FinFan

The Time Tunnel was a show with big ambitions on a small budget. But the budget really wasn't a problem for me. Certainly not watching this as a kid with my parents, and still not watching it today. No, as long as the stories were interesting I don't care how it looks. But therein lies the problem. The quality of the scripts ranged from great to absolutely awful. Especially in the second half and towards the end Allen went nuts with Aliens, Magicians and fairy tales.

The better stories dealt with events and personalities of Earth past. Many people said they were far to casual dealing with the implications of their involvement in those historic events. Lets not forget we are in the mid to late 60s and those things were probably not high on the writers list. But you could also make the argument that their involvement is the reason why events unfolded like we know of them. Again, I don't think the writers were thinking about such things but it works both ways.

Well, for the most part the show is entertaining and fun. Unfortunately the bad episode are really bad and pull down the rating unnecessarily. My average rating based on the single episodes would come down to 6.1. I decided to give it a 7 nonetheless because the show is a classic and has cult status. And you could easily skip those awful episodes as there is litle to no fallout from that.

And I get a huge grin on my face knowing I grew up in a time where Tic-Toc was an imagined secret government project.

I watched a couple of episodes of this show on its original run and remembered it as being a solid scifi show. So I thought it would be a good idea to watch the whole thing. Now, I know it's makes a difference at what age you watch a show but this took an effort to make it through.I was on the brink of quitting more then once.

There are two points I want to adress that I repeatedly read about this. The first being that this is Star Trek under water. Not from where I stand. Star Trek always took strong position on social issues whereas with Seaquest the scale always tipps for the entertainment angle instead of really adressing the issues.

The second thing is that the individual season are becoming worser. Again from where I stand I wouldn't agree. Both, S1 and S2 and amazingly stupid episodes as well as a couple of decent ones. My average episodes rating of those seasons only has a margin slightly above a half point. They are pretty much on par. Season three includes the highest rated episode and does on average better than one and two.

I won't go into much more detail as I've written comments about every individual episode. So here is my average rating for each season:

S1: 5,565
S2: 5,000
S3: 6,308
Overall: 5,624

That's barely a six overall. It's my personal opinion so please don't let this disuade you from watching it yourself.

Watched it twice already and while it isn't in the same league as The Mandalorian or Andor for sure its not the worst Star Wars show.

cough Kenobi cough

I actually liked it very much. It had great moments and quite frankly, if not for that teenie mod-gang and some extremly unfunny humor I might be tempted to rate it higher. The story isn't bad. In fact, seeing what happened to Fett after the Sarlac and how he ended up with the Tusken was amazing. So was having many, more or less surprising, guests being in this. It's important for the overall plot of those shows. But that is also where the main problem lies: the show's identity.

This is as much a series about Boba Fett and how he's changed as a person as it is an interlude leading into The Mandalorian season three. If you haven't watched this you might not understand certain things moving forward. Since that season only airs in a couple of days I can't be certain about that but I thinks it's a save bet.

Either you want to know how Boba Fett survived or what happened after the end of Mando season two - this is your show.

When I started this show, I could never had imagined for a second, that I would reach a point where I actually lose all interest and drop out.

The first season was great in every regard. The second was slightly down. There were a couple of episodes I really didn't like. But I had no idea it was the beginning of a downward spiral. It became a different show with season three. Replacing the whole cast was a huge mistake. It took me right out of the show especially since there isn't a massive time gap in the story. But while I reached a point midway through the season where I could live with them, the focus shifted more and more away from historical and political facts to marriage proplems, relationships and love affairs. And that I cared little for.

With season four it was a full blown soap opera where the focus seemd to be only on Charles and Di where it was perfectly clear which side the writers were on. I made it to episode three of that season and decided this is no longer worth my time.

Sad, they had a gem here with a marvelous cast and decided to do a complete one-eighty.

My rating reflects the average of all the episodes I've seen. Which comes to 7,06 but I'm certain it would have gone down had I continued.

This show is a complete mystery to me in the way I perceive it.

