The human darkness and the inhuman ability to resist even in deep struggling: this is Handmaid's Tale. And it's definitely not for the faint-hearted. It pushes our minds into an universe of evil and cruelty: if the women's condition is one of the (few) things that western society concords about, here we see this fall apart completely in front of us. All directors (especially Morano) plays with our perspective: the power of details is incredible. Facial expressions, sounds, scenery, all lead to reveal the world as it is: a place not fit for humans like this. The Janine' suicide attempt scene in the ninth episode is the most powerful example of this: one can really hope that the suicide take place, because, for a fragile mind like her, death can be the only pain-relief possible, a vision that Offred refuses during the entire season. Offred is just a baby-making slave, but the character evolves to became a powerful leader that can literally save the world, because the pain she suffered has created a monster in her, maybe even more powerful than her masters. By the end, the story turns into a carousel of resistance images.
The level of oppression really stands up near the one in Oldboy (Chan-wook Park, 2003), which is one of the most terrifying in cinema history.
This show quickly grew on me. The way it blends comedy and heartfelt emotion is superb. So yes, Please Like Me... yes, I like you, I like you a lot. I like you so much I am sad that I have to wait for series 4.
As someone, who didn't really like Vikings (it was average for me, most of the time it was boring), but loved Ivar and the overall concept of the original show, I didn't really had any expectations about this one. And I think this is the only thing that saved Valhalla from being rated 1 star.
Sadly this show was the definition of boredom. It lacked tension, it lacked really anything. The characters were too weak, they didn't stood out, however they wanted to - except Jarl Haakon, but only because she was portrayed as a black woman. If she would have been portrayed as any other viking, she could have been an other one of those average characters as her companions. Not even the main characters were interesting enough. Leif was too silent for most of the time, Prince Harald was just too much, and the actor played his role too badly, and he had the cringest scene of all time. Freydis... well, with her, her character arc could have been better, too bad this show lacks the same as its origin: good time management. Freydis was a hunter, and overnight she became a fearsome shield maiden. Prince Harald and Leif became insta-brothers just because our Prince lay with Leif's sister. One moment Freydis doesn't like Prince Harald, the next she is in love with him...
Not much is going on on the english side too, unless you count Edmond. I think he could have been a great character, but thanks to Godwin... well, let's not say just anything. And of course Godwin, I don't think he has any logic behind his acts. I mean I couldn't figure out his motives. I thknk they wanted to create somebody like the Kingmaker in Henry VIII's time, but though they chose a good actor for him, Godwin (and the whole series) has the main issue: we don't get to see their inner motives, the behind the scenes. With that, the show could be better.
So lack of good story telling, bad dramaturgy, and boring characters with average actors - Valhalla could have been a great show, the main story behind it is interesting (chatolic vs. pagan vikings), sadly it lacked even those tiny good things that the original show could stand out with (great characters, interesting myths and worldbuilding).
Not sure, if I'm going to continue with this one.
Superb show. Mysterious, good looking, odd but brilliant music cues. Esmail is a huge talent. Shea Whigham also proved he has the acting chops when given the material.
Definitely one of the better Hospital Shows. At least the Pilot suggests it.
I know that Freema Agyeman and Ryan Eggold are good Actors (Although I hated his Character in The Blacklist).
Janet Montgomery plays her Role as the ED-Doctor Laura bloom very well also.
So all in all a great cast, leaves to hope that the writers were able to keep it up after the Pilot.
We need a new great Show in a Hospital, now that Greys Anatomy is short of Flatlining and the start of the new The Resident Season was a bit weird (another hacker attack via Phone, really?!?).
Track.tv’s rating doesn’t do justice to the show. If you have enjoyed Fargo, you will most probably enjoy at least its first season. It’s no Fargo but shares the characteristic darkness and the feeling that not even the screenwriters will make beyond the season’s finale while everything having sense of purpose within the story..
I would recommend to watch it to those Fargo fans waiting for a new season of the masterpiece, I don’t think they will be disappointed.
