I think what a lot of folks who don't know the franchise are missing isn't that we want the show to be a mirror of the game.
Bungie built a MASSIVE universe that Halo can live within, and told a far reaching story of a galactic war that was told amongst the original trilogy following the Master Chief, a prequel with a previously unknown "Noble Team", a spin off based on ODST troopers, not spartans, and several other tactical games. And we had other live action shows-- some better than others-- and animated movies. And books.
The lore as absurdly huge and it's been proven for nearly 2 decades now that there's MORE than enough room to tell your own story in the (grand) confines of the sandbox that was created.
Throwing all of that away and assuming you can make a better derivative story than countless legions of other creators, archivists, authors, directors? That's the upsetting part. Hell, we didn't even need the story to revolve around John-117 and have him pop up as a 2 minute late season cameo and we would've freaked out.
This story is lazy, and has discarded years of lore which could've been expanded upon (never before told! never seen on screen!) and they chose not to.
Imagine a Star Wars spinoff live action where the creator decided "Yup, I can tell a better story" and adapts the entire universe from the perspective of a lone Jedi who roams the countryside with his trusty blaster in search of the mystical lightsaber, but is thwarted at multiple turns by his father, who feels guilty over abandoning his son at birth. It doesn't. Work.
Same reason the DC movies were trash. Same reason the MCU has been on a decline. Fans demand continuity when a universe has been established. This universe has been in place for 2 decades and actively developed.
This show does not honor that in the least, and is a terrible representation of it. If this had any other name than Halo, it would still be a middling Scifi as well.
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@buzzedword s2 was horrible. No even from a lore standpoint but from a writing, CGI and many other flaws. Like, Big battle just make a few pews pews and fill it entirely with fog. What the hell? I though we were past that. The writing is just unbereable tbh, the characters are full of contradictions.What a mess.
Omg I am so disappointed.
I had high expectations.
He took his helmet off WTF!!!!!
Where are the grunts?? I only sa elites.
It’s notebable that the dint researched the original ip.Again Hollywood took an ip and did there own cheap thing with it. To get maximum money out of it. With less effort. generic story writing. Human on human
Baby sitting a human girl. Do I need to go on?Only plus point is the look of the Spartans
Action it self is good.Everything else is bad generic cheap writhing.
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@mediacenterkodi You missed the point of the original post. Psykoen made multiple points about what made the original story good then showed how the production company took the cheap and easy paths when making this TV show instead of putting effort into making a good product.
The helmet: We know that the Master Chief's name is simply "John" and he never removes his helmet. This helps the viewer put themselves more into the protagonist role. See Banshee for another good example of a nameless protagonist that is written really well. We don't need to know about John to be able to focus on the greater story about galaxy-wide war. The production studio decided to remove John's helmet so that they could print promotional material about how you'll more more about Master Chief; completely misunderstanding the point of John being faceless. It's also an attempt to tie him to the bland cast so they can create shallow drama.
The grunts: The Covenant is a terrifying force in part because you realize that it is made up of multiple species that came together for a single cause. Facing that force is daunting and a great source of tension. The decision to not show the other species was a decision in two parts: 1) It is cheaper to pay a human in a costume that has the same dimensions as an average human than it is to pay for computer effects that would be required to render the other species that can't be filmed by humans in costumes. 2) The studio most likely asked themselves, "What's the coolest species? We'll focus on them. The Elites have those bad-ass laser swords." This is an incredibly shallow decision and makes the audience feel manipulated. It's the same level as hiring only incredibly attractive people for the human cast.
Baby sitting: Script writers who have been told to shoe-horn human drama into a story that lacks a consistent human character base rely on easily recognizable and lazy tropes. For a good example watch any U.S. produced Godzilla or natural disaster film. There will be scenes focusing on a single family as we watch them try to survive as if the audience should be cheering for the survival of these handful of people while thousands or millions die around them. Cookie-cutter characters are created specifically so the audience can follow them and drama can be written around them. It's lazy and boring.
