More Sci-fi & fantasy on Telly

[dogshome]

Cosmos. Must have THE lowest budget ever? An old Volvo, 4 actors, a borrowed field and a car park in the middle of the night! Worth watching  10oo10

Wheel of Time. I read the first couple of books when they came out and got bored solid. I was offshore and had nothing else, so they lasted longer than I would normally have given them. The 8 Episode first series on the box is better. Until the end of the 'last' episode. Loads of buildup through 6 1/2 episodes, then it stumbled, towards the end of 7, for a full-on face-plant in 8.  3oo10.

[Tony Smith]

Just started watching WOT. Good so far, looking forward to seeing where it goes.

[dogshome]

Don't look up! is good entertainment. Giving that one an 8 or a 9.

Clara. I don't want to give anything away. This is a good lowish budget classic sci-fi. 9 out of 10 for that.


There seems to be a lot of good stuff coming through on these (increasingly mainstream) media channels and not via the Hollywood Blockbuster theater route. Duh. I am behind the times. But catching up. Slooowwwly.

How is WOT going Tony? Which episode are you up to?

[Tony Smith]

Have finished WOT. I enjoyed it despite the fact that it is obviously derivative to the point of sometimes being indistinguishable from GOT and Witcher with a dash of LOTRs.

Currently watching Silent Sea, again a derivative but interesting. So obviously shot in a warehouse it is amusing to spot the things that would not be on the moon like finder block walls etc. But still interesting.

One thing, which is a comment on me rather than the show, Koreans have been so culturally stereotyped that "resolute bravery" jars with expectation.

I have  Foundation downloaded and ready to watch, looking forward to that. And I hear Orville's new series starts soon.

It is going to be a bumper year for SciFi.

[dogshome]

I was maybe a bit unfair with WOT. It was going well up to the last episode and it's limp bad guy and comedy soap ending - just like WKRP - "Tune in next week to see what Burt does with the Space Alien in the next exciting episode!"

I'll look out for the other ones you mention 

[Matt Chapter]

Tony, it's interesting you find WoT derivative.  The first WoT book was released in 1990, GoT 1996, Witcher 1992.  Obviously anything after LoTR follows in its footsteps...

I've never watched WoT, only a bit of GoT, nor Witcher, and I'm unlikely to, but what Sanderson did to the end of the WoT book series is criminal.  It's too bad he couldn't do better given the Cliff's notes from Robert Jordan

[Kelvin]

I watched Foundation and really enjoyed it. They obviously couldn't do justice to the original which had a mix of short stories and the grand arc of an alternative universe starting with some of the "I Robot" stories in the 1990s, but they've done some interesting things with gender and race and they haven't skimped on production. Also it's close enough to the original to be a legitimate adaptation but altered sufficiently to be interesting. Science fiction is at its best when it is a plausible future but comments on current issues, and this succeeds.

[Tony Smith]

I got a notification a couple of days back from Amazon prime that the newly released Dune film was on early release to streaming. Of course being released to streaming this soon is a clear indication but the film has been a box office failure, nevertheless I stumped up my $34 and bought a copy.

As the opening credits rolled I spied a brief  banner which indicated that the film is part 1 of a series, this caused me some concern as I very much doubt then any further films in the series will actually be made.

The film such as it was had very high production values good set design excellent special effects however it annoyed the tripe out of me by ending long before the stage in the books that was reached by the 1984 edition.

So in the final analysis it was an interesting story that is not sufficiently rounded to stand alone and was meant to be the first part of a series that will never be made, in all honesty I would not bother watching it and instead would rewatch the 1984 film.

[dogshome]

Hi Tony, I saw the original Dune film at the cinema when it came out and loved it. I'll hang on to my money for the partial remake and wait for freeview now!

I've seen a chunk of The Witcher since. Good old blood and guts action with little concentration required to watch. Reminds me of a 1950s Western with shoot-outs, love interest and a back story for the good/bad guy.

[Justin B.]

I have  Foundation downloaded and ready to watch, looking forward to that. And I hear Orville's new series starts soon.

Is this based on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy?

[Kelvin]

Foundation is, indeed, based on Asimov's series. Although "loosely based" might be more appropriate.   

I found the new Dune movie disappointing, similarly to Tony. It's brilliantly styled, establishes the aesthetic of the desert planet excellently, and then the character development is either wooden or so sparse that it wouldn't make sense if you hadn't read the book. Plan, I think, is for two more films: the second half of the original book, and then one based on the second book. I'm curious, but I'm not going to buy advance tickets.