One of the best shows of the year so far. Only 5 episodes in total & definitely a must watch. It is however a harrowing watch. Like most people, I had heard about the Chernobyl disaster, but didn`t know much beyond the surface level facts. This show really educated me, in a way that was similar to when I watched Band of Brothers. Really well written, acted & produced. It gives real respect to the thousands of men & women who worked tirelessly to bring the catastrophe under control & does an excellent job of putting you into that time period, in a country that was under communist rule. Its scary how close we came to having an even bigger catastrophe, except for the brains & heroics of those people. This series does an excellent job in reminding us how fragile our world is & how we must learn from mistakes made in our past.
Being a fan of TNG and in particular to the stoic Captain of that ship, I was very hesitant to watch this show. Added in it was being done by CBS which has had a long track of duds, I finally had to check it out. 4 episodes in and bingeing the rest, it’s wonderful. Patrick Stewart shines his talents, the storylines are thus far captivating and the graphics are splendid. Added in just enough touching upon of history of Picard to make one smile, yet not enough to rule out any new watcher of the Star Trek world, Picard is a win.
What the f*** is up with Section 31?
In ST:DS9 their mere existence was a very well kept secret. Yet here we are decades before where everyone seems not only of their existence, but also about their missions.
Not even mentioning their AI System, which kept and analysed Data for the Admiralty aiding their decision making.
I will get really angry if the staff of this show keeps mentioning the word canon. They blatantly disregard it every turn - canon-wise this Season is even worse than the one before.
It's still an entertaining show, but they really should rebrand it as something other than Star Trek as it clearly ain't anymore. It's some random Sci-Fi Show using the trademark...
This was obviously done by people that really hate Star Trek, this show is atrocious and the sad part is that they could have done a fine job because the aesthetics is fine, the writing on the other hand is horrible, they could have done a whole series in the TNG universe and we would have love it, instead we get this lame attempt at humor, you know that kind that really piss you off.
The characters are filled with your expected trope, the rebel girl that insult all regulations but that in the end somehow saves the day, therefore reinforcing the message that you have to break the rules always and not only you don't face the consequences but you actually solve the problem! The comedy relief that of course is the one that wants to follow the rules of starfleet and instead becomes the target of all the insults and fails at everything.
Then comes the "class warfare" the elite on the bridge vs all those poor people in the lower decks, and of course the ones in the bridge never solve anything making them useless, but additional to that are bad people because never acknowledged the work of the "poor" in the lower decks. Do I need to go on?
The message of optimism in Star Trek are a thing of the past, now everything is dark, unfunny and with class hate. Btw all dumb characters are white and male and all smart and witty are female and of any other color than white, very subtle there guys, very subtle.
Guess they have a villain that looks like Trump! BTW I'm not even american and I'm already tired of that crap wish I could vote Trump just out of spite. Fuck off with this garbage.
Watching this show is like driving passed an accident on the road... you know you shouldn't stare but you just cannot stop yourself from looking.
Chernobyl has all the hallmarks of a classic, and has already gone down in the history books.
It is gripping, humbling, shocking, thought provoking, beautifully filmed, edited with a razor sharp knife and so well acted.
The level of detail made it feel like they were actually filming as it happened... incredibly realistic.
English language use "to make things easier" aside, this is completely faultless telly... even down to the seriously creepy soundtrack music.
When it comes around to award season, this is going to clear up.
I give it 9.5/10.
Watch it, you will not be disappointed... just scared.
So far not as good as first contact, but it sure as hell blows discovery out of the water.
It shows that a modern Star Trek show is indeed possible. Only problem I have so far are the romulan nuns who only pledge themselves to lost causes - begs to question how they can exist, especially when they are enemies of the Tal'Shiar, one of the best intelligence agencies in the galaxy - people who always "speak true" don't tend to last against intelligence agencies .
A few other borderline believable things in there, but nothing breaking canon.
I hope they continue building this timeline.
