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Television Round Up
Apr. 30th, 2018 09:47 pm1. Gave up on Timeless -- I just don't like Eric Kripke and Shawn Murphy's writing. I didn't care about anyone and got bored. Did like Rufus, but he's just not enough. Almost gave up on The Expanse -- because I can't seem to get into it again. I'm about ten episodes behind now. I saw the first season and the first part of S2. Then lost interest. Haven't picked up interest again, so have saved 10 episodes and counting to my queue. I'm only holding on to it, because it is sci-fi space opera, and I might love it if I get in the right mood.
2. Altered Carbon did however hold my interest. Very atmospheric, reminds a lot of BladeRunner and the short-lived Total Recall series. Only seen one episode so far, but it's definitely compelling, if a tad on the ultra-violent side of the fence. (See BladeRunner).
What's it about?
Eh. A convict is released from prison to solve a mind-bending murder. That's the short description.
It's a science fiction series that reminds me a lot of work by Bester, Dick and Asimov. Anyhow, it takes place in the distant future, think about a couple of hundred years in the future, where people only truly die if their consciousness is destroyed. The consciousness is housed in a disc in their brain stem. So to kill them, you have to destroy the disc - shot to the brain stem and to the head.
Otherwise, the disc is simply removed and put on file until a sleeve (body) becomes available to slide it in. (That's the Altered Carbon of the title, I think.) The protagonist was a terrorist of sorts, who in filtered worlds and fought wars, he could adapt to any environment and learn any language. Anyhow, he's brought out of prison, where he's slept the sleep of the dead, by a billionaire who lives among the clouds. This guy brought him out of deep sleep to solve a murder, his murder (the billionaire not our protagonist). The billionaire's disc was obliterated, but he'd backed himself up on the satellite drive that he owned. Someone tried to hack into it too and destroy it, but failed. So the billionaire survived but can't remember anything. The authorities think he either killed himself or his wife did it. He knows he didn't try to kill himself. So he is hiring the protagonist, Kovitch, to do it. Kovitch turns him down, he says, okay take a day to think it over, you've forgotten what it is to be alive. Meanwhile the cop who took him out of the prison wants him back in, because she views him as a really bad dude.
That's the set-up. It's sci-fi noir like Bladerunner and most of Philip K. Dick's stuff. Which technically speaking is right up my alley. I did however find it hard to hear what anyone was saying.
So we shall see.
3. Lost in Space - really held my interest. More so than anything else, which I found to be surprising, since I did not like the movie nor the previous series in which it had been adapted from.
This is actually pretty good. Well cast, gripping, and with a lot of interesting/intriguing sub-plots and back story. Plus a cool if somewhat creepy robot.
And I love the female characters, of which there are several, and the kids. So far the only weak links are the two actors I expected to like the most -- Tobias Stevens and the gal playing the nefarious Dr. Smith.
Set-up? The Robinson family, after Earth becomes increasingly uninhabitable due to a meteor strike, joins colonists on the Resolute. They have to pass all sorts of tests to get on the Resolute. (We don't see them, they are just referred to.) Something happens, apparently a robot goes nuts, and everyone has to evacuate. The Robinsons don't know this. They crash land on a planet, and run into all sorts of survival issues. It's very suspenseful and a bit thrilling. The story is told in the present and through flashback. I'd call it a character driven survival tale.
Surprisingly enjoyable. Seen about two episodes so far. Well-paced, and holds the attention. Unlike the other television shows I tried today. I tried Jessica Jones S2 and was bored fifteen minutes into it. My attention kept drifting. This thing held it.
4. Killing Eve
Stars Jodi Comer, Sandra Oh, and Finola Hughes. Is rather good. Sort of funny in places, and painful in others. They killed off a favorite character this week which annoyed me. I saw it coming a mile away, which made it even more annoying. For once I'd like a television show to tease an obvious character death and not do it.
I knew it was necessary -- to motivate the protagonist and show her the danger of the situation, but still.