There are many good reasons why Psykoen wrote that the show is "generic cheap writing". Although not able to verbalize it to your satisfaction, his points are still strong. This does not make him a child; it makes him an average viewer tired of the trash and being treated like a child by cynical studios looking for an easy cash-grab.
Oh look another show that has its natural flow interrupted by the same ol' industry standards plaguing everything else in the last few years. Hire hack writers who don't care about the source, hire every checkbox in the book, and then blame it on the fans for not liking it. Next.
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Sensed that in the beginning of the second season itself. I lost my interest after three episodes.
Oh look another show that has its natural flow interrupted by the same ol' industry standards plaguing everything else in the last few years. Hire hack writers who don't care about the source, hire every checkbox in the book, and then blame it on the fans for not liking it. Next.
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@kryptwalker yep. Slowly they are gonna destroy everything amazing. They take a great thing, they turn it into disaster, and then they are upset when it fails. Like they put so much effort into ruining it and then they cry about losing money. Cater to fans or end up in the trash.
Lowered my rating as I was so bored on S2E1 I turned it off.
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@finfan you're a braver man than me
Yes writing is not great but I think a lot of y’all are forgetting about the wga strike going on soooo yeahhhh. Still a show I will stick with and watch as it has Star Wars action and that’s all I care about tbh.
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@xlak WGA Strike started May this year. Principal photography wrapped in October last year. The strike has no bearing on this shows writing quality.
Okay, people, we get it. A lot of internet trolls hate Disney because they show the world like it is - people with different skin colors, sexual orientations and lifestyles. And they even hate it when their sci-fi universes aren't populated by all-white casts.
You know what? Get over it and don't bother her Est of us with your hate, intolerance and bitterness, okay? Thank you.
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@leipzigeralex I don't hate disney... But I do have the capacity to know when I'm being entertained !
Wow, what terrible acting and storylines. It's like they throw darts at the episode plot board and just riff on what they hit.
With every Star Wars spinoff Disney demonstrates their acceptance of mediocrity in entertainment. Each spin off uses the leftovers from the previous shows as set pieces and everything is just lower and lower production value with more talentless actors and bad writing.
Mando set a gold standard in the first two seasons, Fett was OK but felt forced, Obi Wan didn't really land and Ewan couldn't resurrect it, Andor was slow and recycled too many previous Star Wars sets and now Ashoka is just a sad attempt at another spinoff, of which there seem to be a limitless supply of. With Ashoka it seems like they are trying to break the "one season special" formula and make it a slow burn to run for multiple seasons.
Disney is grasping at anything to keep their failing streaming service (and frankly, their failing corporation) alive.
As I write this I realize how much Star Wars has been spun off, especially if you include Solo and Rogue One. Disney got their hands on the franchise and turned it into a giant cash grab which worked for a minute but is watering down a beloved franchise more and more with each spin off.
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@tvwatcherdenver I agree fully, except that Andor was great!
Mediocre show, Rosario is awful as Ahsoka and Winstead doesn't fit Hera Syndulla at all. Story is very predictable unfortunately.. I was so looking forward to this, dissapointed.
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@essenslug why not? Of course people can. Not everything needs a deep analysis and I'm actually tired of the "you have to stick with it, it's getting better after episode xx/season whatnot/you can't have an opinion after 1-2-3 episodes"
I always found those kind of arguments pretty stupid.
This was the most intriguing show I have seen in a while. I absolutely enjoyed every second. The whole concept of the story is great. At times it reminded me of "Life on Mars" which I also loved to watch. Great cast altogether. Personally I am satisfied with the ending it gives a form of closure but also leaves something open to imagination. I guess it would have been a different ending had it not been cancelled.
I don't understand why people can turn in to crap reality shows each and every week yet you didn't find enough viewers for really good story telling.loading replies
@finfan i love the casting in this also, and maybe this was a rhetorical statement of "i dont understand", but. ..... i think reality tv is cheaper, in a lot of ways, so many less important people to pay? Im guessing this part. Producers, casting directors, the actors, writers, directors etc.... And then the money for scenes.... You likely have so much less overhead for most reality shows - there isn't much to them. Yeah they have some of these things, but they aren't the same - not by a mile
sadly most people want to turn off their brain when watching a lot of tv - and 98% of "reality" tv is extremely low-effort watching trash... On the other hand I understand why it might also be difficult to always tune in to something like this (Awake) - exhaustion (lol), being a parent/inability to devote all of their attention so they are able to understand what's happening, etc.
