After the first season I wrote that it has some cool episodes but overall I don't think I need more.
After the second season I would say it has one, maybe two, cool episodes but overall I'm sure I don't need more.
After season two I was wondering how they could top this. Well, they didn't.
And while that in itself didn't surprise me, because bringing back Luke was HUGE, I often felt they didn't even try. This season, while still good overall, felt like an over length movie where they did forget to cut out the unnessessary scenes. My average rating for this season dropped a full two points. And that's a lot. There were few great episodes, some good but also some really weak ones.
Din was a side player a lot of the time (which was later confirmed as being intentional). I expected this season to be about his redemption but that got dealt with very fast. The story centered more around Bo Katan which I'm absolutely fine with. I also like to have more Mandalorians in general. Now, Grogu's arc hit a wall. Aside from the finale he pretty much was there to be cute and eat something. Gideon turned into another Vader wannabe, he was more interesting in season two.
Overall this was an OK season that gets pulled down by a couple of weak episodes and weak moments within episodes. The main question for me, and I'm actually surprised to hear me saying this: do I want another season ?
Well, I still like the characters of Din, Grogu and Bo Katan and would like to see them again. But there has to be a better effort in terms of the overall story because where we stand now it seems there isn't much left to tell.
That's my impression. I have spoken.
While the production itself is still very good the second season just wasn't as exciting as the first one. I feel like I've treaded water the whole time, waiting for a ship to come to pick me up. But it never came.
While the arc for Freydis did somewhat close out within the season, both Harald and Leif fell in the background. They were pretty much traveling on the Love Boat to Konstantinopel for most of the season. It all seems to be kind of a precursor for things to be happen next season. But I wonder if we really needed a whole season to be prepare for that.
Well, time will tell. But while I was very exciting after the first season I'm less so after this one.
One of the best first seasons of any TV show I've ever seen.
Star Trek, for me, is more than just another TV show. I have certain expectations when I watch it. And maybe I'm to blame for that.
I listen to the dialogue carefully, trying to find clues as to what the story will be. Looking for some hidden information that might lead me to what the writers are up to when they throw in some references. I have discussions with my fellow Trek friends and we exchange our ideas, throwing back and forth concepts of what might happen next. Talking about the decissions made by the characters and the issues shown. And even for decade old episodes we still find new ways to look at them despite having talked about it at length.
But this isn't that kind of Star Trek any more. This isn't multi layered and deep story telling. It's blunt and in your face. Many things spoken of in dialogue are just that - things spoken. With no double meaning. It tries to grap attention with shocking revelations instead of delivering a silent message that you need to work out and understand. They throw in a lot of stuff not needed for the main plot just so everyone has something to do. As much as I like some of the characters, given the choice, I would scratch them completely to go on with the important stuff.
There are a couple of minutes in some episodes that I liked but they never really go through with it. Maybe someday someone does an edit removing all the ballast.
Just so we understand each other, I do critisize older Star Trek episode as well if I feel the need to. I have critized a whole show for that matter. So it's not that I dismiss this just because it's new. But I don't feel the writers seem to care or acknowledge the past stories. They are screwing facts around from those early shows to make their new ideas work. They don't think about if it makes sense. And that I don't like.
Now I'm faced with a difficult decision knowing there is another season coming with characters I hold dear. And I'm afraid they will do the same to them, turning them into something they are not.
But I know that ultimately my curiosity will get the best of me.
It seems in this season it was more important to create some artifical competition than to show real skill. I get it, after that many episodes it gets repetitive. But I'd much rather see the display of skill without some ridicolous rules.
This is the weakest season so far when it comes to the contestants.
It used to be that the best in every round moved on to the next. This season it's more who's the least bad. People with broken weapons move on because others are a millimeter too short. There has to be a little leeway.
I am 50 years now, watched SW ANH the first time in the early 1980s.
This show did (so far) what I hoped the sequels would do.
Thank you Jon Favreau
Thank you Dave Filoni
Again, I am standing on the fence. This show has just enough to keep me going. But I'll be honest if I say, had I watched it on its original run, not knowing how many episodes lying ahead of me, I would have probably quit here and now.