I know the original since being a kid. Always loved it and watched it many times. Read the books, too. When the mini-series came I hated it. Everything was different, especially the characters. So I never bothered with the rest that came later.

For whatever reason, years on, I decided to buy the DVD box. I watched the whole show and I was so drawn into it. The day hadn't enough hours in it to watch the episodes. One day I went through thirteen episodes in one sitting. Still a record. I thought it was amazing from start to finish and rated it accordingly "9".

Now, ten years later, I wanted to watch it again. Aside from knowing the main story line, which spoils a lot, I was really exited at the beginning. But that subsided pretty fast and by the middle of the first season I was getting bored. Is that the great show I watched before ? I don't like the story or the characters. And there are so many holes and logical problems in the plot.

By the end of season one I don't care any more and decide it's better to stop then ruin my memory of it being what it was.

I've always had an interest in how movies were made, especially SFX. I don't know if people really see the scope of what ILM did for movies. They were always inventing new tech, pushed by George Lucas demands of what he had in his mind. But Lucas wasn't a dictator, he just knew how to get the best out of them. And because of that ILM is still industry standard. They are still there pushing technology to the limit and beyond.

Listening to all of them talking about the times way back when, and seing a lot of photographs and short clips, gives you a great feeling what a tight knit group they were. Those are people with a passion for what they are doing. Plus, those interviews are real and not put together from different sources to make this docu. I was stoked to have Lucas himself in it. Seeing the transition from physical to digital effects was also very interesting to follow from the perspective of the ones who've been there. You feel sympathy for Tippet who was a genius in his field. Althought he didn't became obsolete over night, on the contrary. He was still needed and I hold his work in high regard.

So wether you're just a Star Wars fan, or a movie fan in general, who likes to know how they did it, WATCH THIS ! And quite frankly, avoid the other Star Wars docu that is airing parallel to this.

@andreas1138

Like promised, here's my review.

House of Cards, for me, categorizes as what I call shooting star shows. They come out of nowhere, shine bright for a while until they ultimately fade to the point they disappear from sight.

Don't get this the wrong way - this is a well made show. The acting, especially Kevin Spacey, is top notch. The breaking of the forth wall was genius. I liked the first season a lot as it showed the game of politics as I could very well imagine it to be. Or I should probably say, as I think it actually is. But there came a point where it became just too much. Watching bad people do bad things and come away with it each and every time was nothing I would continue to watch. Plus they introduced so many uniteresting sideplots that made me at times left the show running while I went out of the room. Like I said, it just went on too long. There wasn't a single character I could get behind. Had it finished after the third season with the Underwoods going to jail for what they did, I would have given it a much higher rating.
I made it to the end of season four and, seeing how the ratings drop, went on to look what transpired in season five and six. And I'm fine with stopping there.

It's not awful or un-watchable. This is a European production. Which works both, in its favor, as well as against it at times. It hasn't got the "Hollywood-Shine" which makes it look more natural and more believable. Since it envolves cast memebers from all over Europe they choose to produce it in english. Which makes sense. And in some cases the accent spoken by the actors help sell the character. But you also notice that for many actors it isn't their natural language and they seem to feel a bit uncomfortable. I want to point out Isolda Dychauk, who play Lucretia Borgia. She always sounds as if reading from a sheet of paper instead of sounding natural. Others have problems as well. Like Andrea Sawatzki, who speaks the typical german accented english. That's a bit of a downside.

As for the plot, it is historical drama. And the emphasis lies on drama. They've surely cut corners with the historic facts and a lot of things might be added for the sake of drama. It comes with the genre. That's not my main problem. No, it's the fact that there is no one to like in this story. They all are scheming, manipulating and spinning intrigue for their own good. But, of course, all in the name of a higher calling. Which shows a lot of hypocracy. There are no selfless acts. Might be accurate but doesn't sell well. It is very repetetive. Which by the way are all problems I had with the version featuring Jeremy Irons, too. Those characters are all very unlikeable.

There is a lot of sex and violence here. And it is portrayed rather colorful. Again, compared to US productions, who tend to tune this down at times, it can be good or bad. While it helps the story to a certain degree to display the times, the more the show progresses it just seems to be there for it's own good. Now, I don't want to preach moral but you need to find the right balance.