I know at least for me, I have chronic pain which is often so severe that it makes it too hard to think - and the many different meds one has to take in this situation dull your cognitive abilities on top of that. So even when I really really enjoy a show like this (and I do), it's difficult to keep up with it every time, and - it's the kind of show where it's easy to forget what's been going on if you take even a small break from it, just because there's so much going on. I still prefer this any day over most reality garbage though.
Just thought I might offer some reasons... Other than people's heads being full of nothing but air, which quite obviously a large amount of them are :person_shrugging:
Really love this show. Just finished watching the whole thing again.
This is not only great comedy, this is about the people, their life and everyday problems. There arent't a lot of sitcoms you can watch more than once, this is definately one. And if you haven't watched it, well - what are you wating for ?loading replies
@finfan it's on Disney Plus now over here.
I love Wheeler Dealers, have watched every episode including Trading Up. This one is not that good. It's three different shows cobbled together and not very engaing to be honest. But it is something you can watch on the side.
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@finfan Agree, it's a time filler rather than a must watch.
The Mandalorian started out OK, but ended up as some half-baked, lazily written show that exist merely to lure parents to justify a Disney+ subscription. Kids get the usual Disney contents, moms get Baby Yoda, dads get Star Wars nerdy reference. The show almost feels like being made by a bunch of fanfiction writers with familiarity of the setting but zero sense of screen writing.
Nothing wrong with liking it, it's just the show appears to be all style and no substance.
Storyline shows no complexity at all. In fact, most of them are fillers. You can skip 4 of 8 episodes and you'll still understand the story just fine. Characters are completely uninteresting. None of them are developed. None of them had nuances: protagonists are morally good heroes; antagonists are one dimensional evils. The show relies only on a cute muppet and flashy action, but has zero substance. Had a potential great world-building with some details, but they chose to abandon it for rule of cool (and cute).
The "it's Star Wars, so it'll be simple" excuse commonly said by the series' defenders doesn't hold up if you actually consider other Star Wars titles such as Knights of the Old Republic, Republic Commando, Jedi Academy, Thrawn trilogy, the original and Tartakovsky's Clone Wars, and so on. Those titles are known for having remarkable storytelling; something that The Mandalorian doesn't have for its poverty of creative vision.
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@xaliber It's basically a procedural show with a thick red plotline. But these days everything has to be like the biggest story with twists every 15 minutes to be good and successful right? In a way this show is remarkably refreshing in bringing back an old fomular that worked very well for some of the best shows ever made. If you're a true Star Wars fan, you're interested in the differing interactions every episode. The plot is also great imo and it ticks all the basic Star Wars needs. You're wrong when you say that Star Wars being simple is an "excuse" ... Star Wars is simple, that one of the core elements of the entire franchise. It's good vs. evil. Very Black and White. That's the essence which is perfectly captured with this show. And on top comes the production quality - almost entirely without a green screen which is just phenomenal. Maybe you just exprected something different and were disappointed of the outcome but just try to take it for what it is and enjoy it because its one of THE best things ever coming out of this franchise.
Review by FinFan
I try to be fair but seen with the rational mind of an adult this show is barely "meh".
The voice acting is absolutely overdone. Most of the villains are silly. Sound effects seem to come straight out of The Flintstones. Music between Pink Panther and Scooby Doo with a portion Peanuts.
Spider Man sounds like Adam West´s Batman, both in word as well as pronounciation and acts really dumb at times. "Oh, my spider sense is tickling" while someone stands right behind him.
Jamesson is completly possessed by Spider Man. Everything is Spider Mans fault, Spider Man is responsible - he sounds like a whiny child most of the time. That was my impression of the first season.
