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What Show are you currently watching?

Discussion in 'Television' started by Use the Falchion, Oct 28, 2018.

  1. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

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    IT IS TIME!

    After a lengthy delay, I finally watched the final episode of Miss Sherlock, and now I can do my three-way comparison of the modern Sherlock television adaptations!*

    upload_2022-4-30_18-57-32.jpeg upload_2022-4-30_18-57-51.jpeg upload_2022-4-30_18-58-16.jpeg
    (Interestingly enough, Sherlock is always on the left.)

    Now, the major question that people may ask is "which is the best," and that's frankly not a question I'm interested in answering at this time. I recommend that people watch a little of each and decide for themselves which one they prefer, but also try to see the strengths of the others as well. What I plan on doing is breaking down each show by its shared major characters, tone, and specific relationships. But each show is special in its own right, and I heartily recommend all three to fans of the world's greatest (non-superhero) detective. So, let's get started!


    The first thing to discuss is tone, since this will probably determine whether or not you watch the show. Each show is a little different in its purpose and vastly different in its tone.

    Elementary is a standard detective drama. Sherlock and the police are given a case, and they solve it within roughly 45 minutes. There may be some background drama stuff, there may not. It's pretty formulaic in terms of the genre, but it's a good one. However, there is a downside. This version of Sherlock isn't as smart as his peers, since the show's goal is to make the audience feel just as smart. Like a good detective show, most of the clues to find the murderer can be spotted early on, making rewatches pretty fun. But that also means we don't get to see Sherlock be as brilliant as we desire, because we need to figure out the cases alongside him. The tone of the show isn't too light, but it rarely gets super dark or gritty either. It's a nice constant, and stays that way for most of the show's run.

    BBC's Sherlock is the exact opposite - we don't really care about the who or the why, we want to know the how and see Sherlock solve it. We want to see Sherlock's brilliance, and it shows. This show isn't always a standard detective drama either, or at least not in the American sense. Yes, it's a detective drama, but it's also more, if that makes sense. The tone of this show is the same as Elementary, but a bit darker in terms of overall feeling at times. The humor is far more wry, and the darkness isn't the same type of darkness, but it's still pretty constant.

    Miss Sherlock is a weird mix. We can solve the who, but the how and why are totally Sherlock's area of expertise. Ergo, we feel smart when we figure it out, but we're never as smart as Sherlock. The tone of this show is WILD. Episodes can start or end in vastly different tones than how they begin or end. Tones can even change from scene to scene. We can start one episode with a baby crying as her mother stands over her with a bloody mouth and the very next scene will be Watson shopping for a date or something. One that really stuck out to me was towards the ending. Sherlock and Watson had just finished a case and were given some high quality chocolate candy as a thank you. Sherlock and her brother were bickering about what type of tea to have with the chocolate, and both pester Watson to go get some. She goes out, but while she's out she has a PTSD flashback to her time abroad and more or less collapses in tears in the street. It was VERY jarring.



    And now onto the main man and/or woman, Sherlock!

    upload_2022-4-30_19-16-16.jpeg

    Starting in release order, BBC's Sherlock set the bar for what Sherlock should be and how he should be portrayed, casting such a long shadow that every other iteration since has been compared to him - and they usually fail. Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of Sherlock is now iconic. But what about the character himself?
    BBC Sherlock's Sherlock is a cold man. He's a great detective and has a solid community, but he is an island unto himself. He's easily one of the most brilliant people in the show, to the point that the show seems to be about his brilliance, as mentioned above. He's also a man-child at times. Sherlock is petty, petulant, and immature because he has no reason to be mature most of the time, still, it's usually not anything that people are too offended by, and Sherlock himself usually can figure out if he crossed a line or not. Sherlock describes himself as a high-functioning sociopath, but the more the show goes on, the less that seems to be the case. Still, when compared to other Sherlocks, his lack of morality shows. Sherlock basically even quotes this in the final episode of Season 2 in one of the character's best scenes.
    Sherlock's relationship with Watson is an interesting one. Like most modern adaptations, Watson is more of a morality pet early on, and is only revealed to be a friend under the most dire of circumstances. Watson doesn't really push Sherlock to be a "good man," the arc of the first two seasons more or less, but being around Watson does form Sherlock into one. Sherlock is also utterly absorbed when it comes to Watson, showing surprise about some of the things revealed about Watson in later seasons. But this friendship is one Sherlock would walk through the gates of hell for, and it shows.
    Sherlock's relationship with Mycroft interestingly mirrors Sherlock's relationship with John to a lesser degree. Mycroft loves Sherlock, keeping tabs on his younger brother out of both a sense of obligation and as a tether to the real world itself. (John works as a morality pet to both brothers, amusingly.) However, Mycroft isn't above deriding his brother's inferior intelligence.
    Sherlock's relationships with women are far more amusing but also far more wholesome. Sherlock adores and respects Mrs. Hudson, comes to find a kindred spirit in Mary, and usually treats Molly with some sort of respect. (Although Molly deserves a better man than Sherlock.)
    Moriarity will be discussed below.