I'm about half way through the show and not sure if I go to the end. My interest is dwindeling. I don't think there will be any new angles of interest. Maybe I watch an episode now and then to close it out.

This production brings something back to attention we don't think about so much today. In fact, in my case, I don't think about it at all. And I was old enough to remember it well. But it is still there, the danger is not gone, it sleeps. And at some point in the future someone will have to deal with it again. Maybe they will play it down too and try to sweep it under the rug.

Ultimately it isn't important if the events depicted here are 100 % accurate. It is historical fiction. Even the producers will admit to that. It's about the dangers, the negligence, the bureaucracy in the system, all the lies and misinformation that lead to this desaster and the aftermath. It is about the price of the lies.

The state was unfailable and everything proofing otherwise simply doesn't exist. The former Soviet Union surely doesn't hold a monopol on those kind of things (heaven knows the US is no stranger to that), but they had this down to a T and turned this into an art. We see this again years later with the sinking of the Kursk.

I had to give this a "10" not because it is enjoyable but it is important to be reminded so that those things don't happen again. That's the wishful thinking. Sadly I'm fairly certain next time something big happens everything will repeat itself.

I watched the 2005 movie and therefore decided to give this one a try also when I found the DVD box online.

This wasn't a cheap TV production. And while it surely looks outdated, especially in terms of the SFX and rather like being even ten years older than it is, all this doesn't matter. The movie, according to imdb, had a 180 m$ budget (which is huge) and benefited from better technology. But this is made with a lot of love and dedication for detail and espcially the animal costumes are phantastic.

From the three parts I like "The Lion...." the most. Which is part due to the fact that the protagonists change moving forward and I didn't like Eustace or Jill that much to be honest. There is obviously a strong christian theme which starts and ends with Aslan. Interestingly, as a full fledged astheist, that didn't bother me at all. The funny thing is, I didn't even made the connection until I read about it. Then many things present themselve in a different light.

It's still a great adventure story for kids to dream about traveling to a mystique land and living through a series of adventures.

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.

First of all, this show didn't end. It was cancelled. There is a difference. By that I mean you don't get definitive closure at the end of season two. If that's a problem for you than don't start watching this. Sure, you could fill in the blanks at the end and let your imagination run with it. But that would mean everyone had it's own outcome depending on your preferences.

Now, for the show itself. I actually really liked the first season. It was an interesting idea. There was a mystery and a background story surrounding all of that. Ron Pearlman and Garret Dillahunt were great. Yes, there is the question of morality about killing people, you think are bad, and justifying it by saying: "God told me so". What I liked was that they showed, at least in glimpses, that religion is a trickery slope to walk and there are many people trying to use it for their gain. Like I said, all things considered, it was quite entertaining.

Then came the second season and I discovered I had several problems. The most blatant one being: why do I want to root for anyone on this show? They are a bunch of murderes that deserve to go to jail. They were painted as people that are more victim than perpetrator and so in may ways I had no sympathy with them. Judge Harris is a really, reeaalllyyy, unlikable fellow. Crystal became obsessed with setting things right and KD, althought maybe good at heart with his intensions, is nonetheless a serial killer. And don't even get me started about the so-called priest. Why do I want to have sympathy with those people? Do I want the bad guys to pay? Sure, but who are the bad guys? Is it really all right to take matters into your own hand just because you have suffered an injustice?

Furthermore I think the plot lost it's identity about what it want's to be. Is a about Religion, about believing, about what is wrong or right? Or is it a conspiracy thriller about the big bad, evil corporate entity that wants to suck us dry of our data and turn is into transparent and predictable sheep. And we have a Mesiah in the person of PJ, who looks at times very much Jesus like, that want to free us from those shackles.

Both could have made a compelling story and maybe, moving forward, there would have been a great ending. But it didn't happen. It never gained the traction with audiences to stay on air.

I rate this as a "7" overall with notes of "8" and "6" for the respectable seasons. I don't think it was a waste of time but I imagine a third season would have continued the downward trend and I would ultimately have dropped it.