Enjoyable but so far it's hard to overlook it's flaws . My main gripes - Too much lens flare and shaky cam . And for taking place before TOS , the technology is sure advanced . Instead of making things fittingly primitive they went whole hog on the tech to show off the special effects . I didn't expect TOS grade special effects , I did expect a fusion of old tech with upgraded effects , what we ended up with is a shockingly unbelievable level of technology paired with movie grade special effects . Don't even get me started on the changes to the Klingons .
What can you expect from a series with such a huge mistake in it's storyline? The Knights Templar entrusted with protecting ... the Holy Grail? Not even close. There is no historical connection between these two (unless you're Dan Brown). This is supposed to tell the true KT story. Historically it's worthless, but I'll be giving it a fiver for the nice costumes and medieval atmosphere.
The trailer wasn't really what I expected it to be. Not better or worse, just very different. It feels homey and I like the entanglement with the old series. It's not going to be "Enterprise: Continued". Probably, like Andrew said, we should already let go of any real Star Trek expectations. Let's just enjoy the amazement of Patrick Steward's acting :). Sir Steward's charisma rises as he ages. And is it me or hasn't Jeri Ryan aged a day?
Original, exciting and terrifying.
Series with coherent, connecting episodes.
Pretty slow some places of season 2 and 3, just keep dragging it out with show stoppers and unnatural character twists. This presents scenes that are excruciatingly boring to watch. So far I'm really enjoying season 4, though!
Characters: 10/10
It's so awesome.
###Acting, directing and technical quality: 9/10
So something weird happened here in Season 3, where everything got really abstract in terms of directing, and it seems like they are trying way too hard on the artsy-fancy-pancy in season 3. Season 3 gets 5/10 for the weird directing attempts (acting still really good).
###Progression first season: 8/10
Season 2 and 3 gets 5/10.
###Plot agility: 7/10
The plot changes slowly between the seasons, but in season 3 it all kinda fell down after a while.
I decided to give season 4 a shot, and so far so good.
###Other scores
Intensity (cliffhangers, edge of seat and the like): 9/10
Drama: 9/10
(Please like comment if helpful, and I'll keep writing them this way)
Amazing series depicting some events that, in it's own way, changed the world as we knew it. It's well-acted and concerning, especially since not much has changed since then. In the long run it's a story about a terrible man-made tragedy that effected many innocent people. The effects that a failing and distorted system filled with corruption and hubris has on those who are forced to live under it.
It's a story about the little man who has to clean up for the errors of those who control the strings and the few individuals who attempt to cut those strings in the name of justice and correctness. It's great to see a series where pretty much the "bad guys" can get sympathy and allows the viewer to see what extreme measures had to be taken by brave men who did what they had to (under duress or not).
I've never seen a documentary on Chernobyl, I vaguely remember being called in in school and not being allowed outside to play so I enjoyed this show very much. It also made me want to play STALKER again for the umpteenth time before giving up on it cause of lack of time or lack of skill.
Chernobyl is a must watch and will probably push you into the pit of all the great post-nuclear war/accident movies that are out there. Glad I got my iodine pills... Lots of good it's gonna do me or my families...
Just when you thought CBS couldn't make any worse Trek, they vomit out this garbage. Not a funny thing in it and the animation is appalling. Roddenberry must be spinning in his grave at warp 9.
Each season is way too formulaic.
I truly enjoy the first half of these seasons, but I often get bored of the pointless tasks that the characters perform during the second half of the season just because the need to fill 24 hours/episodes.
I am doggedly watching the whole season (down to the last two episodes) because I've always been a Star Trek fan and because I love Jason Isaacs and will watch him in anything. Except I can barely force myself to keep going. First of all, it's not really a Star Trek series. As others have pointed out, Star Trek is optimistic. This is dark, and violent and filled with war and torture. I find myself going to the kitchen frequently to avoid having my stomach turned. I have never seen a TV show so filled with screaming, killing, and despair.
I will watch these last two episodes just to say I finished it, but I can't imagine paying to see the next season unless I read that it takes a turn in a different direction.