    Next up is Jonny Lee Miller's Sherlock.
    upload_2022-4-30_19-17-36.jpeg

    JLM's Sherlock is weird in the best of ways. The best way I can describe him in my head is grunge. He's a twitchy oddball of a man, tattooed and in possession of hypersensitive senses that help his detective work along with his intellect. He's a more physical Sherlock, moving to sniff some item or break some artifact for the case or even just twitching his hands. But he's also a broken Sherlock, and that brokenness adds a depth to him that BBC's Sherlock simply doesn't have. You see, unlike other Sherlock's, this version had his relationship with drugs be taken to its logical conclusion, forcing him into rehab before the show started, and having him come out of rehab a little while before the pilot. Sherlock at his most emotional times describes himself as an addict and opens up about the complications and struggles that puts him in contact with. (At his least emotional times and early on, Sherlock refuses to think of himself this way and believes he's above a need for rehabilitation or companionship.)
    This Sherlock possesses a strong sense of justice and morals, instead of choosing weird experiences like Miss Sherlock/Sara does or shooting the wall like BBC's Sherlock does, JLM's Sherlock would rather dig into cold cases and solve them to keep his mind busy. (He does do weird experiments in the morgue, but far fewer of them.) He's not just a detective because it's interesting, he's a detective because it's a proper use of his skills while also being interesting. His level of immaturity is also toned down compared to his counterparts. As with all three, it's mostly relegated to being with Watson but this time, he does show great levels of kindness and thoughtfulness to his Watson as well, even in the first episode.
    JLM's Sherlock also has a larger range of relationships that are mostly better than his counterpoints. Mrs. Hudson and Watson are constants, but JLM's Sherlock is also on great terms with his liaisons at in the NYPD, Detective Bell and Captain Gregson. Both men are important in Sherlock's life and are men he can call friends. JLM's Sherlock's relationship with Mycroft is far more bittersweet - Sherlock doesn't really respect Mycroft, and Mycroft has some very real grievances against Sherlock, but as always, the older brother loves his younger sibling.
    Lastly and most importantly is intelligence. Of the three Sherlocks, I'd posit that this one is the least intelligent. This is because - and as usually shown in television - there's an inverse relationship between intelligence and empathy or emotional connection. BBC's Sherlock is easily the most intelligent, but he always stands apart from humanity. Miss Sherlock is next on the list, while she can blend in, she's utterly uninterested in specific formalities and ways of life. JLM's Sherlock has clear empathy, shows remorse at times, and even great shame. He gets ecstatic, angry, and amused. This Sherlock is a human being, and one that is reachable at times, despite that prickly exterior.


    Lastly is Yuko Takeuchi's Sherlock from Miss Sherlock.

    upload_2022-4-30_19-33-15.jpeg

    Sara "Sherlock" Futaba, is easily the most interesting of the three to me. Of the three, she's also the most immature, which makes her hard to like at times. To summarize Sara, I'd say she's the distaff counterpart to BBC's Sherlock. Both of them have an impeccable sense of fashion when they desire, both of them are singularly brilliant to the point of annoyance, and both of them are really, REALLY immature. Sara takes the cake though, feeling downright abusive at times, but she does care for her friend and peers. Sara has no sense of personal space, which creates for some interesting situations. She's also probably the least moral of the three, gleefully talking about a serial killer's tragic motivation in front of them as she solves the case rather than...well, any other emotion.
    It's hard to describe her, since nearly everything that can be said about her went to BBC's Sherlock.
    Sara's relationship with her brother Kento Futaba - who of course isn't named Mycroft. That's not a Japanese name! - is far better than her male counterparts. Kento openly cares about his sister, and is even willing to help her out whenever she needs it. The two have a fun banter, and it's clear that the siblings are close.
    Sadly, we'll never see more of Yuko's Sherlock, as the actress tragically committed suicide in 2020.

