A MASSIVE improvement over a so-so first season, Daredevil never reaches the heights of Jessica Jones, but now stands as one of the strongest current shows. There are quite a few parallels to the later seasons of Arrow in plot and style, but Daredevil deals with the same issues much, much more skillfully. The new characters are welcome additions and incredibly well defined, with layered personalities and backstories. More of this, please!
Honestly, this show is more Trek than the current ("Discovery") and previous ("Enterprise") Treks. Yes, some unfunny jokes here and there, but all in all -- it's a Star Trek show (specifically - TNG). Last few episodes (4-5-6 could have been easily TNG episodes).
Star Trek viewers needs a ton of Suspension of Disbelief, with all the aliens and spaceships and transporters etc., but in The Orville - this SOD is harder to swallow, because of the... let's call it... casualness... of the show - which kinda makes it harder to actually implement this necessary suspension of disbelief.
Considering the current Trek show, I am just left wondering why they just don't give Seth McFarlane write a proper Star Trek show. He is clearly up to the task, and Trekkies (sorry, Trekkers) deserve a good Star Trek show.
It's an awkward one. On the one hand, this was an absolutely necessary story to tell. On the other, it went on for far too long.
Could easily have told the same story over, say, 9 or 10 episodes and have the last three dealing with the aftermath of Playland with some other threat such as a corrupted Trish/Hellcat taking the true big bad status and resolving Jessica/Trish before the season ended by having Jessica forced to save Trish from herself or something and becoming the true team they should be. Instead that's obviously going to be stretched out over 13 episodes as well and will probably suffer the same fate.
As other people have stated, Jeri's storyline was actually the most compelling. It was also the most inconsequential. Literally at no point does Jeri's plot have any affect on the main plot. Of course Kilgrave returned the way that most of us expected to but even as mental demons he's still the most magnetic presence on the show.
A very disappointing season for one of my all-time favorite shows. Perhaps TJ Miller was the glue that held it all together, as without him this show just doesn't have its usual magic and good flavor.
They do it once again - the last episode is the best one, like in the first season. To be honest I thought that the second season will be just a pale copy of the first one. There is no way to enter the same river twice. But... They have managed to add something new and have found another topic to address in the show.
Season 3 turned the show around, and I'd go as far as saying that it saved the franchise. A massive change of people behind the scenes resulted in a big shift in tone for the show, and this bled over into every aspect of production. Michael Piller took the reins as what we would now call showrunner, and writers like Ronald D. Moore, René Echevarria and Ira Steven Behr did their first work.
The show became more confident, and made its storytelling far more about the characters than the plots. It looked better, with a more cinematic style and much improved uniforms for the cast. We got to know these people in a far more intimate and relaxed manner than previously, and they each managed to find their own voice. Beverly Crusher was a welcome return.
While it's not a perfect season, it's such an improvement over what came before as to be almost unrecognisable. The first two seasons of the show almost feel like they fit into The Original Series at times with their cardboard planet sets, overly dramatic camera shots and quirky acting. Here, Star Trek: The Next Generation came into its own.
Quite surprisingly, Wesley Crusher becomes quite interesting here. Maybe it's because he wasn't constantly saving the ship and acting like a brat, or maybe it's because they finally gave him some personality. His conversations with his mother are some of the highlights of the season. Data gets a massive amount to do and starts to show that he is capable of very nuanced human behaviours.
The one character who is left behind somewhat is Geordie. The poor guy just never gets developed well, there's not much personality and he doesn't seem to have anything much going on other than his engineering work. His dating attempts are routinely abysmal, and I can't help but think that LeVar Burton deserved better.
Best episodes for me: Yesterday's Enterprise, The Offspring, The Best of Both Worlds (1), Who Watches The Watchers, The Enemy, The Defector, AllegianceWorst episodes for me: The Price, Booby Trap, The Vengeance Factor, The High Ground, A Matter of Perspective, Tin Man
Finally a season that fullfills all the potential and is on par with what I've been hearing about this show. The underwater episode and the abortion one are amazing but almost everything is top notch.
What a surprising delight.
I binge watched during sick leave - and it was perfect brainles, light hearted positive tv that is needed in that kind of situation.
Well, the quality on this season didn't stay consistent all the way through, but I think overall this was a good season. I was a bit afraid with all the hype, but the first episodes sparked my interest immediately, and I'm glad the story managed to give even more than what the premise led me to expect.
To me the execution just wasn't quite as good as it could have been. The season had some good high points, tense and emotional episodes, but besides, there were some plot holes here and there, some mediocre acting, and it was also fairly slow-paced and dumb at times.
However, I mostly liked this and hope there will be a second season. I'd say this season didn't set the bar too high for the next one to be even better, and I'm really looking forward to what they have to offer.
It's pretty amazing that we now live in a time when a show like this is possible. Resurrecting an old classic story, bringing back original actors and playing on nostalgia to continue a plot that we last saw over 30 years ago is something that we could never have imagined happening only a short while ago. Fans of various films and shows have fantasised about exactly this sort of thing for as long as I can remember, and we've finally reached a place where the powers that be are willing to listen (Twin Peaks, Star Wars, The X-Files, Veronica Mars, Ghostbusters, Creed, Deadwood).
It's no surprise that if it's done right, the audience are going to love it. Cobra Kai does it right. Bringing back Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, we finally get an official continuation of The Karate Kid saga showing how their lives went. Unfortunately, the wonderful Pat Morita is no longer with us so Mr. Miyagi can't return too, but his presence is felt throughout.
The show chooses to use nostalgia to the full, and it's to its credit that the format works well. It heavily references moments from the original films, uses the original soundtrack and brilliantly makes use of small clips as flashbacks. It also gives us a new dynamic by introducing the next generation of karate kids and gets us invested in their struggles all while entwining them with the bad blood between Daniel and Johnny.
It also takes the very interesting tactic of making Johnny a protagonist and showing us things from his perspective. This makes it very easy to become invested in the drama on screen, because we are rooting for everyone. Johnny himself can be his own worst enemy, but he recognises the mistakes he's made and wants to improve himself (even if his own dated viewpoint gets in the way). Daniel is a successful family man, but his hotheaded temper hasn't entirely gone away and he needs to struggle to find his balance again.
And then there are the kids, who are all great. Miguel becomes Johnny's first student, and goes from a kindhearted geek getting bullied to something of a monster thanks to taking Johnny's teachings a little too much to heart after he realises how good it makes him feel. It's a fascinating transformation that isn't easy to watch, because it becomes harder and harder to root for him. On the other side we have Johnny's estranged son Robby who begins learning from Daniel and is set on a path to redemption from his life of petty crime. All the different paths and goals crossing here make for an often cheesy but never dull mix.
While the show does often fall back on formulaic nonsense (bullies, geeks, family arguments) that play out in unrealistic ways, the pure entertainment makes it all work. My biggest criticism is that the karate itself feels very glossed over; I found it hard to believe that all of these kids were ready for the All Valley Tournament by the end of the season and I don't think the show establishes the passing of time all that well (this must have taken place over the course of a year or so, surely?). I also think that a few of side characters (Amanda, Hawk) are barely fleshed out enough to justify their screen time.
Cobra Kai is a highly entertaining and often very funny show that knows how to use nostalgia to its full and succeeded in making me really care about where all of these characters are going.
From technical aspect LD&R has always been astounding and this season, that is still the case.
But none of the stories stood out this season.