I didn't like whole Charleston arc. The genres listed for this show are action, adventure, fantasy and science fiction. And there is very little of any of that. It's a drama first and foremost. That's not what I want to see. The writing is convenient, not always logical you just have to accept things as they are presented. Maybe I expect too much or I am over-analyzing.
With only twenty something episodes left I'll probably finish it but I don't see this becoming one of my favorites.
I gave the first season a "fair" rating and the question now is: was the second season better ?
Yes and no. Interestingly the show runners had no clue how to continue the cliffhanger. And in a way they didn't. But we learn more about the aliens and that things don't always are what they appear to be. That's hardly original but, OK. We also learn more about the charaters as we travel along. There is character developement and I am beginning to have favorites with Maggie being hands down at the top of the list. But there is also lot's of stuff that is too predictable with the writing.
Two things that almost always apply: if things are to good to be true, they usually aren't. And if two characters get too comfortable with each other the writers throw in a curve ball immediately. In one interview the producer credited the show for it's surprising twists. Honestly, I don't see it.
There were a couple of episodes I really liked but in both cases they were followed by ones I didn't. In any case it's still above a level that would make me throw the towel and much better than a lot of other stuff.
I'm still not at a point where I can give a full "7".
Since it is neither extremely awful nor exceptionell good I'd say "fair" is a fitting assessment.
I see the potential this has and I hope they don't throw it away. My concern still lies with the fact that the teenagers are at the center of the story. I can't put a finger on it though. And of course you are reminded of the series V.
It looks a bit dated when it comes to CGI and SFX but it seemed to be low budget even in 2011. Just an observation.
The plot can be a bit predictable at times and there is a little bit too much of a history lesson going on which only speaks to the american audience mostly. Charcaters are OK, after all we only had 10 episodes to introduce them and the plot, which isn't much.
As I said I see the potential and I hope we'll get a little bit more of an idea as to the motives of the aliens. On the DVD specials was the Comic Con panel where someone asks if Earth is but a sideline of a much larger scale and I find that idea intriguing. All in due time.
This show went from something I wasn't even aware of to one of my favorites fast. And a lot of that is owed to the great cast.
I have to give a lot of credit to Daniel Brühl who, until now, never really convinced me in any of his roles. I don't know the books, therefore I have no idea how Kreizler is described, but he seems to be made for him. Equally convincing Luke Evans, of whom I'd seen a lot before, but I couldn't tell you one movie his was in. And, of course, Dakota Fanning. The trio had chemistry right from the start and they carry it throughout the show.
The story is a well concieved psycho thriller that isn't loud and flashy but tries to get to you with calmness and the right amount of brutality when nessessary. To tell the story and not to attract attention.
The costumes look great, so do the physical sets. Both help sell the era this is based in. Yes, you can identify the CGI but I can easily overlook that in a TV production. On the other hand it doesn't deflect from the plot.
The dialogue ist great, too. It is refreshing to see people in a civilized manner on screen and not yelling and cursing and using foul language like it seems to be chic today.
I have a very short attention span these days and this is one of very few shows I watch without doing something else. That a quality label from my point of view. Since there are more books I hope this will continue.
And with what many people here called the "best episode in TV history" they annihilated what little bit of interest I still had with this show.
No characters left I care for - still don't care for the plot in general. Progresses way to slow, more sideways than forward. And hitting reset and start all over again and again. I will take some time to decide wether I continue watching
Maybe it's the rating this show recieves everywhere or the massive amount of awards it's collected throughout it's run that had my expectations very high. But after the second season I stand behind my comment from S1: it's good but I've yet to be impressed by it. This is (so far) not the kind of show where I absolutely want to see the next episode. I am not glued to my chair while watching. There are only two kind of characters: the one's I don't like and the ones I don't care about. There still is none I really like. Some are interesting but that's it.
By no means I am calling this a bad show. Just one that could turn out to be not for me.
I was never a huge fan of the fantasy genre. I didn't even know those books existed. Until I bought my wife one for her birthday (which turned out to be Book three). At that time the show was already running so I decided not to watch and instead wait for the end of it so I can watch it all in once. I am not good at waiting for conclusions. I actually managed to not know anything about the story itself.