Was in this purely because of Eva Green. I don't know the book and I have no intention of reading it now.
Even with only one episode left I couldn't bring myself to finish it. It was that awful for me. I lost interest around episode four, the fifth was just running in the background. I was so bored I didn't care. The concept for the story is supposedly interesting but if you can't keep people interested in what you're about to tell, that ultimately has to be considered a failure. What is descripted as "fateful coincidences" you can also call lazy writing. Let's be honest, those coincidences are rather unbelievable. Things happen because they have to or otherwise the story would be stuck in the mud. Maybe I'm lacking the imagination and I don't think I'm the audience for a novel written by a woman in her mid twenties. According to imdb highest rating comes from women 18-29 while lowest from men 45+. Go figure, we need demographics here, too.
It looks good, though. Costumes and sets, but that alone does not cut it. Eve Hewson has the charm of a tombstone. Eva Green does her usual best, the rest tries but ultimately there are to many characters to follow.
It's a love-it-or-hate-it show. But I read many comments by people who read the book and say it's bad.

I wasn't alive back then but I was always fascinated by the Space Race. Read many books and watched countless documentaries. I love the movie they made. So, this was very high on my list. And it is utterly dissapointing.

The story of the Space Race is dramatic on it's own. It's a story about what mankind can achieve if they put all their efforts behind it. Even if it was started out of political agendas to prove which system was superior. I think those men, on both sides, achieved remarkable things and I have the highest respect for them.

Based on this series alone, how the astronauts are portrayed, I would have wished them all to blow up and die. They are equally unlikeable, everyone for it's own reasons. I am not against adding some drama, in the end this is a TV show and not a documentary. But this was just too much. You see close to nothing about the training and technical side. Mostly them chasing after women, drinking, and chest pumping contests about who is the alpha male. Maybe some of this did happen, but even than you should find more balance in your story.

Since the first season is subtitled "Project Mercury" I fear there will be more seasons coming about the follow-up programs.

Not with me, though.

First things first: this is a cancelled show that ends on a cliffhanger. So there is little sense in watching it when it comes to closure. There is none. And I can understand why.
It is not totally awful, the action scenes, in particular the fights, are done well. But I can't shake the feeling that they are there just for the sake of it and the plot is often just a bridge towards the next fight.
The story is not very original, it takes the usual building blocks and arrange them, well, not even new. And it is too transparent. The surprises and twists are cabled in advance.
Too many storylines. It started well but we follow all those characters around and you wonder if there is a connection outside of the programm. I'll admit this could have been adressed in later seasons.

As I said there is really no need to watch this. You can't even take that ending and let your mind fill out the rest. They clearly did not expect to be cancelled. I only watched it because I wanted to know if it would have been worth watching had it continued. And from my point of view that would be a "No".

On a side note: I did not watch any of the Bourne movies and I don't think you need to to follow this. It works fine on it's own.

The Witcher is own of those shows where you either dig it or you don't. I lean towards the latter.

It's not that I say it's an awful show. No, the production value for a TV show is actually well above average. Yet, I got nothing out of it. Having never played the games or read a book I dropped into a world I knew nothing about. The plot starts without any explanation or background, and while I try to figure out this world, new elements are added and I can't make sense of who is who ?
Then there is the different timelines which present a problem because people don't age accordingly. Which I could explain to myself by assuming a year in this world is different from a real one. It's a fantasy tale after all. But I also wonder if it was really nessessary to present the story like this instead of just linear.
As I mentioned production itself is very good. Henry Cavill carries this thing on his shoulders with a lot of help from Anya Chalotra.
I'm not a fanatsy fan in particular so maybe this just isn't something for me. This being only the first chapter in the tale, it is also entirely possible many things will make sense later on.
Right now, after finishing the first season, I am asking myself if I do want to know.

In many ways The Agency is pretty typical of its time. But it got then overtaken by events in real life.

The show was supposed to air in late September 2011 but the 9/11 events changed not only the running order but the actual content itself. They re-wrote it on the fly which let to Ronny Cox's charcacter been taken out and everything focussing more on terrorism.

