Fantastic show from start to finish. Also great to see Natalie Tran again, albeit in a small role.
Solely based on the last episode and the shows cancellation, I cannot recommend this. There is no resolution of any kind, even a climax is mostly absent. As long this will not get a second season (and it is highly unlike it will) I advice to avoid.
Intriguing world and premise, but the terrible pacing and uneven quality destroys a promising show.
Characters are fairly one dimensional, especially their introductions are lacking. The plot moves at the speed of a bullet train launched into space, which especially hurts the world building and character development. It also causes the themes to be hardly explored, and side plots to feel trivial. CGI and cinematography are a mixed bag, ranging from nice to terrible (especially the color filter is often hideous), The acting is ok in general, but dialogue can be uneven.
About halfway into the 1st season, the show stabilizes somewhat, but it never recovers from the problematic opening, making any investment in the characters and world shallow at best.
It is a waste because the world seems highly interesting, and I have to assume it deserves much better than this uninspired work.
Interesting and binge-worthy Sci-Fi show.
The best thing about 'Raised by Wolves' is the Ridley Scott (inspired) envisioned visual style. The show looks like it has a decent or big budget, although I could not find any definitive numbers anywhere, and it looks very good as long you are not put off by it's dark and bleak environments.
Storywise it is interesting enough, but it can be somewhat messy, switching between character focus and plot focus, and fails to indulge us more into the depth of characters and philosophy. A lot of ideas, and not a lot of answers. The aim seemed to be to present as much ideas as possible in this first season, to feed off of them later during multiple seasons. It cumulates into a season that was akin to one big pilot episode.
~ This comment was written after season 1. ~
Incredibly boring characters, the way colours and lightning are handled is making the show hideous to look at. I could not finish even the pilot episode. I was not a fan of the movie, although it has some great qualities. Those qualities do not exist in this trash.
A (very) dark/black comedy about war and the deterministic and powerless situations soldiers can find themselves in, doing (arguably) useless things. Even as a viewer your hopes for a win will get thwarted every time.
Even though this all does not sound like good entertainment, it somehow proofs to be the opposite. To find the humor in the world this mini-series creates, proofs the acting and writing skills involved with this show are not just average, nor an afterthought. It (at least) tries to depict a (semi-)realistic world, and does not venture into intentional offensive comedy just for a shock effect.
I would not recommend to everyone, but it is definitely worth the watch if you are ok with a less than regular style of comedy and can enjoy or dealt with a (largely) lack of positivity in a story.
A high quality political action thriller with several twists and turns. From the very first scene it got me hooked, and even though it does not manage to continuously serve that same high tension, it kept me locked to my screen. Definitely worth the watch.
The actors brought their A level, writing is decent to good (except maybe some loose ends in the last episode that are rushed) and the choreography is well done.
My two main points of criticisms concern (mostly) the last episode. The first being the very last twist at the end with Nadia being a bad guy after all. And secondly that mental health problems are too much downplayed. They are more being used as a plot device, while not giving character development or consequences. The threat of (untreated) mental health problems is more of an external threat than one that affects the character(s). Like how in the last scene, as soon as the protagonist sees a therapist, everything will be fine (like -hinted- his relationship with his wife will be totally ok too.)
Great show worth watching, even though it's second season does not come close to the quality of the first one.
[Written after episode 3]
I am very delighted by this new series. Stewart is always a joy to watch, even now in his older days. The visuals are great and the music is just fantastic. I am not so sure about the story, it is somewhere between average and very good, depending on how the story will develop itself. What I am little worried about is the focus on secondary characters (they barely feel like secondary sometimes considering their screen time), that we will (probably) only see connect to the main character and story near the end of the season. It kinda feels like filler or irrelevant at times, while also taking some of the mystery out of the story. Those are no big complaints though.
And even if all else was just average, the music alone makes it worth watching.
I did not read the books, and I did not play any of the games (although I heard at least one of the games is of great quality in storytelling) so I went into this show more or less a blank slate.
And boy it is bad.... The writing is just dreadful. I think the writers assumed prior knowledge to the world and characters, and lean on that assumption too heavily.