First season was good but it didn't throw me off my feet. It feels very much like medieval England where everyone wants to be King. Production value is through the roof, though. I understand this season is but the foundation for what is to come. But there has to be coming something good.
I still would rate it an 8 but that is seven for the story and +1 for the production. Because, like I said, it is good and it sets itself apart from others by the quality alone.
I've been contemplating for a couple days now what to write about S2. Or if I should write anything at all. Because quite frankly I've written enough already over the course of this season.
So let me close by saying this: Ever since Nemesis and the ending of ENT I'm waiting for good Star Trek. And I still do. If the Abramsverse and/or DIS is the Star Trek of now than I am glad I still have the older shows.
As always, this is my personal opinion. If you like that stuff, fine by me.
I said it before and I say it again: Bernthal really deserves an award for his portrayal of Frank Castle. Not that the rest of the cast is bad, even Amber Rose had some good moments and Ben Barnes rose to the next level here. But what Bernthal brings to the table to bring Castle to life is a mayor part why this show is what it is.
Now, on it's own season two was good but compared to the first it's seconds best. There isn't anything major wrong with it, just a lot of little things.
The whole religous fanatics arc with the gay son who should become president. The Russian blackmailers - all that is overused. Amy is pretty much a noisance thoughout the season and even at the end I don't know if I like her or not. And why even bother with Beth if he doesn't go back to her. That was somewhat wasted.
I also didn't like that love story between Russo and Dr. Crazy. You could see this coming from the first time you saw her and I wish that just for once writers could resist writing this stuff. I never felt sympathy for Billy on his path for redemption. He's a bad guy and all I want is see him dead. There is no way in my book where he comes out of this on the good side.
Madani was better here than in the first season and I think it was fitting that, althought Frank was the one ultimately killing Russo, it was actually she who did the job. Makes sense in a way that Frank was at peace with what he did to Russo and would not have come after him again while for Madani there was an open wound. What I didn't get though is that she quits DHS ("I am done with this") only to go to the CIA. Isn't that the same "this" ?
One of the positives was the character of John Pilgrim. Very well played by Josh Stewart. A dark and troubled soul much like Castle. His story arc was really interesting and the outcome was very satisfiying.
Like the first season it's not action all over. There are slow parts and oftentimes you wait eagerly for things to finally happen. But I must say the managed that well. Yes, it was sometimes annoying but never to the point where I became angry.
Well, ups and downs, positives and negatives aside I fear that we won't see another season of The Punisher. There is enough talk on the internet as to why that might be the case. At least we have somewhat closure with the ending of this season.
First season was a rolercoaster ride for me. While I tried to be open I found reasons to continue in the first half of the season. The idea of this being possibly an alternate universe show was intriguing and explained things. Opposed to that in the second half of the season I was looking for reasons not to quit. As a scifi show in general it is barely above average, as a Star Trek show it is the worst ever made by a wide margin.
I still don't see where this can be prime, canon Star Trek and I am afraid they will pull out a lame explanation to right the wrongs. So, with season two on the doorstep I can't say I am overly excited or that I missed the show. I will continue but the first 2-3 episodes will decide If this will stay on my watchlist.
I've watched each season of any Star Trek show more times than I can remember. The Next Generation was a show I rejected at first but with every time I watch it I embrace it more and more.
Yes, there are a lot of things debatable about the premiere season in terms of quality of the writing, continuity errors, character developement, actors performances to name a few. It is easy to critisize after the fact and with many years now gone. And even I am the first to admit that there are many cringe worthy or eye rolling moments in this first season. But remember, althought they had the original show to base it upon, they literally started with a white sheet of paper. Especially with the characters.
I also like to write a few words about the remastered HD version as I was initially oposed to that. Having now seen it I have to say it really looks great. The special effects are what most benefitted from the overhaul. They look much more crisp and detailed now. In general the picture looks great and I am amazed what they got out of the original source material. A minor negative is that the picture background looks very grainy at times especially if you're sitting close to your screen, whereas the important foreground is almost always amazingly clear. It also gets grainy when there is camera movement whereas static shots are really the best. But that is not really a downside. Brilliant and vibrant colours.
