Browsing through some of the reviews I find online, all I can see is people complaining about how they turned this show into PC nonsense, and changed the characters up to something unrecognizable compared to their original versions.
Really? Did we watch the same sitcom growing up?
Are we forgetting about the episode in the original where Carlton and Will were arrested just for being a certain skin color?
Are we forgetting about Carlton almost overdosing on pep pills?
Are we forgetting about Carlton packing heat after he and Will got mugged?
Are we forgetting about Phil being confronted in his old neighborhood because he "abandoned them" when he became wealthy?
Yes, the original was a lighthearted sitcom, so obviously their main focus wasn't on the drama, but dang it if it wasn't there at all. People are saying the tension between Will and Carlton in this reboot feels forced? Re-watch the first few seasons of the original show. I'd hardly call them besties in that either.
This new version being a dramatic retelling, they are taking sitcom characters and translating them into actual well rounded human beings.
Carlton, who was an uptight, stress-prone, daddy's boy who was always jealous of Will's natural charm and intelligence, is now relieving his tension with drugs, and is resorting to down-and-dirty tactics that sitcom Carlton would just as easily do, but the nature of the show he was on, simply wouldn't let him.
Hilary, who was a superficial airhead in the original to the point of it being a parody of herself, is mooching off of her parents' money in this one and trying to make it as an influencer while waiting for a career to fall into her lap. That just screams "updated Hilary" to me.
I could go on, but the fact of the matter is that this show took a very lighthearted setup, gave it some much needed weight for this type of storytelling, and casted some truly brilliant actors in this. Banks is an amazing Will, and Holmes is a great uncle Phil.
As a sidenote, I'm usually the first to point out "forced PC-ness", but you simply can not do a show about African American families, especially a wealthy one like the Banks family, and not have it come up at some point. The original knew it, this one knows it, and they both did it well within the confines of the style of show they're presenting.
I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of this season.
As far as graphic novels go Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá’s Umbrella Academy series is as pulp, eye-catching and absolutely insane as they come. For the most part Netflix’s new adaptation captures everything special and unique about the source material.
This is how an adaption should be done, every main character gets the right amount of screen-time and backstory to feel important and 3 dimensional. Most of the core ideas are present, including concepts as crazy as a 58 year old time-traveler with the physical appearance of a 13 year old. Other concepts are toned back to work for TV, with the ending especially taking liberties with the original source material.
The whole show is perfectly cast, Tom Hopper and Robert Sheehan have found their dream roles and relative new comer Aidan Gallagher makes his unbelievable character feel totally real.
There are a handful of incredible visuals including a handful of great action sequences and multiple dance sequences (the best of which coming in the first episode). Between these moments the camera work can be rather flat and basic but the elaborate set pieces tend to make up for this.
Similarly the dialogue can be a little hit or miss with some scenes featuring great character interactions and memorable quotes and other feeling ripped from a typical soap opera.
Honestly that’s what is so fascinating about this show, it makes the crazy and unique stuff look easy and tends to trip up on the basics.
Definitely check this one out if you feel like these stories have become stale in recent years, with brilliant performances, great visual effects and a story that feels fresh despite the X-Men similarities. I can’t wait to see where they go with season 2.
