listen i've seen a lot of awful tv shows in my life but nothing (and i mean NOTHING) compares to the idol, this show is so horrible it really takes the cake and i'm actually impressed with everyone who accepted getting involved in this project and went through with it despite being shit (and im sure everyone knows it's shit, unless they have no critical thinking and/or are getting paid a lot of money), for real they have GUTS, i would never accept getting dragged into this mess (except for watching it just for the sake of criticizing)
nothing about this show is appealing at all: poor plot, terrible acting, dialogues that make no sense, empty unralatable characters without any charisma whatsoever, cringe sex scenes that add nothing to the plot itself and steal half of screentime, leaving the other half to be filled with lily-rose depp smoking half naked or crying, i'm 4 episodes in out of 5!! (it's so bad hbo cut one whole episode off omfg) and i have yet to see a character or plot development, or even the point of this show at all lmao i mean if they're trying to show how hollywood is fucked up or something they're not doing a good job at all, in fact, the only thing they DID do good was making me disgusted and astonished at how they managed to get every single thing so wrong from the start
i feel like if this exact plot was written by a woman or someone who is not a disgusting freak like sam levinson, the show could actually be good, cause the potential and intentions were there, too bad they didn't do the right approach and it became a 13 year old virgin girl wattpad fanfic (dare i say most of those fanfics are better anyway), i don't think anyone has ever done something so rotten and unappealing before in the history of american television
i could've stopped watching after episode 1, that's true, but it's like im stuck seeing a horrible car crash happen right in front of my eyes and i can't look away, even if i'm watching it in 2x speed and not thinking too much about what im seeing for the sake of my braincells (or the last 2 baincells i have left after watching this shit) i can't imagine anyone unironically watching this and actually enjoying it and wandering what would happen next etc
cause even if im hate-watching ironically, i still feel like the idol is a SNL skit in a parallel universe where laughter and cognitive ability do not exist
This series succesfully shows the exact opposite of blockbuster movies: Create a great story with mediocre special effects and lesser known actors.
The writers behind this show do an amazing job creating one wonderfull Fairy tale adaptation after another. I did not like their previous work, but I think the writing is getting more mature (but they still make some errors that are frustrating.) But mostly they are not afraid to change major aspects of the fairy tales if necessary.
The creaters of this show also worked on 'Lost' and the 'TRON: Legacy' movie.
I really love how Rumpelstiltskin plays the evil maniac, especially during the first season. But there are more noteworthy roles in there, like the evil queen, her mother, Belle, Hook or Peter Pan. Emma Swan is pretty well played, but compared to the extreme characteristics of the fictional characters she is a bit bland.
The things I dislike most are probably some repeated main themes (family feuds/bad parent-child relations) and that they copy the characters of fairy tales a bit too literal from the Disney franchise from time to time.
Overall I think it is on of the best non-comedy shows of the past few years.
PS. I am glad Lady Gaga never replied on the invite to play the Blue Fairy.
Note: This review was written after watching the first 2 seasons.
I was a fan of the original GG. It wasnât great, it had plenty of flaws, but it managed to have a cast of talented actors and an enjoyable story focused on spoiled rich high schoolers. I wanted to give this one a try out of nostalgia and.... ooooh brother, I should have just rewatched the original.
The first episode starts with a large cast of characters, parents, teachers, etc. all having their drama in the most nonsensical plot Iâve ever seen.
In the original, Dan being GG was creepy and weird but he was a loser character in high school so it made sense. In this... the freaking :asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol:teachers:asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol: are GG. Lmao yes, the teachers. They have a talk about how the students used to behave and respect the teachers because they wanted to go to college and GG kept them in line... now they can just be influencers so they donât care about school... so the teachers start being gossip girl.
I just... did the writers even watch the original? If âkept them in lineâ means âthey were never rude to the teachersâ then sure, but thatâs cause they were too busy getting pregnant, running off to opium dens, getting high, ruining each otherâs lives, committing fraud, blackmailing everybody, getting statutory raped, all under the age of 18.... like... yes clearly GG is what kept them âin lineâ.
The fact that the teachers - actual adults who claim to care about helping these children and have dreams of changing lives - could read the old GG posts about all the drama and bs I just mentioned, and then - actual adults who claim to care about helping these children and have dreams of changing lives - decide that creating a new gossip girl to harass :asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol:children:asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol: is appropriate is just mind blowingly insane.