The Second season started with a great episode "The Origin of Spider Man" but that was a lone exception. In general 20 min episodes are just too long. They had too little content and oftentimes contain minutes of Spidey swinging around to some groovy soundtrack. It became increasingly more ridicolous, it felt like the writers were smoking weed. Elfes, demons, monsters or some kind of wild tribe, alltogether more sci-fi elements - it just doesn't fly.
Season 3 seems to be recycling old material with new dialogue.
For the intented audience that was probably under 10 I am sure none of this mattered. Unfortunately I don't have the fond memories of watching this as a child. I skipped some of the second season and the third just played with me paying no attention.
So I have to stick with "meh", sorry.loading replies
@finfan Yeah i've watched a few episodes of this show and it's pretty mediocre. Whereas i had just got done finishing Spider-Man: The Animated Series from the 90s and wow, it's like night and day. It's better in every area. The animation is more fluid, the storytelling and characterization are much better and it's more mature and logically consistent. I'd check that out if you like the character.
I know most people don't respond well if you say something negative about their favorite show but I can't help it. If you like it I'm glad for you (really) but please allow me my opinion.
I am one of those who doesn't think that this is THE best show ever. It's not even the best sitcom in my opinion. It had its moments but not many. Maybe it isn't fair to judge it 25 years after the fact because that is a long time in TV land and things change. But most of the stuff I dislike has nothing to do with timeframe.First, why this is called Friends is beyond me. Those are the most dishonest, selfish, egoistic and sometimes even mean group of people I've seen on TV. They constantly try to withhold stuff and most of the comedic situations spawn from that. I don't see where it is funny to go behind your friends backs. There are those moments where there behave like friends should, but those come usually after they screwed up.
Than there is the characters. I've written in some episode's comment that Ross is the most obnoxious character I've ever seen on TV. And I've seen my share. And there is WAY too much of him and Rachel who I also disliked deeply. They pull down every episode they're in which is pretty much every episode. That constant back and forth, the bickering and their pretensious behaviour is so annoying. Joey was funny at first but that wears out fast once you get past 50 episodes. Very one-dimensional. I don't even know what to say about Chandler because he is that bland. Monica went from "I don't care" through "I kinda like her" but ultimately annoying. Phoebe I liked until she, too, got the I-need-to-marry virus. Until that she was honest in that she didn't care what others thought about her and just made her thing. Alltogether there was little character developement in any of them. I couldn't connect with them and was more interested in what guest stars might turn up next.
And what it is anyway with all the girls need to find guys to marry and get babies and the guys needing to score? It is a good thing there wasn't any social media available because with all those gay and trans jokes there would have probably been a lot of heat.
That laughing track is way over the top. It accompanied literally every sentence. It even ruined jokes by starting to early. And what is wrong with building up an emotional moment and going through with it instead of ruining it with a bad joke ?
So, why did I watch, and even complete, it ? It's simple. And I mean that in the true sense of the word. You don't have to pay close attention to the plot, f.e. you don't have to stop it if the phone rings, you can even skip an episode completely. It's like having a radio playing in the background. Sometimes reading the synopsis was as interesting as the actual episode. Let's be honest: continuity, logic and depth of story were not the trademarks of Friends. It is full of holes and errors. But it fitted my daily schedule. I could drop in a couple of episodes here and there. And I punished myself a little bit because I went out and bought the whole series at once. Had I watched the first season first I would stopped there and then.
This is the longest review I've written in a while which shows I thought about this show a lot. I like versitality, it would be boring if every show was the same. That doesn't stop me though from speaking my mind. This is a love or hate kind of show. I don't hate it as such. But there were only just one or two episodes a season I think were more than average. It became better towards the end (either that or I caved) but it was an effort to get through and I am glad I'm done with.
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@FinFan Thank you!! I really needed some one to say this. people often jump down my throat when I say say something against friends. I actually started hating monica's character when she told Rachel she stole her thunder. I mean how can someone be so full of oneself. I find Ross the dumbest.. how on earth could Rachel fall for him. I never liked Chandler tbh. The only characters I liked was Pheobe and Joey
There is nothing wrong with it content-wise. Although you wonder how any of the movies ever been made with all the negativity and problems. In addition, there's a lot of talk about George Lucas and he doesn't get the chance to respond to that. Whether that's because he's never been asked to participate (which would be my guess) or he doesn't wanted to I can only speculate about.
