday Morning Cartoon that hits all the right notes for '90s X-Men. I do hope they can maintain this quality going forward, because I'd really like to see where they take things, and ultimately which arcs they'll embrace or discard.
Griffith
With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
I forgot if we discussed this, but did you ever watch Raised by Wolves, the show ostensibly about androids raising human children on another planet as a solution to a catastrophic religious war? First couple of episodes are directed by Ridley Scott and make for a nice little sci-fi movie. I never finished season 2 and it's apparently been removed from Max because the entertainment industry is an absurd sham.
Glad you ate up the greasy-but-delicious fast food X-burgers as well!
My wife is a fan of the original show but not the comics, so while she appreciated it does the original series justice she couldn't appreciate how much crazy lore they, cohesively for the most part, crammed in there. As a matter of fact, there was a bit too much for her taste as an objective viewer. Episode 3 for example, a LOT happens! I actually felt like it got stronger as it went along and its full form emerged, particularly how ambitious yet true to the theme of the original series it was. Because in the beginning it seemed like it might just be nostalgia bait: episodes 1, 3 and the first half of 4 for callbacks to seasons 1, 2, etc, mixed with some modern sensibilities in episode 2 and 4's second half, but then it REALLY took a couple huge swings and turns with episodes 5 & 6 and after a brief lull in 7 never looked back.
Also, I felt like what they lacked in time for long term development they made up for by directly approaching topics and conversations between characters they couldn't have in the original animated series. Particularly Scott and Jean, Rogue for better or worse, and Magneto and... anybody; his speech to the UN, his moment(s) with the boy, or the "pep talk" to the team in the penultimate episode. =) Same for the antagonist; it was all very direct and on point, and it didn't beat around the bush.
How dare you!
Well, as far as Buffy is concerned, Marvel, etc... yeeeeah.
Yeah, we joked how frail Rogue suddenly sounded, and I was sure they recast Wolverine and that Cyclops was exactly the same, except Wolvie was the same actor and the OG Cyclops was, um, dead. I thought Magneto was great considering the original actor died as well, and the elective recasting of his foil was a good choice since he was very one note in the original and needed more range here. They had the original Jean play the woman from the UN as she dropped a few octaves (no more wailing, fainting "Scott!"s for her), and Gambit was clearly recast, yet the original voice actor still appeared in an important role (maybe he just couldn't do his bullshit Cajun accent anymore =).
Yeah, the showrunner had already plotted out season 2 and finished a lot of the scripts, so hopefully it'll maintain the same story density and quality whatever direction the production takes. Or they could screw it up and remove it all from the platform in a money-saving scheme! You never know anymore.
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