Watching this now it may feel a bit dated and even tiring because many shows since then have used this story lines. But I guess this can be considered the first show doing it, being so close to the attacks. Of course, this being a US show, comes with the expected phrases and patriotism. But, again, I must say they managed this rather well and even had characters questioning what was been done and asking for the morals. Yes, in the end they all followed suit.

The characters were well crafted and played equally well by there respective actors. They all had some background to give them depth and I think had this show gone on there could have been a lot of interesting angles.

I like the first season more because in the second they changed some cast and it got a different dynamic. Plus they added a thing that writers seem to be drawn to like a bee to honey and that was absolutely unnessessary: a romance/love story .

All together not a waste of time to watch this but notice it ends on a cliffhanger and there is no closure. I am sure they wanted to continue but CBS thought different.

I'm used to the fact that with this kind of series you usually only see and hear what they want you to.
But calling this a documentary in the first place is mocking. This is the most scripted documentary I have ever seen. They quotes are always repeated to the letter in every episode. In one case you even had a soldier looking to the camera before asking a question in a meeting. They probably had his lines written on a cardboard. The american officers say about 10 times every episode that they don't have boots on the ground. It's the Iraqis that do all the fighting on the frontline. You know the quotes, you've heard them for years. And of course every soldier wants to be there and the ones who aren't would like to trade places. They scenes with this think tank are almost comical in appearance as it is so obvious they are choreographed.
I don't want to downplay the efforts of the soldiers or the hardships they have to endure by filling out their orders. They are doing what they are being told, that is their job. This is purely about the show.
I love to watch NatGeo docus but this time they were led through the ring on a leash. I didn't finish this.

I be perfectly honest, the sole reason I went into this was Cate Blanchett. I didn't knew any of the real life characters or much about the events depicted here.
Now, first, from the point of acting this was great. Even not knowing the real persons I enjoyed the performances very much. Especially Cate, I am a huge admirer of her. But there is no one in the cast who was bad or even slightly weak.
As for the story - like I mentioned I didn't knew the first thing, really. Not quite my time and not my country. They say that some things in the show are altered so I don't know what is true. I can only say something about the story as it is presented.
I had difficulties finding sympathie for any group. It was all really black and white. Both sides have valid points and both sides can be downright ridicoulous. And please, I am not against Equal Rights, I just comment on the show. The ERA Movement had to much trench fighting going on. Everyone wanted to add something, wanted his agenda pushed to the top. When people say: "This is what WE want" more often than not what they mean is "This is what I want".
For Phillys it was never about the cause anyway, it was all about her. It was a way to put herself into the spotlight to push her career. Tragically she was the prime excample of a woman who could have benefitted from the ERA. But in the end she got what she fought for instead of what she wanted.
I am a bit at a loss in terms of what rating to give. The production is great, acting like I said, too. The story is important to know and yet at the end I was left somewhat ..... indifferent. It wasn't as engaging for me as it probably needed to be. Therefore I choose "just" a 7 but it is one of the better 7s.

When I saw the first trailer for Rebels I immediately dismissed this a goofy kids show. And even now, before starting this, I was sceptical regarding this show. I will admit I was wrong on both accounts.
There is some of the feared goofyness in it but even in it's early stages it was not that bad. And it got better with every season. It took my some time to get used to the new characters, especially Ezra whom I didn't like until probably to the final episodes. But while watching it I began to like Kanan, Hera, Sabine and even Chopper. It was interesting to follow their individual arcs. Bringing in known characters from the franchise and the whole world building further helped me connecting.
A kids show ? Hardly. Ther are indicators that put this into that category but the story telling is as complex as it gets. Like Clone Wars before, this show adds so much great content and it shows the potential that the whole SW story has. This is made by people who understand what they are working with. I can care for the fate of an animated character as much as for a "real" one. I applaud the writer as well as the actor voicing it for giving them a soul. I really don't make a difference between animated and live action any more.
I care for the story. It does not need to be loud and spectacular all the time. And Rebels finds this balance between action and character plots that keeps you wanting for more.