This is a thriller of sorts. Eve (Sandra OH) is an MI5 profiler who figures out that the assassin who killed a Polish diplomat and the witness to the crime is a woman, not a man, like everyone else believes. Anyhow, she ends up running into the assassin. Which means they meet. And she won't let it go -- so Finola Hughes recruits her for MI6 with the sole purpose of tracking the assassin, who has eluded interpol. Meanwhile the Assassin, Villenille, is getting reckless and cocky. Pissing off her handlers. And has taken an interest in Eve. They've begun to track each other.
2. Altered Carbon did however hold my interest. Very atmospheric, reminds a lot of BladeRunner and the short-lived Total Recall series. Only seen one episode so far, but it's definitely compelling, if a tad on the ultra-violent side of the fence. (See BladeRunner).
What's it about?
Eh. A convict is released from prison to solve a mind-bending murder. That's the short description.
It's a science fiction series that reminds me a lot of work by Bester, Dick and Asimov. Anyhow, it takes place in the distant future, think about a couple of hundred years in the future, where people only truly die if their consciousness is destroyed. The consciousness is housed in a disc in their brain stem. So to kill them, you have to destroy the disc - shot to the brain stem and to the head.
Otherwise, the disc is simply removed and put on file until a sleeve (body) becomes available to slide it in. (That's the Altered Carbon of the title, I think.) The protagonist was a terrorist of sorts, who in filtered worlds and fought wars, he could adapt to any environment and learn any language. Anyhow, he's brought out of prison, where he's slept the sleep of the dead, by a billionaire who lives among the clouds. This guy brought him out of deep sleep to solve a murder, his murder (the billionaire not our protagonist). The billionaire's disc was obliterated, but he'd backed himself up on the satellite drive that he owned. Someone tried to hack into it too and destroy it, but failed. So the billionaire survived but can't remember anything. The authorities think he either killed himself or his wife did it. He knows he didn't try to kill himself. So he is hiring the protagonist, Kovitch, to do it. Kovitch turns him down, he says, okay take a day to think it over, you've forgotten what it is to be alive. Meanwhile the cop who took him out of the prison wants him back in, because she views him as a really bad dude.
That's the set-up. It's sci-fi noir like Bladerunner and most of Philip K. Dick's stuff. Which technically speaking is right up my alley. I did however find it hard to hear what anyone was saying.
So we shall see.
3. Lost in Space - really held my interest. More so than anything else, which I found to be surprising, since I did not like the movie nor the previous series in which it had been adapted from.
This is actually pretty good. Well cast, gripping, and with a lot of interesting/intriguing sub-plots and back story. Plus a cool if somewhat creepy robot.
And I love the female characters, of which there are several, and the kids. So far the only weak links are the two actors I expected to like the most -- Tobias Stevens and the gal playing the nefarious Dr. Smith.
Set-up? The Robinson family, after Earth becomes increasingly uninhabitable due to a meteor strike, joins colonists on the Resolute. They have to pass all sorts of tests to get on the Resolute. (We don't see them, they are just referred to.) Something happens, apparently a robot goes nuts, and everyone has to evacuate. The Robinsons don't know this. They crash land on a planet, and run into all sorts of survival issues. It's very suspenseful and a bit thrilling. The story is told in the present and through flashback. I'd call it a character driven survival tale.
Surprisingly enjoyable. Seen about two episodes so far. Well-paced, and holds the attention. Unlike the other television shows I tried today. I tried Jessica Jones S2 and was bored fifteen minutes into it. My attention kept drifting. This thing held it.
4. Killing Eve
Stars Jodi Comer, Sandra Oh, and Finola Hughes. Is rather good. Sort of funny in places, and painful in others. They killed off a favorite character this week which annoyed me. I saw it coming a mile away, which made it even more annoying. For once I'd like a television show to tease an obvious character death and not do it.
I knew it was necessary -- to motivate the protagonist and show her the danger of the situation, but still.
This is a thriller of sorts. Eve (Sandra OH) is an MI5 profiler who figures out that the assassin who killed a Polish diplomat and the witness to the crime is a woman, not a man, like everyone else believes. Anyhow, she ends up running into the assassin. Which means they meet. And she won't let it go -- so Finola Hughes recruits her for MI6 with the sole purpose of tracking the assassin, who has eluded interpol. Meanwhile the Assassin, Villenille, is getting reckless and cocky. Pissing off her handlers. And has taken an interest in Eve. They've begun to track each other.