    So, who is the best Sherlock? The winner is...me, because I'm going to cheat!

    The one who personifies Sherlock the best is of course BBC's Sherlock. He more or less paved the way for the other two and is clearly the one people will remember and enjoy seeing the most. However, if you like him, then you'll probably really like Yuko's Sherlock/Sara almost just as much. While this is about character portrayal, Cumberbatch's Sherlock is the bottom when it comes to emotional scenes. There are some very powerful scenes in Miss Sherlock and Elementary that Cumberbatch was never really given the chance to pull off.

    Yuko's Sherlock is probably the best detective pound for pound, however. She's far from the smartest, nor are her cases as impressive as BBC's or as voluminous as JLM's, but she never really gets outplayed; but when she does, she strikes back with a vengeance that her male counterparts really don't. She wins, and that's not something either of her counterparts always do.

    Lastly, JLM's Sherlock is the better man. Not only is he a gentleman, but he's also considerate of his friends' feelings and inspires them to be their best, just as they inspire him. This is a Sherlock you could be proud to call an acquaintance if you can deal with him, and a friend if you're lucky.


    Just as there's no Shepard without Vakarian, there's no Sherlock without Watson! We'll go in reverse this time.

    Shihori Kanjiya's Wato Tachibana, or Wato-san aka Watson is a tough woman.

    upload_2022-4-30_20-3-43.jpeg

    Unlike her peers, while Wato-san was never really a doctor, she did spend time volunteering in Yemen before working on cases with Sherlock. She's easily the Good Cop to Sherlock's Bad Cop, and a morality tether to Sherlock's immature flightiness. Wato-san always tries her hardest to empathize with the victims and understand the perpetrators. She also tries her best to be Sherlock's friend, despite Sherlock's constant denial of their friendship. She's a caring soul, and she even tries to solve a case or two! Unfortunately, this show goes out of its way to break Wato-san. She has it far rougher than I think any other Watson, and it's hard to see at times. But because of that, her we love and respect her. Wato-san is also the best acted of the three in my opinion.


    Unfortunately, Wato-san just can't hold a candle to Lucy Liu's Watson.
    upload_2022-4-30_20-7-18.jpeg

    Joan Watson, former surgeon, current sober companion, budding consulting detective (if Sherlock has anything to say). Joan starts at a very different place than where she ends, but her journey is glorious. While keeping some constants, such as being the emotional tether and morality pet to Sherlock, Joan starts and ends in a different place with Sherlock than her counterparts. Joan starts out as Sherlock's sober companion, hired by Sherlock's father after Sherlock's time in rehab. Right off the bat the dynamic is justified and explored - Joan is there to make Sherlock a better man because she's paid to help him, not because she wants to stick around. However, this changes as the show goes on. Lucy Liu's acting isn't quite up to part with her counterparts, and she dresses in some styles that would fit a younger woman (they don't look bad on her, but they don't perfectly fit her either), but her character's role and capability more than make up for it.
    (Also, Suit Watson > Blonde Watson any day of the week.)


    Lastly is Martin Freeman's Watson!

    upload_2022-4-30_20-13-18.jpeg

    Martin's Watson feels like the prime example of what a modern Watson should at least start as. He's a former military doctor who came back and weirdly found himself missing the action, so he's more or less all on board when he meets Sherlock and gets sucked into an adventure. He stays because he likes the danger, unlike Wato-san who stays to help Sherlock become a better woman or Joan who stays because she's a paid sober companion. But Watson's presence changes Sherlock and Mycroft for the better, and the two become the best of friends, and that's what each adaptation needs to make sure to include. Martin's Sherlock gets a lot of good heartfelt and emotional moments, and his acting is great, but I wish he did more as a partner on adventures.