It is now easy to read the screens (which I did ocasionally). At the same time it is also easier to spot minor imperfections on the sets and props plus you sometimes spot the egdes of the make-up on characters. And it becomes really obvious now when a stunt double was used. But those are all not really flaws, nevertheless I thought I share this remarks.
Season two had its up and downs much like season one. Zoom was a great villain until he dropped his mask and developed the I-Love-You virus .
Let my just say I haven't read a superhero comic in decades so, althought I know the characters in general, I see this and the other shows as exactly that. A TV show. I was totally OK with the events playing out after the end of the second season. Heck, I was even OK with Barry and Iris getting together. And then everything fell apart.
They events unfolding in S3, for me, are a slap in the face, really. I hated everything about it. Which is why I only got to Ep 3. And after making that decision I read up on what went on after that point and I am sure I was right to quit.
Guess I'm not the superhero-tv-show type after all because, so far, I have dropped out of all but one. And that one just got cancelled.
There are so many serious issues with the first season. And I am not talking about the usual ones any first season might have. If you want any chance to enjoy this you need to be ready to accept weak writing, stupid and illogical character decisions (again resulting from weak writing), plot holes the size of a city block (again....see before), sub par acting (with the exception of Victor Garber) and, in general, don't even start with the science because this is pure fantasy-fiction and not science fiction. Oh, and I guess the unnessessary romance comes with the genre. You have to shrug all this off.
Yet, despite all those flaws I managed to go through to the end and I am really considering S2. Why ? Because it was fun and entertaining at times. Because I loved all the references throughout the season. And because the action sometimes wasn't bad. And, last but not least, because I hope that they can improve for S2.
Having said all that I can not give this season more than a six for the season, all things considered. And it would be a low six at that.
Edit December 25th, 2018:
After the events at the beginning of The Flash S3 I decided to drop the whole Arrowverse shows.
For the most part the first season was OK. Neither overwhelmingly exceptional nor brutally awful. Just, well - OK.
I can live with the wacky science because it is a science-fiction superhero show. There has to be some leeway. One major factor I really didn't like is the, as one trakt friend of mine likes to put it, teen-oriented crap, that turns up in all this superhero shows. There always has to be some sort of romance, love interest or the like going on. Because all these awkward moments that result from that are so fun, right ? Wrong, so distractful and also not really character building. Iris was pretty much a nuisance the whole season and I can easily see the whole storyline working without her character in it. Secondly, the villains, from top to bottom were really weak. Most of the time they were only an afterthought in any story, just to be put away by The Flash, or to be killed off later. And the villains they keep aren't even metahumans but morons with techy guns that weren't even developed by themself. The major storyline with Dr. Wells was what drove the season. That was what kept me hanging in until the end.
As it is now I can't say I will see the end of the show. There are a lot of things that need to become better for me to really go with this all the way.
I also wanted to watch the second season in HD, but I did not get past Episode 4. There are not many shows whose quality decreases so much from one season to the next.
As soon as the second season starts, you realize that it's a different show. The design has changed, which is not unusual. But here it was a step back. They just put in more stuff that had more flashing lights, but really did nothing but fill up space. And since the sets were getting smaller anyway due to the limited budget, everything seemed crowded. I really liked the simple and clear design of the first season. And the women now wear skirts - extremely modern and future-oriented (joke) .
Several cast decisions were made. Gone are Paul, Victor and David without a single word of explanation. In comes Tony and again no explanation. And they picked up Maya, played by Catherine Shell, because you need a resident alien and a little more sex appeal for the US audience. And of course there is a romance between these two new characters right away.
They also completely changed the soundtrack and the main title. While the first season included orchestral melodies and a strong main title, there are now synths in the main title and much more tempo that promises more action. And the style in the episodes changes from classic to funky and jazzy which does not fit at all to a sci-fi show.
To say that the quality of the stories worsened would be an understatement, it plumeted. Some ideas had substance, but if you think that the first season was missing in the science part or the dialogues were bad you should stay away from the second one.
The new producer Freiberger had a vision of where the show should go. It was the Americanization of a promising show. I do not think those changes where the show was needed. It backfired while the second season was still produced and in the end it killed the show.
I will always hold the first season in high regard and gladly whatch an episode here and there but I don't think I watch the second ever again.