So clearly the writing is lacking in this reboot. Teachers acting like children, people getting mad irrationally or inferring things that werenât at all obvious from the performance, itâs bizarre.
The acting is also a little dull. It feels like the characters are trying to act, they just arenât all very good at it. A lot of performances just feel off.
Thereâs a knock-off Dan Humphrey, a knock off Chuck, a knock off of Jenny/Serena/Blair. Overall, the first episode just felt like a cheap attempt to reproduce the magic of something that had barely managed to capture any magic itself. Iâll update this if episode 2 changes my opinion, but for now this is worth skipping.
:asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol:Rating on my scale::asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol:
Exceptional
Memorable
Entertaining
Corny
Boring
Unpleasant
Ms. Marvel episode 1 impressions: First of all, why is Disney shooting these Marvel shows with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio? Shows meant to be shown exclusively on 16:9 displays. It's rather annoying. Especially after they made their huge marketing push of having 16:9 open matted versions of the Marvel movies on Disney+ with the "IMAX Enhanced" label. Seems really backwards to have the Marvel movies in 16:9 and the shows at a wider aspect ratio.
Second biggest problem: WTF did they do to her powers? This isn't faithful to the comics at all. Why is her ability this weird energy crystal power instead of polymorphing? And instead of getting her powers from having Inhuman genes, they made her get her powers from magic bracelets? It's like if they made Spider-Man shoot lasers instead of webs. She might as well be a totally different character.
In fact, making the source of her powers come from magic instead of from a genetic modification is a hilarious blunder as magic is considered haram in Islam. They might as well have made her a super fundamentalist Christian superhero who gets her powers from witchcraft.
I could excuse the strange casting choices that made Kamala and Bruno look too young compared to their comic counterparts if it weren't for the fact they ruined her powers. The constant shapeshifting body horror of the comics was central to Kamala's character.
For me this is another hatewatch just like the Halo series. Like Halo, while it has some things that appeal to fans of the original lore, it has many other aspects that drag it down and make it difficult to fully enjoy the show.
MODERATOR EDIT: Be more respectful.
How this has become a discussion about two very different shows, I can't possibly understand. (Seriously, TRUE BLOOD and THE VAMPIRE DIARIES? It's like comparing HOUSE, MD and GREY'S ANATOMY.)
I started watching this show when I was most definitely a part of the target audience, and despite my initial fear of this show being a TWILIGHT rip-off (despite the fact that the books had been written before, which yes, would make it a "Follow the leader"; mainly because Book!verse differs vastly from TV!verse), its flaws are entirely different.
THE VAMPIRE DIARIES has a protagonist-centered morality, that, when it comes down to it, isn't caused by Elena Gilbert's gentle or loveable personality (of which's existence, by now, only the Salvatores seem to be entirely certain), but the fact that she's got the special kind of boobs. Her magic hooha is infamous among fans of PNR and UF, the hypocrisy of the characters one of the most fandom-intern-critizised points of the entire show.
Despite that, we still watch it, and once you've come to the point where you hate a show with a passion, yet can't wait for the next episode, you do wonder why that is. (Or at least I do.) The heteronormativity, the lack of POCs, the annoying protagonist and love-triangle, the melodrama, the patheticly obvious loop-holes and inconsistencies. Even the beautiful and rather talented actors and actresses (and amazing music (and yes, to be fair, the few very well-written and often well-directed episodes) shouldn't be able to make up for it, right?
But in the end, the show is what the HOUSE OF NIGHT series is in the PNR bookworld. It might suck, it might be immature, sex-negative, and downright awful at times, but it's also compelling. I can't help but react to the insanities that ensue, and even though it probably isn't what the writers and creatores intended, my hatred for certain characters and the misery I feel everytime they mess an magnificent concept up beyond repair, are what keeps me coming back.
In other words, if you are looking for a well-written, sex-positive, 21st century TV-show whose writers you can trust, look somewhere else. If you want a guilty pleasure "Jesus, why do they all look so good, and wth, how is this his voice?"-experience, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES should definitely do. (Then again, shows like LOST GIRL, TEEN WOLF, and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER are, at this point, easier to recommend with a clean conscience.)
(That isn't to say the show isn't enjoyable. Especially if you are less involved, are able to be entertained by shows despite their influence on particular people, or don't question the characters' and writers' decisions, it should be a show you might come to like.)
