Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

[Alan]

I think Saville was more likeable than these utter arsebags.

[Animalmother]

Resident Alien S2 has a few episodes out. Just watched the first one and it's much the same which is good. Alan Tudyk is just great in this.

Peacemaker, first season just ended and I loved every minute of it. Violent, irreverent and very funny. The opening credits are a work of genius

[Raid]

The Witcher

I've lost count of the number of times I've said "fuuuuuuck" in surprise while watching season 2 of this. It probably happened in more than half the episodes. I think I saw comments closer to the release that it wasn't as good as the first season because it was better as individual adventures, whereas season 2 is a continuous story, but I'm not sure I agree. I cared more about the characters when I was seeing them from day to day, rather than dropping in on them from time to time. It's definitely less confusing than the first season, although there is a bit of a weird disconnect between the two.

Spoiler

I appreciate that they couldn't exactly stop Freya Allan from aging, and filming had to be postponed due to the pandemic for a year or two, but I'm seemingly not the only person who thought Ciri had been recast. Her makeup and hair change so much that they could easily have called it a time skip and aged the character too, but instead the first episode happens directly after the end of season 1. It's not exactly a problem, but I feel they could have done more to disguise the delay.

But other than that it was bloody excellent. I really am loving the fiction, to the point where I'm considering yet again trying to play The Witcher 3; a game I think I've bounced off 3 times now, but am now far more invested in the world of. I probably ought to stick one of the books on my reading list.

Forgive me as I don't know the names of any of the monsters, but that hideous skull-headed millipede thing that pursues Ciri through the forest was seriously unnerving. Connecting the CGI with the real actors has been a strong point of this series for me, because they obviously couldn't do a lot of this with practical effects. The CG animation and real choreography are superb.

[Sly Boots]

Man, if you like the TV show, which I've altogether given up on at this point, you'd frickin' love Witcher 3 and the novels.

[Raid]

What's the reason you gave up on it? I'm dimly aware that it deviates from the novels quite a bit.

[Sly Boots]

What's the reason you gave up on it? I'm dimly aware that it deviates from the novels quite a bit.

Yeah, the deviation - big character changes and adds loads of stuff not in the books or games that personally I found a bit pointless and boring. Yen's character is almost completely different. The only reason I'd continue watching is because Cavill is dead-on as Geralt, but everything else just feels meh or worse.

[Wrathbone]

I really enjoyed it, but then I've not read Blood of Elves so I had nothing to compare it against.

[Pew-Pew]

Agree with Sly, I was quite disappointed by Season 2. It felt like late stage Game of Thrones. Bad writing, characters acting weird (especially Yennefer, who acts like a child in the show), nonsense plot devices and characters teleporting across the world.

[Raid]

From the perspective of someone that hasn't read the books, I don't really agree with that criticism. I wouldn't have said the writing was outstanding, but it was adequate or better. I don't recall anyone acting particularly out of character from what has been established in the show (maybe the relationship between Yennifer and Tissaia improving, but given the time period the show seems to cover and the events of season one, I think that can be explained). Nonsense plot devices? I'm not sure which bits you're referring to, but in a world where "a wizard did it" seems to be an acceptable explanation, I'm not sure it sticks. And teleporting? The problem in Game of Thrones was that characters would turn up on the other side of the world with no explanation for how they got there so quickly, but it's established at the start of The Witcher that it's an ability that mages possess, and one that we actively see them using. I'm not sure it's a good comparison.

[Pew-Pew]

No, I didn't mean literally teleporting. The characters cross the world via horse/foot seemingly instantly, GoT style. Especially apparent when people go to Kaer Morhen which is reeeeeeeally far away from other stuff. As in, weeks of travel. And they get there and still haven't talked about the issue that they had before they left. There are several examples of this with them moving around other parts of the world that also don't make sense really.

[Raid]

Hawkeye

Ehhh, it was fine I guess. I think I'm in the minority for actually liking Clint Barton in the MCU; his entire concept is ridiculous, sure, but I think he plays a good role in the Avengers films. They spend a decent amount of time in this 6-episode series doing fairly silly stuff; there's a recurring set of LARPer characters, the antagonist goons are comic relief, and the sword-obsessed future father in law is right out of a 30s adventure film (or at least that's the energy Tony Dalton brings to the role, and he's probably the best thing in it).

It's just a bit, well, plain. Appropriate for Barton perhaps, but there's little imagination to it. I'm not really sure what else they could have done with a series based around Hawkeye, I suppose it delivers on the concept.

[Lenny Solidus]

[Animalmother]

I have no clue what that is except maybe it's Korean...

[Hatredsheart]

I have no clue what that is except maybe it's Korean...

[Animalmother]

Ah ok then. Must admit I got about a minute into that trailer then completely lost interest and stopped watching.