this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2024
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[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

I was to about to say the same in less eloquent way. It is worth noting though that The Expanse had both writers of the books heavily involved in the adaptation. You could also see that they drew from Game of Thrones did things, especially with consolidating characters.

I also wouldn't be so fast to judge some series that are far from being over like Rings of Power and Wheel of Time. First one is meh but not offensive. WoT needed heavy cuts to the story because of how long it is but it's still very watchable.

[–] okamiueru 8 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

Ah, I loved Wheel of Time. I'm making an effort to forget about it so I'm suddenly surprised by season 3 being done. The deviations from the books didn't ruin it for me, like it seems it did for many. I just found it unnecessary, and mentioned it more as an example of bad writing, and did not mean to imply that all of it was bad. Far from it. Great actors all around, and amazing visual direction, oh, and costume designers! The forsaken, especially Ishamael... the clothing. It's so good, I want to figure out who worked in it. And I don't even care much about that stuff either, usually. They did so many things, absolutely brilliantly. Ending of S1 was very anticlimactic, so I get why that that in particular put people off.

I havent watched Rings of Power. Maybe I should, based on what you're saying.

I didn't understand what you meant by drawing on GoT for consolidating characters. Apologies.

PS: In case I gave the impression of being a miserable piece:

  • I loved S1 of the Witcher, and largely enjoyed S2 and even S3, though that took concerted effort.
  • 3BP was fine, and entertaining enough. It has the potential to be great, but not with the lack of.... insight from D&D.
  • The Expance is one of the best sci-fi series made, and anyone remotely interested should see it, and also keep watching even if the first season isn't entirely convincing. OK to call it quits if S2 isn't.
  • GoT went down hill already from S5. The torture porn thing was just... unnecessary and... two dimensional evil that requires a telling lack of imagination.
  • Arcane is a masterclass in... pretty much everything. Especially character development, and as a counterpoint to the above: nuanced "evil".
  • The Gentlemen TV series by G. Ritchie is a fun time, and imo underrated.
  • Everything JJ has written is vapid shit.
[–] John_McMurray 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Idk who wrote Fringe, but JJ was involved and that show was great

[–] okamiueru 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Hm. He did have a part in it, but I don't know how much. I haven't seen it. I suppose I was too bombastic, and should correct it to "everything JJ has written, that I've seen, has been vapid shit".

Last time I ranted about JJ, someone mentioned that he had made Person of Interest. So, I watched all of it. It was largely pretty good, except for the very weird filler episodes every season, that very much worked against the overarching plot. In any case, turned out that Jonathan Nolan wrote it, who is pretty good at that stuff. JJ is a decent director, so I don't mind that part.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I havent watched Rings of Power. Maybe I should, based on what you're saying.

I said it was meh but I guess it's one of the most positive things you can read about it on the internet :D It's okay, baffling at times but has some unexpectedly interesting stuff like early hobbits that make it worth a shot.

I didn't understand what you meant by drawing on GoT for consolidating characters. Apologies.

Game of Thrones as a book has massive amount of characters which doesn't translate well into TV. HBO show relied on some characters taking over roles of others to reduce the overall amount by a lot. The Expanse did something similar although to a lesser extent, for example with Drummer taking on story roles of Bull and Michio Pa.

The Expance is one of the best sci-fi series made, and anyone remotely interested should see it, and also keep watching even if the first season isn't entirely convincing. OK to call it quits if S2 isn't.

I keep seeing this opinion and I must be a weirdo since I think S1 is the best and not very representative of the rest of this series. I must admit I'm a sucker for good world building and scifi detective stories. I almost felt catfished with where the story went from there, thankfully it was awesome on its own too.

[–] okamiueru 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

I'm sort of with you on S1 of the Expanse. Miller is such a good character. But, as you mention, it has a very different focus and vibe, and doesn't give the right impression for what comes later. The acting also gets a lot better, as it's sometimes a little bit rough in S1. If I remember correctly, the writers mentioned drawing inspiration from Aliens, which reflects on the more claustrophobic... horror like thematic. None of which stays after S1. So, I tend to plead for people to stick with it though S2.

If it was the opposite shift, that is, "fantastical" in S1, and detective noir in S2 and onwards, I'd probably say the same thing about sticking through S1 even if it didn't hit home.

That said, I do enjoy the more fantastical theme... But Miller... Doors and corners... Mmm, I won't spoil anything for anyone. I'm confident you know exactly what I mean.

Thanks for the clarification on the GoT/Expanse. Hadn't thought about that.