    Ultimately, when it comes down to who is the best Watson, Joan wins handily. Not only does she push Sherlock to be his best, but he also changes her as well. The show goes out of its way to give Joan arcs and development both with and without Sherlock, making her a true partner to the consulting detective, not just the Watson.


    The section is far shorter - Best Sherlock-Watson relationship

    The clear winner here is again Elementary, as it does more with the two in terms of relationship growth and change over its run than the other two. Miss Sherlock and BBC's Sherlock more or less go from "I tolerate you" to "you're my one and only friend" with a LOT of homoerotic subtext underneath it all. (Which is both hilarious and annoying, since Watson is historically and openly straight in both shows, but an overwhelming majority of the fans ship the two regardless. Then again, shipping is anything but rational.) Elementary doesn't have the erotic subtext, but it starts out as an unwilling sober partner and client relationship, to a more willing one, to friends, and beyond after that. The two form a family unit with Gregson and Bell, and it's sweet to see. The biggest problem in the relationship is that Joan becomes an audience translator of Sherlock a lot of the time. Instead of letting the audience figure out what Sherlock is saying or implying, the script has Joan go "are you saying XYZ?" It happens roughly once an episode, and it can get really grating once you notice it. But beyond that, this relationship is superb.

    Lastly, since I'm really running out of steam here, is Moriarity. Now, I'm not going to talk about Moriarity in specifics, because there are MASSIVE MASSIVE spoilers involved in each one, so I'll keep this short and sweet and just post the winners.

    Best Moriarity - Miss Sherlock. Don't get me wrong, every Moriarity is evil and diabolical, but this one is malicious and cruel. I knew it going in, but the final two episodes really saw how cruel Moriarity was, and... yeah, he takes the cake.

    Best Moriarity Reveal - BBC Sherlock and Elementary tie. For BBC it started one way and then went a completely different way. Now that I've seen all three shows, I'm curious about how it would have been if it was completely different, but who knows. Elementary had a reveal that had my parents' jaws nearly on the floor, and had my mom stay awake for four straight episodes. (After a full day of stuff, she's usually game for an episode and a half, maybe even two, but four is impressive.)

    Best Acted Moriarity - BBC Sherlock. Every scene is just a delight.

    Smartest Moriarity - This is a tough one, since all of them are as smart or if not smarter than their Sherlock. Maybe a tie? BBC's Moriarity is clearly smarter than Sherlock, but only one of the Moriarity actually get Sherlock to admit defeat at some point, and only one really breaks Sherlock. Which one is up to y'all to figure out!



    And that's it! I know I could have done more such as best theme (Miss Sherlock or BBC), best cases (depends on the type of case), best ending (Elementary), or at least expanded on more, but I really want people to make up their own minds about these shows. My goal in sharing this was to offer a little more insight into each one over the things that might matter most to people, and maybe encourage a person to try one or two of them out if they hadn't. Hopefully it worked.

    (And lets all remember that there doesn't need to be a deriding of one show for another. Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch have been friends since long before either of them played the role of Sherlock, and both of them were on stage as Frankenstein and Frankenstein's Monster in 2011. If they can be friends, then we can be peaceful about preferring one over the other.



    *Eagle-eyed viewers may have noticed I left off House. And they'd be right. I didn't feel like adding it, so there. But House is also a great Sherlock adaptation, closer in style to Elementary but in tone to BBC's Sherlock.
     
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  2. LadyMusashi

    LadyMusashi Archwizard Woo-Woo-in-Chief
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    I am watching several Asian (Chinese and Thai) shows that you wouldn't know anything about.

    I had to pick one Western drama to keep me warm until Obi-Wan arrives now that Moon Knight ended, so I watched the pilot for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and it was excellent, it has a real original series/Next Generation vibe. I haven't seen Discovery or Picard and had no problem following. If it remains episodic, I'll most likely continue to watch it.
     
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  3. Olivia Kenobi

    Olivia Kenobi Rebel General

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    exposing myself with this one but any Heartstopper fans out there...

    yes I enjoy cheesy netflix romcoms. is this a surprise to anyone?
     
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  4. Messi

    Messi G.O.A.T.