From the very beginning it is poorly written. Timelines are messy and unclear, exposition is done terribly, worldbuilding looked like an afterthought and taken from a first draft, the pacing is all over the place and inconsistent over time as well inconsistent for each subplot. Episode structure is even irratic. They presented us a continuous story, but several episodes focused more on little episodic adventures that did not impact the main storyline all that much. And for a show with only 8 episodes, that is deadly and lead to other stories being rushed or simply put on hold for the next season (I assume.)
Toward the middle of the show, it started to get a bit better and I thought it could be promising after a bit rocky start, but in the end they could not deliver and it turned into an utter and complete trainwreck (oh that last episode, I almost fell out of my chair several times from disbelieve.) Rushed plot resolutions, while other characters stories crawled to a complete standstill with close to no progression or character development, in somecases even for the whole season.
What the show does have going for it: Photography, sets and costume design are beautiful!
I really did not want to dislike this, but it looked like they actively tried to make me stop watching.
Note: This review is about season 1.
There are simply too many things that do not work for this show. I don't know what this show is trying to be. Luke Cage? Gotham but less silly and over the top? Amazing Spiderman 2? xD
The dialogue is often sloppy (even more than on an average CW DC show) pacing is horrible and subtlety is hard to find. As far as I can tell, this is not an intentional, dark comedic Gotham way, but in a (depending on who you ask, more) terrible way. Also the acting is of inconsistent nature, but the actors don't have much to work with anyway.
One of the few things that is working for this show is the music. I am not a hip-hop or rap fan, far from it, but even so the music was what I enjoyed most of all in the first season.
My standards for the CW DC shows are not high, they have their (big) flaws but ' Black Lightning' fails just at too many aspects and was simply a drag to get through.
SPOOOOOONNN!
Ridiculously silly, so random and very funny. Exactly as I remember it from the cartoon.
I see this new show is being compared to 'Black Mirror' often, both before and after it's release. It also looks like it is supposed to be something (entirely?) new that has not been done before. At least that is the impression I got from what the creators said about the show, and comments from critics and audience.
I can say it is a very interesting show to watch, but I cannot call it revolutionary. Also the comparison with Black Mirror goes no further than this also being standalone episodes with (maybe) a vague unconfirmed connection between the episodes (I am particulary curious about the gouls in " Suits" "Sucker of Souls" and "The Secret War") and a destructive post-apocalyptic fatalistic mood in many of the episodes.
The biggest virtue of "Love, Death & Robots" is also it's biggest problem. It's lack of an overarching tone in favour of basically treating every episode as it's own short film. This makes it possible to do a lot of different things with each episode, and play with perspectives, artwork, stories, genres, characters, twists etcetera. Unfortunately the differences in tone between episodes is sometimes so big it feels like not even the same series. From extremely dark self destructive themes to absurdistic and parody comedy that feels almost like ripped from a youtube channel.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching this series very much, and it got me engaged, thrilled and made me laugh louder than many other shows did. I sincerely hope we will get more seasons from this in the future. It is hard to make a good overall descirption of what this show really is though, because it can be all over the place. For me personally it reminded me most of the Animatrix shorts. Especially the steampunk and cyberpunk influences. Also the major differences in art from episode to episode is very nice to see, and exposes the viewer to a nice broad sense of expression. Some CGI episodes are not very well done, but others are absolutely gorgeous. And ofcourse the more creative animated episodes are worth it every time.
In the end this show is just a lot of fun to watch, if you can deal with the severe gore, violence and nudity. And/or if can enjoy the dark and absurdistic humour, then watch it. The episodes are very short (the longest is about 14 minutes, the shortest maybe 7? Yes, it is very much aimed at the short attention span genereation of now) it is not a big issue to sit through an epiosde or 2 you won't like that much. And the full season only takes about 2~3 hour to finish.
ps. When Topher Grace unexpectedly showed up, I laughed and I laughed hard :laughing:
Although this show is a few years old now, I had it on my to watch list bc it sounded worth checking out. I am not even halfway the pilot episode, and this show is already getting on my nerves. Looked like someone was challenged to get every cliché possible crammed into a single episode. And if I have to believe the comments, this is supposed to be one of the BETTER episodes of the first season? xD Hard pass.
I recommend this show, if you can withstand some a lot of cynicism.