I am not a big fan of Daniel Brühl so this wasn't very high on my watchlist. At the same time I like to watch period shows.
This was a very good mini-series and Brühl did a really good job. The pacing and lenght was just right, it never felt boring. There are two more books by Carr that feature Kreizler but I don't know if there are plans to film them. I certainly would watch. I am thinking about buying the books as well.
While the story itself might not be new or original in terms of the general content, the time period makes this very interesting. In a time where corruption wasn't uncommon and things like fingerprints, profiling were in its infancy (not to mention DNA not even existing) the way to catch a killer was very different. It made the hunt much more engaging.
The costumes and sets look great and althought you can easily identify the CGI, it is incorporated very well and sells the time period.
The cast is great as well, althought I never get the picture of little Dakota in Taken out of my head.
As I said I would welcome a continuation.

JAG is the kind of show you need to take with a grain of salt. The emphasis is much more on entertainment then on accuracy or believability. They were throwing out some really wild stories. At its best it's good entertainment but it does resort to bad comedy or even soap opera style every now and then. My younger me liked the show a lot when it aired but having seen it now in its entirety I must say that espcially the later parts are not that good. I would say out of all episodes there were maybe five that were really gripping. One thing that is mind blowing is the staggering amount of continuity errors in the action footage. They just took whatever shot they needed or wanted and cobled them together not even caring that at times it wasn't even of the same modell of plane. But, like the producers, it doesn't seem to have bothered the audience. Still, I found it irritating.
David James Elliot was perfect for this role. He had something of a Tom Cruise / Maverick vibe yet a more adult version. When it comes to the female protagonist it went from great to worst. I loved Andrea Parker, still liked Meg Austin but never liked Catherine Bell. And that is true for the respective characters as well.
The longevity of the show has its pros and cons. They were able to build up good charcter arcs but the longer it went the more it felt they didn't know what to do with them any more. And that starts and stops with our main characters.
It was fairly obvious what would happen in the end and the fact they danced arround that part for basically nine seasons made it frustratingly tiresome. You can only do so much back and forth before it becomes a nuisance. Plus, they never really had great chemistry. It never felt natural. So by that account I wasn't really thrilled with the end or the final two seasons alltogether.
I wouldn't say the show as a whole is a waste of time but at a count of 227 episodes you need what the Germans call "Sitzfleisch". There is no translation for this but it means to have the stamina to see something through to the end.

In a nutshell Picard isn't all bad. But it doesn't exist in a nutshell - the complete title is "Star Trek":Picard. And with that comes a certain obligation.
I have the highest respect for Patrick Stewart and Picard is one of my favorite characters ever. But to be blunt this show is mostly generic action sci-fi that catches fragments of Star Trek lore along the way. It misses on the part of the Trek philosophie and/or vision. And please spare me the "this is darker Star Trek because we live in a different world" speach. You can make a dark Trek show while still staying true to the principles. Do a season spanning arch and still have seperated episodes that deal with characters. See DS9.
The new characters are not something I care for about much. I actually liked Raffi in the Una McCormack novel that predates the events in the show. But it didn't carry over. As I mentioned it's not all bad, at times a glimmer of that philosophies shines through but is mostly put out fast. And that was frustrating every time. It was great seeing part of the old crew again and there was a lot of closure on that behalf. Which is about the one thing I got out of this show.
All this would have been better suited as a final TNG movie with a lot of stuff removed. Of course that would have limited the target audience a lot. I would still watch the second season althought I have no idea what they could do story-wise.

Star Trek needs someone like Michael Piller again.

I don't know much about russian history but the big names and some very basic facts. I like this kind of scripted documentary that gives you some context. I am sure there are some artistic liberties in the storytelling but I will assume they have the basic facts right.
The guy literally took the wrong turn at every crucial point in time. Going left when he should have gone right and vice versa. He was influenced by the wrong people and had not enough self esteem and foresight to do otherwise. His tenure was doomed from day one. What happened to them at the end wasn't right either but that's how it went. Other then for the children I don't have much sympathy. Problem with revolutions is that all you do is change one bad thing for another. What came afterwards wasn't really what the people wanted, was it ?
I thought the production was really good. The costumes looked good. I read somewhere there are some errors in terms of buildings that where shown that did not exist at the time. Can't say anything other about that than if you don't know it it don't bothers.
Personally I found it both entertaining and informativ.