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    Over the last months the shows that I'm watching are for children. My 2 years old daughter make me watch the shows with her. Her favourites:

    - Star Wars Forces of Destiny
    - Paw Patrol
    - Simon
    - Trotro
    - Minnie Bowtique
    - Baby Shark cartoons, all of them...hahaha
    - Cocomelon
     
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  5. LadyMusashi

    LadyMusashi Archwizard Woo-Woo-in-Chief
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    I don't have much time for one hour shows unless they are weekly so I'm currently watching Obi-Wan and Strange New Worlds. But, I need something in between work, something short and sweet so I finally started watching The Bad Batch. So far, so good, I'm just three episodes in.
     
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  6. Angelman

    Angelman Servant of the Whills -- Slave to the Muses
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    The Responder

    It’s a socio-realistic crime drama starring Martin Freeman, about a copper struggling with mental health and a slew of bad decisions that keeps getting worse. And there’s no letting up, ever. This might be the bleakest thing I’ve ever watched, like a train wreck on fire that never stops going.

    Imagine something like… I don’t know… Pulp Fiction – (although this bears very little actual resemblance to PF) – but Pulp Fiction without any of the wacky humor, no fun nostalgia vibe or crazy anachronisms, no joy of any kind, just 6 hours of peoples’ lives being ruined… yeah, that’s what The Responder is.

    On the plus side, the show is marvelously acted, as you would expect from a Martin Freeman series, and it is a powerful if rather straight-forward story and it is quite good indeed. But we warned, you won’t have a good time watching it...

    Good luck.
    2377_the-responder-apple-16-9.png
     
    #666 Angelman, Jun 26, 2022
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  7. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

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    Castle, because Brandon Sanderson and Dan Wells talked about it in their podcast and I had been eyeing it for a week or so before that point. I've known about the show for years, but I've never really watched it until this week. I'm enjoying it. It's lighter than Elementary, but it's still in that same "not so grizzly crime drama." It's flirting with being a Cozy Murder Mystery, but I'm not sure if it's there yet, since I don't have a lot of experience in that genre.
    (And yes, a Brandon Sanderson update post will happen soon. Maybe this week, maybe next week. I'm not sure.)

     
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  8. Angelman

    Angelman Servant of the Whills -- Slave to the Muses
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    stranger-things-season-4-every-ending-has-a-beginning-i129581.jpg
    Just finished the 4th season of Stranger Things, after having also rewatched the three previous season sin short order in preparation for the 4th, and I thought this one was quite special. It had scope and vision far beyond the previous 3, and the acting was top notch, too. After a somewhat, IMHO, lackluster and more-of-the-same 2nd & 3rd season, I find seanson 4 to be right up there with the 1st one. It is also very cool that they give different characters a chance to shine in each season, and this was very much Max' season. Stellar stuff, really.
     
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  9. Angelman

    Angelman Servant of the Whills -- Slave to the Muses
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    I’ve just binged through two seasons of For All Mankind on Apple TV+, an alternate history show where (to put it very shortly) the US lost the space race to the moon, which meant the competition never ended and the Apollo program was never scrapped. It’s an interesting premise with some fascinating faux-Cold War plots and drama, and I’ve liked it a lot. A minus is the, at times, absolutely ridiculous inter-personal dramas that bulk up the show, some of it reaching boldly for day-time soap opera nonsense, but the good definitely outshines the annoying in this show. Plus for some stellar character portrayals and for the 70s (s1) and 80s (s2) period piece stuff. All in all, a show well worth seeing.


    Season 1
    ems.jpg


    Season 2
    Apple-TV-Plus-for-all-mankind-poster-artwork-landscape-004.jpg


    Season 3 (I haven't watched this one yet - will in August)
    Screen-Shot-2022-06-03-at-2.19.35-PM-1200x528.png
     
    #669 Angelman, Jul 7, 2022
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  10. cawatrooper

    cawatrooper Dungeon Master

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    Currently watching...