Quality varies heavily per episode, some are written poorly and just do not feel 'finished', while others manage to get original, thought-provoking and almost feel like a full movie. The view on the future is sometimes/often so pessimistic (especially with the amount of bad endings) it can break immersion. Acting and cinematography is (usually) above average. They managed to create an enticing universe through seemingly unconnected stories, and all things considered it is definitely a unique world they try and often manage to create.
I agree with JorisA. It focusses on the main politics at the start and ending of the war, but it is mostly about the events that happened during the war itself, and how it unfolded. They sacrificed chronology and jumped back and forth in time between episodes to focus on 1 front at a time.
It used some images multiple times, maybe because it is unclear when they were shot, but this distracted only slightly. The images are impressive and depict an impressive view of the war. At some point I started to get overwhelmed by all the gun fire, but the fact I binged this might have something to do with it. It makes you imagine the horrors the soldiers went through a bit better though.
I would say this is a must-see for those interested in (modern) history, but I would recommend it to the more casual viewer too because of the good job they did in presenting the images and sounds.
Came for Elisha Cuthbert and I was disappointed it only had 6 episodes.
After the pilot I understood why, and I think 6 episodes is even too many. Really bad writing and situational sketching, I feel sorry for the actors who played in this sham.
Update after the '2nd season' has finished (and therefore the series.)
Previous comment still stands, but after a while the need for explanation for first-time watchers dwindles (as would be logical) so we end up with an amazing series with some massive animation skill and top of your chair action.
If you liked this series, also check:
Fate/Zero (prequel)
Fate/Prototype (1 ep special about the original story, too bad this will never get a full story/series.)
Kara no Kyoukai/The Garden of sinners (Movie series)
And keep an eye open for (If ever released in the future):
Fate/Heavens Feel (confirmed for a movie.)
Fate/hollow ataraxia (sequel, no confirmation of a movie or TV show.)
Update from my first comment:
I really enjoy this show, especially after the 1st season (which had some startup problems with the acting and stories.) It is not the best or most witty out there, but it (usually) isn't very bad either.
However, now the 4th season has reached its end I think the show is running at its creative end. I'll give it one more season where they need to reinvent themselves or make a nice exit story. If this doesn't happen it could become boring quick and is at risk of turning into one of thos uninspired run of the mill sitcom. That would be a sad end for this show imho.
This show had so much potential, and already had a great first season.
Worst cancellation of 2014
A really fun show that never got the chance to develop itself.
The characters have great chemistry with each other, and each and every one of them has its own unique side without being cliché.
The writers managed to get some very good jokes into the show, and the timing of the actors is pretty decent too. Max is one of the highlights of the cast, and I think that if this would have run for a few more seasons it could've been as popular as New Girl or better.
The weak point is the stale position everyone is in, some of the characters are a bit overdone which leaves not a lot of space for different situations and jokes. It also happens from time to time that a scene is very forced and all actors are literally repeating their lines in stead of acting them out.
As a big Fate fan I love to see the Fate routes back on screen. This series has a more 'stepping in' pace and is clearly aimed at both existing fans and viewers new to the franchise.
This makes a very balanced series, but it can be a bit repetitive and boring at times for the older fans.
Luckily Ufotable throws in everything they got and artwork is so amazing you don't really get the time to get bored.
ok show, but understandable it got canceled. I thought it would be a 26 eps 1 season thing with the title though.
Just a continuation of the cool 'Malcolm in the middle' show. If you like this, you should check it ou.
Great show, but not very stable in its quality.
Just changed my rating from an 8 to a 7 because of the gradual decent to dumbness of this show.
Fun and enjoyable series with a lot of music.
But seriously, can EVERYONE sing in that town? xD I counted 2 main cast members that do not join in with the music, that's 90% pro or amateur singers. Is that really realistic?
SPOON!
Your shout seems a bit short, please put some more thought into it.
Clarke is a major B with moodswings where people with a personality disorder can be jealous of...
Pretty bad show with bad writing and worse dialog.
Ps. Who names a female character after Superman?
John Noble (Walter) really grows as a character throughout the series. A series worth the watch.
I really liked the green-green-green-red light pattern that constantly returned throughout all the seasons.
Somehow it feels like the writers did not have the time for all of the stories they wanted to tell, especially the last season is a bit far from the rest of the show. Some unchecked sources also said that there was material for 6 and not 5 seasons.