But I wonder, what happened to simply making an informative documentary? Is all that funny music and fast edditing really necessary ? Seems to be, because there a many similar docus ("The Movies that made us" or "The Center Seat" come to mind).loading replies
@finfan No worries! I like that we have both styles. I've been really enjoying "Light & Magic" as well and learned a ton of stuff I didn't know. It feels like with Icons Unearthed and Light & Magic we get a more complete picture of the process of making the original trilogy as it seems each one covers parts and gives different perspectives than the other.
Cheers!
This show might have started as a competitor to Star Trek at the time. But we are way past the question if this is the better Star Trek.
The Orville more than stands on its own. It's an amazing show.
Fact !
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@finfan Season 3 is airing with Star Trek Strange New Worlds, which is nice. However, when I have a new episode of The Orville to watch, alongside a new episode of ST:SNW, I always think: "I prefer to travel with The Orville crew".
Firstly, I love period dramas and I think Jodie Turner-Smith is an amazing beautiful actor. However, I feel her casting in the role of Ann doesn't work. I know some people many think this statement is wrong. However I feel staying true to the factual appearance of a historic person is important. This in my opinion applies to all famous and important historic persons.
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@daniel-e-jones-me-com i totally agree that's like mlk white.
Hi, I know I should have paused this question before but too bad. I finished the first season just now. Knowing that the series was cancelled at the end of the 4th, without spoiler, should I continue sincerely? Thank you. Is it finished correctly or, like most of the cancelled series, that is to say either in suspense or leaving us with a lot of questions that will remain unanswered......?? Thank you in advance to the person who will enlighten me on this matter. In the meantime, I will leave it in abeyance. @+
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@deanw79 well, I just finished the 4h season and I honestly don't know how to answer to your question. The 1st and 2nd seasons are slow and boring sometimes, but the 3rd and the 4th was pretty good and the story became quite interesting. Althoug, the series finale was terrible!!! Seriously, just because of that, I regreted watching the show. So, that's it! Up to you now.
Well, I am not a Marvel Fan as such and I certainly don't read the comics. I watched about 90 % of the movies but they became more and more tedious for me. I just mention this so you better understand my comment.
I watch the Marvel shows because they are on Disney. Simple as that. Some I liked (Wanda and Falcon), some I didn't (Loki) and this one is kind of in nowhere-land. Started well and I hoped it would make the character of Hawkeye more interesting. It didn't, and after the first couple of episodes I liked it less and less. The story just didn't make me care for anything that happened on screen. And the humor and awkwardness that nowadays seems to be a must-have doesn't sit well with me either. What some percieve as funny are roll-eyes-moments for me I could live without. There were no real highlights and I really didn't like Kate Bishop. Bringing back Kingpin only made me realize how much I would love to have had another Daredevil season.
Since this shows main purpose is to be a precursor for upcoming movies I might not even watch, it is entirely possibly I am not getting the point of them. Maybe they don't work as stand alone because they are not supposed to. And because of that maybe I should not watch another.
I am not ripping them of or calling them awful but that's my point of view.loading replies
@finfan My biggest problem with the MCU is its "we'll address it in the future" mentality because it's often a repeating cycle where none of your questions about the characters ever get addressed, resolved or explored in depth. These shows really are like comic books: your favourite characters go on an adventure, have cross-overs, continue on to the next instalment, and nothing ever really changes. Repeat.
But that's just my opinion :P
Star Wars is turning into the MCU, relying on inter-connectivity and cameos, some work better than others - it makes a big universe feel smaller than ever. Some work better than others but at this point this time period has been done to death and I just wish the franchise would try something new. It still can't figure out what it wants its audience to be.
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@milo123 They, quite literally, constantly "try something new". Have you not been watching? Have you ignored the variety of the recent announcements? And the reason this time period is "done to death" (though I very much disagree with your pessimistic take on it) is because it has proven, time and again, to be incredibly popular and a point of intrigue. Many people are curious about what Star Wars looked like immediately following the Republic's downfall, and this show is yet another of its kind lending insight into just that.