    Ms Marvel

    This show started really strong for me. I loved the more teenage POV, something I think was really missing from the MCU (even from Spider-Man, tbh). I also love how it delves into Kamala's relationship with her family, her culture, and her faith. However, I do wish that this show had more episodes. It really feels like we're getting an origin story for Kamala, but I'd love for a few episodes of this character really coming into their own as Ms Marvel, back in Jersey City... especially because I'm sure The Marvels will drag her into a larger more epic scope of conflict, similar to the trap Spidey fell into with the MCU. Heck, that's kinda already happening, with the ClanDestine story being another big muliverse world-ending event, when I'd rather just see her starting with smaller hero stuff.

    That said, as an origin story, I think it's really working. The slow build to her costume, the various obvious influences she gets from those around her... even now, by the end of Episode 5, Kamala feels so much older and wiser than she felt in episode one.

    Finally, I know there's some discussion of her powerset not being comic accurate... but I don't mind that. The bangle has been a pretty significant part of this season, and I think it's actually become a pretty meaningful thing for Kamala's character- perhaps much more meaningful than being randomly exposed to terrigen mists.

    Really curious to see how this show ends next week!

    The Bear

    I have only worked in the food industry a bit (a week in pizza delivery, a single day at Wendy's)... clearly I don't enjoy working in that kind of stress. The Bear does an incredible job of portraying this type of stress though, in a way that's extremely relatable to those in food, but also to other jobs as well (my wife who works in a salon couldn't stop seeing parallels to her own week at work lately).

    Jeremy Allen White (Shameless' Lip) leads the cast as an extremely believable troubled genius, and is supported by an incredibly talented set of actors around him. We're over halfway done with the season, and I'm very impressed.
     
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  11. Angelman

    Angelman Servant of the Whills -- Slave to the Muses
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    Just binged through the Apple TV+ series Severance. It's a Philip K. Dick-ian office workspace psychological thriller thing with major issues and some of the greatest rewards in TV. Basically, the 9 episode 1st season is a 7 episode set-up for the final 2 episodes, and it's at least 2 episodes too many (I almost gave up after ep.3, or thereabouts). But if you make it to the end, it is very well worth it, and I'm definitely going to watch season 2!

    I love me some Horselover Fat (=deep cut - you get it if you get it), me, and this show delivers there! And just as with Philip K. Dick's stories, the show takes its sweet time to get "there". But when you get there, you'll love it.

    MV5BOThjMjc4NDUtNmIyOC00MzhmLWIxNjQtMDlkOTlmNzA0NDJlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_.jpg
     
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  12. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

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    I just finished binging Ms. Marvel.

    What I sent my friend about halfway through:
    It's a fun immigrant/generational story. (In which the parents' immigration and native culture class with our hero's wants and desires, and she must find an equilibrium.)

    Kamala is a character I've always known of and respected, as her prominence over the last decade has been intriguing to watch. The MCU version feels very much like a mix of Millennial and Gen Z habits, leaning towards the latter (as she is technically Gen Z, but the stunted culture of the MCU and the demographic targeting make her feel closer to our age.)

    The cinematography is really fun and creative, and the acting is great. The CGI is pretty bad at times, with Kamala's character model receiving the worst of it, but I'm hardly surprised at this point.

    Kamala also has a fun relationship with Spider-Man in some way, shape, or form in nearly every adaptation the two are in. In the comics, she shipped Peter and Captain Marvel for a time. She also became great friends with (and, IIRC, even briefly dated) Miles Morales. In the Avengers game, Kamala took over Peter's usual spot as the newbie to the Avengers, and the two worked as foils when the webslinger was eventually added as DLC. Peter was the experienced hero but was new to the whole teamwork thing, while Kamala was the new kid who brough the team back together, so she was more integrated. (Peter could give practical and hero advice from someone more like a mentor or an older sibling than an idol, while Kamala was Peter's first real peer, despite being a teen while he is in his early-to-mid-twenties.)
    I bring this up because I'm missing the Spider-Man/Miss Marvel connection, and I hope at least some reference or connection will show up down the line. (After finishing the show, I found out about a character crossover connection, and while that does meet what I was looking for and I realize that was all I was going to get, I'm still not satisfied.)