HD Quality is good, though.
From time to time I revisit Moonbase Alpha because it is still one of my favorites of all time and I associate a lot of memories with it. It was something we watched as a family and something I played as a kid.
There were some really good scripts in this first season and, yes, some bad ones too. Oftentimes though the good ideas were pulled down by cringe-worthy dialogue. It comes with the time and place this show was produced. It wasn't as sophisticated as Star Trek had been but I loved it nonetheless (I actually watched Trek much, much later). The 70s design fit really well and the modells they built looked great (if you know Anderson TV shows you know what I mean). Most people who are watching it today for the first time will put it among the silly 70s scifi show category. But those of us who knew it from back then will always appreciate it.
I have now watched it on BluRay for the first time and can absolutely recommend them. It's amazing how well they remastered this. The details are amazing and I have discovered things I have never noticed before. If you are a fan and haven't watched it in HD do so. You won't be dissapointed.
Season three was very much different but it was so in a good way.
I like the fights in Daredevil but you can only do so much. And just repeating what has worked before can become boring fast. So we get a dark story that puts it's focus clearly more on character than on action. It was the right thing to do at the right time and I loved every minute of it. But when the action comes it always hits like a sledgehammer. Intense fights that are well choreographed.
Acting is, again, top notch. Cox does really well in showing us a struggeling Matt Murdock. D'Onofrio has such a strong presence that pulls you in. As I said before - on both cases they could not have cast a better actor. I don't think Deb Woll deserves the hatred she gets sometimes. I know lot of people don't like Karen but she also has some great scenes this season and Woll shows that she is more than a capable actress herself. And let`s not forget Bethel, another great casting decission. I was a little bit dissapointed by Jay Ali, though, both in terms of the actor and the character.
I am sure next season will have more action as we surely will see more of Bullseye and personally I'd like to see a bit of Fisk, too, if only because of D'Onofrio. After this season this is easily now one of my top 3 shows currently running.
I am fully aware of the sad events that led to this part of the show but I still have issues with it.
My main problem was that I was not interested in seeing origins of characters who I know to be killed. Batiatus wasn't a great character to beginn with. He was an upstart, a wannabe, basically an a**e all the time and why do I care about the reasons ? Most of the story we already knew, we just hadn't seen it. Gannicus and his story could have been done like intended - in a one episode flashback.
Plus this all suffers from the usual prequel problems. If you know a character doesn't die there is no exitement by putting him in dangerous situations.
Maybe it would be better, now that the option is there, to watch this before the first season. There are sure pros and cons about that. But I guess you could as easily just skip it.
That last season wasn't as bad as the previous one but still could not convince me the show deserved more. They had 12 seasons, almost 250 episodes, which is something few shows reach. There is a reason for that even if, from my point of view, the were past due at least 2 years. Even the ones before weren't outstanding. I loved the first 100 eps, the next 100 were OK, and the rest was pretty much a time filler. It really ended with the death of Sweets.
In any case I can now cross off the show from my watchlist. I am sure it won't find its way back on it again.
They should have ended this after S10. This show has basically degraded into a mediocre comedy that tries to do crime drama. The writers are more concerned to create awkward moments between characters, which is then underscored by some funny music, than writing something serious. The best that happened this season was Hodgins being paralyzed because it created tension and conflict. Didn't last long though. Plus, the constant discussions between Booth and Brennan are so nerving. It is incomprehensible how a guy stays with this woman. And of course everyone of the main characters needs to have a relationship. So after a brief stint with the hot photographer Cam is back with Arastoo and Aubrey and Jessica are dancing around each other.
I really don't think there was a memorable episode in this season. Well, only a dozen left.
I wonder if it wouldn't have been better to stop after this season. The show is pretty much on rotation, it's a drifter. And so is my attention - drifting in and out. Stories are following a blueprint and oftentimes you can pretty much hear the words before they are spoken.
Then there are they major things - killing Sweets, bringing in Aubrey, another child for B&B. All of this did not made this show better. Yes, there are still some nice moments but they are getting few and far in between.
I don't want to quit at 90 % completion so I carry on but that really is my main motivation. Right now I have no interest in learning anything new about the characters