Inter-connectivity and recent cameos have been done correctly in Star Wars and excite avid fans, so your gripe there is unjustified. And Star Wars does its best to cater to all audiences, making your comment that it "can't figure out what it wants its audience to be" a moot point. There's something for everyone. I don't see the validity of any of your above issues with this franchise other than to prove yourself a detractor or a critic. But to each their own, I suppose.
I am easy to impress. David Attenborough and BBC is enough for me.
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@finfan I am a man of simple tastes too ; easily satisfied with the best.
The fans don't deserve it. This show should be cancelled like Enterprise so people can cry about years later when another trek comes and people start saying that "at least discovery tried". Ugh, why fanbases suck so much?
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@liico Yes, the fans don't deserve this Show, they DESERVE writers that aren't talking about having staff to check the canon but actually keep the canon intact.
I would be happy if they at least tried, but all they are doing is taking one icon after another and ruin it.
They started with Sarek in Season 1 and now they moved on to Spock.
The only decently portraied character is Pike. But I guess that is because there wasn't much in the canon about him before.
Sadly I have to agree with one thing, this Show should be cancelled. ENT was Star Trek, and it was getting better with every Season.
This is just named after Star Trek and seems to get worse every Season.
And yes, I'll continue to watch and continue to judge.
Why even write something about it?
Those who hate it, too, will probably agree, those who like it may call me a disgruntled Trekkie. What the heck, I've been called worse.
I've endured the Abramsverse, Discovery, and Picard but this is where Star Trek dies.
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@finfan this isn't meant to be a serious Trek show and you're clearing taking it seriously. But I understand your point of view, you're definitely an old-school, hardcore Trek fan. I've been watching Star Trek shows since the late '80s (I think), but I'm more flexible when it comes to what they do with the franchise, as long as the result is good. Lower Decks: good. Discovery and Picard: bad. But to each their own, definitely, and I do understand where you're coming from.
Shout by FinFan
I wanted to give this a chance since I loved TCW and Rebels. So even after the first episode turned out to be awful I tried to be positive and open minded. I wasn't even deterred by the rather low rating of 65 %. But when I saw 4,9 on imdb with roughly 25 % giving this a 1 I gave up. I always tell people to form their own opinion but it is hard to believe this is from the same people that did the previous shows.
Maybe I watch some episodes on the side but in general I think I'm done with this.Now, after I wrote this I read that Filoni created this but wasn't the show-runner and instead had other people run this. And suddenly all falls into place. This was the missing piece of information.
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@finfan I went into it with high hopes (the concept sounded great, I was imagining it would be like Top Gun in space) and kind of enjoyed the opening episodes, but it fell apart not long after that. I got all the way through both seasons but it's really not worth watching.
This has the potential to become either a smash hit or the bust of the season. I can see it go either way.
I had some difficulty at first getting into it because on the surface it seemed so cliched. Psychology student working as a dominatrix, gay BFF. It's not a comedy as such althought towards the end it had some really great laughs. Definately not sitcom format. For me it became much better once the focus shifted from the SM stuff more towards the personal issues both have. It's more of a tragedy, really. I like the character of Tiff and Zoe Levin plays her really well. Alltogether it reminded me a little bit of Secret Diary of a Call Girl if only vaguely.
The length of the episodes is an issue with some episode just barely making it to 14 min runtime. I'd say 5 min more per eps would have been good for more substance.
I am not sure where the story can ultimately go, or if they even plan to take it anywhere. I don't see this making it through multiple seasons. Had they switched the last two episodes around I would have been OK with this being a closed story.
So, let's see if there will be more.
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@finfan ooh I'd forgotten all about Secret Diary of a Call Girl, thank you for reminding me that I need to rewatch that!
Really love this show. Just finished watching the whole thing again.