    Thoughts after finishing:
    This show is one of the best MCU D+ shows so far. It's all of the above, but the real cultural and historical touches allow this show to go deeper in some ways than several other MCU shows like Hawkeye or Loki. (WandaVision's exploration of grief was very well done, as were most of FATWS's touches on systemic and subtle racism and Moon Knight's look at dissociative identity disorder.)
    The pacing was a bit off for me. It felt more like movie pacing than show pacing, and I could have gone with a few more episodes exploring Kamala's school life and home life, so that we could really explore the city and all of the other aspects of the show. To be fair, the show does a PHENOMENAL job with what it's given, both visually and timewise, but I do wish that it could have had ore tie to go even deeper, particularly in Episodes 4 and 5. Speaking of Episode 5, it's easily one of the best of the MCU.
    The music was good, more like Moon Knight than anything else from the MCU, and that's a good thing.

    My biggest fear going forward is that Marvel is going to mess this up. Marvel has shown a lack of...care? Tact? Ability? to use the shows that they come out with in any real way in the movies. Sure, WandaVision connected to Multiverse of Madness, but it also butchered Wanda's entire arc in her show. What If was nothing but a glorified Red Herring, and Loki takes place out of time. I understand that some of these things are set up for payoff down the line, I do! But MoM was not a good payoff, and Disney's previous MCU-connected/adjacent shows, such as Agents of SHIELD, all five Netflix shows, and the Hulu shows, have all been forgotten or outright denied. (The Darkhold appeared in AoS and Runaways before being used in WandaVision/MoM, with it being a different book all three times. And that's only ONE example.)
    This is amplified by the aimlessness of Phase 4 as a whole. I won't say that the MCU can't bring this all together, but it needs to start doing so quickly, because I think people are starting to notice.
    Both of these things make me feel that The Marvels, a sequel to Captain Marvel, WandaVision, and Ms. Marvel, will do Kamala's character justice.

    Granted, I can't say that I would do anything better, but if I was in charge of Marvel, my future direction would be:
    teaming up Kamala and Shang-Chi. Both of them have ties to other dimensions, and I'd link that. I'd have Kamala's ancestors and the Noor be tied to the Ta Lo and possibly even Iron Fist. They'd go on a journey in that dimension in order to save the two from collapsing in on each other, as the forces of that other world aren't as friendly as they once have been. I'd tie in the lore of the Ten Rings and the Bangle. Basically, it was used by invaders from another dimension. The Ten Rings - which would later be replicated later on, but that's going into Eternals revisions - would have been created in order to defend the native people of this dimension after having seen the Bangle. That's why the powers are similar in some ways but different in others. Either way, the Rings would have left when the defenders left Earth, but they would have found their way back. (Again, this goes back to Eternals revisions.)
    Either way, I'm sure my ideas will change by tomorrow, so I won't hold too much stock in this ramble.

    But at the end of the day, Ms. Marvel is still one of the best MCU shows around in terms of design, story, acting, fun, and music. I give this a solid 8.5/10

    This show is recommended for fans of:
    Spider-Man: Homecoming
    Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
    Black Panther
    Shang-Chi
    Encanto
    Turning Red
    CW's Stargirl (possibly, but not a guarantee)


    Final Note:
    As is the case with my love of crossovers, I really just want to see a crossover with Ms. Marvel, Stargirl, Superman & Lois, and both the MCU Spider-Man and the Insomniac Games Spider-Man (well, the Spider-Men at least). I honestly just feel like Peter would be such a fun mentor to them all and would fit in really well. (I may add the Gotham Knights in as well, but I want to see how bad that show is first. If it's as terrible as I think and hope it will be, then I'll go with the Wayne Family Adventures version of Batman and the family. It's wholesome, funny, and would fit in pretty well.)
     
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  13. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

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    [​IMG]

    Binged all of Stranger Things Season 4 in order to understand Vecna's Clock memes and catch up on the show. ...and by "binge," I mean really only pay attention to (and skip to) the main storyline because I didn't care about El's storyline or the parent story line in the least. This didn't hurt me too much since I already knew the major spoilers, so I didn't feel like I was missing much.