Next Gen was the Star Trek I grew up with, and I became a young adult watching Voyager. So I'll just say that Picard hit some amazing nostalgia for me and kept me massively entertained through my binge this weekend. I laughed, I cheered (repeatedly!), and I cried. I hope for a season 2 because I'd love to see more of this.
I watched the first season when it aired, and thought it was a muddled mess, but based on the recommendation of friends I gave it another try, and I'm so glad I did. Season 2 the show really starts to find its footing, and pace. Another commenter mentioned the "trendy ending that doesn't answer any questions"; to that I have to say what more questions could you possibly want answered? I thought the "ending was BRILLIANT".
The entire show is about the extremes that humans will go to assign meaning to random events. There is no providence, there is no master plan, there is no destiny, and if you believe otherwise, then yes, you WILL be disappointed in this series. In the end this show is about the human mind and how it is so very fragile and so fallible; yet it shapes the world around us, and more importantly shapes those around us. We must be careful with sharing our beliefs, because they are contagious, yet in the end my amount to nothing.
As a fan of Vikings I simple had to binge this. Set 100 years later we get introduced to the next generation of mythical figures. You don't need to have watched the original to be able to get into this story, at worst you'll miss a couple "I get that reference" smirks. What is clear from the start is that this show has been produced with a little tweak to the original. Same quality sets and world building but somewhat lighter. I'd say 20% less nudity, 20% more action and the drama needs to share the spotlight with political intrigue. Looks like they have a big budget, so we see bigger battles (like the siege of Paris in the original series) as well as the skirmishes. I think it lands somewhere between the original Vikings and The last Kingdom. If you are a fan of either I can highly recommend this season.
As a Turkish person i thought that it is really non-sided and great everything was good the costumes the acting the special effects the battle sequences there was some flaws of course i thought Guistiniani had more screen time than it should have and Aksemsettin was not present in the show at all (he was always with Sultan he was his teacher and mentore he convinced the Mehmed to capture the city when Mehmed thought of giving up) other than that it was great i recommend you to watch it it feeds you with information.
The both empires were great; Ottoman and Byzantium. In this Tv serie there might be some problems about historical reality... I mean we cannot consider the tv serie is a historical documentary. But as a tv serie it was good. As a Turk, I believe all countries make movies or tv series that their army so great, so mercy and so strong. Yes it is good to watch if you are a nationalist and your nationality so great in the movies. But we should of course know the reality. If we can't see the reality we can't be friend. I see all countries find bad stories about their enemies. Actually governments like it, because nationalism is a key for strong governments. In real we are just humans, we cant decide that which nationality we can have. So there are two type peoples. Bad people and good people.
Overall, I was very impressed with the way all the elements of the production came together and very effectively created an ever-present, brooding tension. Good performances by a very capable cast with the scenes between Julia Roberts and Stephan James being of particular note. Also, I believe Bobby Cannavale is very underappreciated (as was his recent series Vinyl) and his work in this show is solid, as is Shea Whigham's. Sam Esmail, of Mr. Robot fame, does some great things behind the camera – framing, lens choices, and camera movement – and makes some stylistic choices which create additional visual interest without being completely over the top – something he did quite well in the episodes of Mr. Robot he directed. Damned interesting story presented well on all fronts. I highly recommend it, but be forewarned, this is not a show for short attention span viewers. The pace is often slow and deliberate, which for me, just added to the tension and anxiety. As a psychological thriller, it’s supposed to be uncomfortable, and I felt it achieved this very effectively throughout.
This show has a lot of flaws, but the dialogue is especially horrible. My god, whoever approved this script needs to be fired or never let work on a title as big a Star Trek.
Also, that constant flare from every single light source. Whoever thought that's cool, stay away from sci-fi shows.
There is no noise. You get thrown in a world with a simple explanation on how it came to be and how it works. You know who the enemy is and what he is after. Its that movie night show people want but rarely get. Beyond that the cinematography is top notch the actors are good and the idea is unique.
Wilson have Cancer, now House should be diagnosed with Lupus, and that would be the major irony of this show