This is not only great comedy, this is about the people, their life and everyday problems. There arent't a lot of sitcoms you can watch more than once, this is definately one. And if you haven't watched it, well - what are you wating for ?loading replies
@finfan Too bad this show is hard to find. It was funny when I was little, even funnier when I watched it when I was in my twenties. I hope to see it again on a streaming services soon.
After realising it´s been a good 15 years that I´ve watched TNG I decided it´s time again. Yes, the first season is far removed from what the show went on to become and I remember when they originally aired I rejected it. I couldn´t come to grips with the characters and some of the first scripts were awful. But everything turned around and it became one of the best shows (not only in the genre) ever made.
I still only own the DVD version, I´m not a huge friend of all that remastering. I´m sure it looks and sounds better but I like to experience it the way it was originally done.
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@finfan I am 8 episodes into the series so far. Before watching the episodes, I usually like to check your comments to know what you think. The first impression is good and I sometimes forget this is a series from the 80's, it seems advanced for the time.
The general consensus tells me that the first season is good, but the next ones are way better, right?
I like the series so far. For me Star Trek is very much like Patrick O'Brian's novels, the "Aubrey–Maturin series", set in space. I don't really like Q, so it took me some time to start The Next Generation. I am interested in episodes where the crew discovers new planets and deals with scientific missions, not so much when they find civilizations similar to our 20th century world, but with some differences. Sometimes it seems that the screenwriters are scared to try new things.
I prefer the Voyager concept where you have a main story (getting back to Earth) and episodes where you can focus on other minor stories, but I don't miss that way of setting a series so far.
If you don't mind I would like to keep you updated to know what you think about my impressions.
P.S.: I almost forgot: it's a joy to see Patrick Stewart in this role.
I know most people don't respond well if you say something negative about their favorite show but I can't help it. If you like it I'm glad for you (really) but please allow me my opinion.
I am one of those who doesn't think that this is THE best show ever. It's not even the best sitcom in my opinion. It had its moments but not many. Maybe it isn't fair to judge it 25 years after the fact because that is a long time in TV land and things change. But most of the stuff I dislike has nothing to do with timeframe.First, why this is called Friends is beyond me. Those are the most dishonest, selfish, egoistic and sometimes even mean group of people I've seen on TV. They constantly try to withhold stuff and most of the comedic situations spawn from that. I don't see where it is funny to go behind your friends backs. There are those moments where there behave like friends should, but those come usually after they screwed up.
Than there is the characters. I've written in some episode's comment that Ross is the most obnoxious character I've ever seen on TV. And I've seen my share. And there is WAY too much of him and Rachel who I also disliked deeply. They pull down every episode they're in which is pretty much every episode. That constant back and forth, the bickering and their pretensious behaviour is so annoying. Joey was funny at first but that wears out fast once you get past 50 episodes. Very one-dimensional. I don't even know what to say about Chandler because he is that bland. Monica went from "I don't care" through "I kinda like her" but ultimately annoying. Phoebe I liked until she, too, got the I-need-to-marry virus. Until that she was honest in that she didn't care what others thought about her and just made her thing. Alltogether there was little character developement in any of them. I couldn't connect with them and was more interested in what guest stars might turn up next.
And what it is anyway with all the girls need to find guys to marry and get babies and the guys needing to score? It is a good thing there wasn't any social media available because with all those gay and trans jokes there would have probably been a lot of heat.
That laughing track is way over the top. It accompanied literally every sentence. It even ruined jokes by starting to early. And what is wrong with building up an emotional moment and going through with it instead of ruining it with a bad joke ?
So, why did I watch, and even complete, it ? It's simple. And I mean that in the true sense of the word. You don't have to pay close attention to the plot, f.e. you don't have to stop it if the phone rings, you can even skip an episode completely. It's like having a radio playing in the background. Sometimes reading the synopsis was as interesting as the actual episode. Let's be honest: continuity, logic and depth of story were not the trademarks of Friends. It is full of holes and errors. But it fitted my daily schedule. I could drop in a couple of episodes here and there. And I punished myself a little bit because I went out and bought the whole series at once. Had I watched the first season first I would stopped there and then.