    This will probably be people's favorite season, but I think Season 2 and 3 are still my favorite. I LOVE when shows split up the main cast to accomplish different things and bring them all back together for a finale. It's one of my favorite tropes, right up there alongside the "farmboy who gets swept up in an adventure," the "average yet fundamentally good person who gets superpowers," and the "rag-tag group of misfits on a ship who struggle together but become a family" tropes.
    The "separation and unification" trope is one of the (many) reasons why I love the first few Wheel of Time books and why I love the Thrawn trilogy. It's one of the many reasons why I really enjoyed the first three seasons of this show. Season 4 plays with that, having three separate-but-still-somewhat-converging arcs, with one being the central story that has smaller groups that combine within it, and the others feeling more like follow-ups to the previous season's fallout.

    The characters are also great, as they always were. There's a real sense of hardening to them, but in a good way. Those who have survived until Season 4 have become veterans of the whole Eldritch Mystery Conspiracy thing, and so it's kinda funny to see how they handle it when confronting people who aren't used to it just yet, as is the case with newcomer Argyle and Eddie, and relative newcomers Robin and Erica. I do wish we'd see more interesting dynamics in the show. At this point, it's pretty easy to see who is going to be paired up with whom once you whittle down geographic location (this season), and as much as I like that, it can grow a bit stale.

    Season 4 brought a lot of things together and left us off in an interesting way. I'm curious to see where things go, and while I'm happy that it focused a little more on characters who haven't really gotten the spotlight, I wish it would bring us a few new arcs in its final season. And stick the landing, of course.
     
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  14. Rogues1138

    Rogues1138 Jedi Sentinel - Army of Light
    1030th Captain ** (Mod)

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    Great review, I just finished episode 7, had no intentions of binging it, I'll probably finish it over the weekend. Got my tickets for NOPE tonight looking forward to that.
    --- Double Post Merged, Jul 21, 2022, Original Post Date: Jul 21, 2022 ---
    I've heard good things about this must find some time to watch it.
     
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  15. Lord Phanatic

    Lord Phanatic Star Seed
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    I really enjoyed this despite the reviews.

    A three-person crew on a mission to Mars faces an impossible choice when an unplanned passenger jeopardizes the lives of everyone on board.



    [​IMG]
     
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  16. Matt_T

    Matt_T Rebel Official

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    I may be a little late to the game but I've been watching "Light & Magic" on D+. Honestly, I've found it spectacular. Amazing behind-the-scenes footage. I love documentaries and I'd qualify this as one. Just when I thought I knew most of the stories and lore of ILM this comes along and exposes a treasure trove of footage and first-person accounts of the founding of the company and its growth. I highly recommend it for anyone who has not gotten around to viewing.
     
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  17. Darth Derringer

    Darth Derringer Rebel Official

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    I totally agree with @Matt_T

    I've only gotten to watch the first episode thus far but it was full of good Star Wars stuff including a wild set of circumstances that led to the creation of the Millennium Falcon.
     
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  18. Matt_T

    Matt_T Rebel Official

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    I enjoyed the final episode as much as the first -- and the four in between. You're in for a real treat, Darth!
     
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  19. Darth Derringer

    Darth Derringer Rebel Official

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    Given your comment, I skipped ahead to watch the last episode next --- and LOVED IT! Thanks for the tip!

    Back on the first episode, the documentary highlighted The Man (John Dykstra) who was responsible for pulling together the team that became ILM and created the special effects for Star Wars. But interestingly, while the documentary touched on the heated arguments that Lucas and Dykstra had because when George returned to California after shooting the film, he expected the majority of the effects shots to have been done. Instead, they had (I believe) three or four shots. Dykstra kept telling George they needed to design the new cameras first before they could give him his special effects. When all was said and done, Dykstra was right.

    But what the documentary DIDN'T tell views is that George Lucas FIRED John Dykstra after he returned from England. Ironically, the new effects turned out to be ground-breaking and Dystra won an Academy Award after the film came out.
     
    #679 Darth Derringer, Jul 31, 2022
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2022
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  20. Matt_T

    Matt_T Rebel Official

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    It did seem they skipped over the Lucas-Dykstra "ending" .... they kinda left it hanging like Dykstra just wasn't invited up north but I could read between the lines that there was probably more to that story. Only other comment (not a gripe) was I wish they'd have focused more on the editing process that we always hear saved the final product. I'm guessing the heavy involvement of Marcia in that department played a role in them not spotlighting it more.
     
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