I only watched the first season. It has its high and lows but was mostly mediocre. The cast is really good, the setting equally so. This is not James Bond or Jack Ryan like. It feels much more realistic. But the writing wasn't great and there is little suspense overall. And it is ultimately a story with no one to root for.
You start with the ending so to say. From there on it is a "how did we get there" story. It starts with the whistle blower Thomas Shaw and again it is shown who he is. This becomes a "why does he do it" and a cat and mouse game that, like I said, doesn't deliver much suspense. In the end the ulterior motives for Hector/Shaw stay rather vague. He wanted to change things but why ? Out of love ?
All of this progresses rather slow and when the plot twists finally come they were ridicoulus or not very surprising. Then everything is thrown into the last 15 minutes of the season finale. The big clean-up.
I read the synopsis for the second and third season and decided I'm not interested. Therefore I dropped the show.

Every new WWII documentary faces the same problem: there is hardly anything new to report. The history has been written - there is no sudden new evidence. What differs are the interpretations. If you know this part of history there isn't much to look for here but a reminder of how cruel the war was.
As for the material itself: what is described as "rarely seen" is actually quite common and has been seen in many series before. There was not much new for me. In at least two parts they were even using movie footage from cinema. The "expertly restoration" is as good as can be expected. The source material just isn't that good. There is no HD to get out of this and the colors oftentimes look wrong. It's almost unrealistic at times. I was never a huge friend of those altered footage to beginn with. I am also not in favor of the term "greatest" as it implifies a certain glorification. Maybe "Biggest Events" or "Most Important" would have been more appropriate.
Should you skip this, then ? Not necessarily. It is a good starting point for someone who's interested in WWII history. Those who already know it can use it to fresh up the memory. Just know what to expect.

Probably the biggest surprise of 2019. No, not probably - definitely ! I had no idea this was in the making but even if I had, I could not have expected this. Of course I do know the movie. But it has been so long ago that I don't remember anything but the fact it was a Jim Henson puppet fantasy movie. I didn't remember anything of the story. I chose not to re-watch it and instead delve right into the show which is absolutely fine to do. As I understand it the movie would be the end of the story anyway.

The production itself is amazing. And that even scratches the surface. The sets, costumes, the pupptets - the level of detail is crazy awesome. Watch this on as big a screen as possible. I am so thankful they didn't go all out CGI on this one as it wouldn't have worked like this does. The way this is shot makes you forget that you are watching puppets. This doesn't differ from any live action movie. The storytelling is immersive, it pulls you in and you are always eager to find out what will happen next. Characters are build up so that you can connect with them. You can invest in them, dislike or even hate them. There is a certain amount of darkness involved but also fun. All this is accompanied by a great musical score. This is LOTR territory as far as I'm concerned.

It is always difficult to label something as "must-see" because there are people who are simply not into this kind of stuff and that is absolutely fine. But I would really recommend to give it a try. As I mentioned this came out of nowhere for me and it went straight to the top for being the best show of 2019.

Every decade has its own kind of special movies and this documentary gives a very good overview. The problem is that it races through the decades and you only get a few sentences about each movie. There is no deeper exploration. Two minutes per movie and on to the next. It also feels a bit selective at times althought I could not point my fingers to what movies they left out. Then there are movies mentioned as being revolutionary and influential that I haven't even heard of.
In my case this was just a reminder of the movies I had seen and the ones I didn't, with little informational content. And that a lot of the high praised and awarded movies did little for me. Maybe it could serve as a guideline for younger movie fans as to what movies they should watch. At the same time I think everyone should explore the movie history on their own.
One other thing. The sequence in which the episodes were broadcast is wrong. I've watched the first three and the third clearly was meant to be the last which would make a lot of sense. You should start with The Golden Age, finish with The 2000s and watch the rest accordingly.