This is the longest review I've written in a while which shows I thought about this show a lot. I like versitality, it would be boring if every show was the same. That doesn't stop me though from speaking my mind. This is a love or hate kind of show. I don't hate it as such. But there were only just one or two episodes a season I think were more than average. It became better towards the end (either that or I caved) but it was an effort to get through and I am glad I'm done with.
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@finfan No risk of that happening. From what I've seen of it, 'Friends' represents the pinnacle of Borscht Belt comedy, which seems more appropriate to people from a couple of generations back. For example, I remember Joey and Ross discussing a communal bar of soap in their shower, and one of them saying to the other, "You should really consider which part of my body I wash last, and which part of your body you wash first!" Ugh.
Oh my gosh I just found the entire scene on YouTube, and it's deliciously awful in so many more ways than I remembered!
"CAN, OPEN! WORMS, EVERYWHERE!" And the crazy overdone physicality. This show belongs in a museum. :face_with_raised_eyebrow:
I know most people don't respond well if you say something negative about their favorite show but I can't help it. If you like it I'm glad for you (really) but please allow me my opinion.
I am one of those who doesn't think that this is THE best show ever. It's not even the best sitcom in my opinion. It had its moments but not many. Maybe it isn't fair to judge it 25 years after the fact because that is a long time in TV land and things change. But most of the stuff I dislike has nothing to do with timeframe.First, why this is called Friends is beyond me. Those are the most dishonest, selfish, egoistic and sometimes even mean group of people I've seen on TV. They constantly try to withhold stuff and most of the comedic situations spawn from that. I don't see where it is funny to go behind your friends backs. There are those moments where there behave like friends should, but those come usually after they screwed up.
Than there is the characters. I've written in some episode's comment that Ross is the most obnoxious character I've ever seen on TV. And I've seen my share. And there is WAY too much of him and Rachel who I also disliked deeply. They pull down every episode they're in which is pretty much every episode. That constant back and forth, the bickering and their pretensious behaviour is so annoying. Joey was funny at first but that wears out fast once you get past 50 episodes. Very one-dimensional. I don't even know what to say about Chandler because he is that bland. Monica went from "I don't care" through "I kinda like her" but ultimately annoying. Phoebe I liked until she, too, got the I-need-to-marry virus. Until that she was honest in that she didn't care what others thought about her and just made her thing. Alltogether there was little character developement in any of them. I couldn't connect with them and was more interested in what guest stars might turn up next.
And what it is anyway with all the girls need to find guys to marry and get babies and the guys needing to score? It is a good thing there wasn't any social media available because with all those gay and trans jokes there would have probably been a lot of heat.
That laughing track is way over the top. It accompanied literally every sentence. It even ruined jokes by starting to early. And what is wrong with building up an emotional moment and going through with it instead of ruining it with a bad joke ?
So, why did I watch, and even complete, it ? It's simple. And I mean that in the true sense of the word. You don't have to pay close attention to the plot, f.e. you don't have to stop it if the phone rings, you can even skip an episode completely. It's like having a radio playing in the background. Sometimes reading the synopsis was as interesting as the actual episode. Let's be honest: continuity, logic and depth of story were not the trademarks of Friends. It is full of holes and errors. But it fitted my daily schedule. I could drop in a couple of episodes here and there. And I punished myself a little bit because I went out and bought the whole series at once. Had I watched the first season first I would stopped there and then.
This is the longest review I've written in a while which shows I thought about this show a lot. I like versitality, it would be boring if every show was the same. That doesn't stop me though from speaking my mind. This is a love or hate kind of show. I don't hate it as such. But there were only just one or two episodes a season I think were more than average. It became better towards the end (either that or I caved) but it was an effort to get through and I am glad I'm done with.
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@finfan I have never watched a full episode of this series, but I've seen enough clips and individual isolated scenes to realize that I would probably agree with your assessment of this lame, dated, and altogether too-jokey hangover fare. I think I have even (if only subconsciously) avoided watching this show's cast in other roles. Aniston was watchable in 'Wanderlust', and I do recall David Schwimmer playing a decent schmuck in 'Band of Brothers' but I'm not sure even that is a compliment, exactly.
