Sci-fan31415
Lifetime Total
1+
IMDb Member
4 years, 9 months
Reviews
The Feed (2019)
Not great.
Some of the reviews are very glowing, some very scathing. Personally I found "The Feed" on the low side of "meh" (i'd give it 4.5 stars if I could). On balance, I _definitely_ regret wasting 9 or 10 hours of my life on it but (unfortunately) i've also seen far worse. Certainly won't be watching more if it gets renewed.
In general i'm very much out of patience with shows where the writers think "stupid and unlikeable" are the same as "interestingly flawed and complex" when it comes to characters (the inexplicably renewed "Another Life" is similar in that respect, if you could put up with the amount of dumb on display in that show you might enjoy this one too). By the end of series 1 of "The Feed" there are maybe 2 or 3 characters I still cared about out of an ensemble cast of around 10. Everyone else had shown themselves to be idiotic, despicable or both in that dull, predictable way that some writers seem to believe is "capturing human truth".
The storytelling also feels a bit flabby with at least a couple of the main strands (plus one totally inconsequential fishing related tangent) that just feel tacked on to pad out a fairly thin sci-fi mystery plot. All the worthwhile aspects of this story could've been told in around 6 episodes IMO.
So i'd say avoid. Maybe the book it's adapted from is better. Or maybe you'll watch this and think it really is as clever as it seems to believe it is (i'd guess mainstream viewers might see it as more original and be generally more impressed with it than long-time sci-fi fans), there's no accounting for taste after all.
In general i'm very much out of patience with shows where the writers think "stupid and unlikeable" are the same as "interestingly flawed and complex" when it comes to characters (the inexplicably renewed "Another Life" is similar in that respect, if you could put up with the amount of dumb on display in that show you might enjoy this one too). By the end of series 1 of "The Feed" there are maybe 2 or 3 characters I still cared about out of an ensemble cast of around 10. Everyone else had shown themselves to be idiotic, despicable or both in that dull, predictable way that some writers seem to believe is "capturing human truth".
The storytelling also feels a bit flabby with at least a couple of the main strands (plus one totally inconsequential fishing related tangent) that just feel tacked on to pad out a fairly thin sci-fi mystery plot. All the worthwhile aspects of this story could've been told in around 6 episodes IMO.
So i'd say avoid. Maybe the book it's adapted from is better. Or maybe you'll watch this and think it really is as clever as it seems to believe it is (i'd guess mainstream viewers might see it as more original and be generally more impressed with it than long-time sci-fi fans), there's no accounting for taste after all.
Dark/Web (2019)
Decent little anthology series with a sci-fi/horror slant
Maybe not startlingly original for most long-time sci-fi/horror fans with shades of Twilight Zone and Outer Limits among others plus maybe a sprinkling of some well known urban legends but the stories are well told and well acted with several taking on elements of our current culture in new ways. As a nice added bonus there are a few faces (and one voice ;) to gladden the heart of any Buffy fans watching. And unusually for this sort of anthology series, the framing story held my interest as well or better than the episodic stuff, particularly as the show went on.
It's clearly made with not a lot of money and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the locations are houses of friends or relatives but there's nothing wrong with that, people like Sam Raimi started on a shoestring too. Not being able to throw money at problems pushes the creators to be inventive and focus on telling their stories well.
All in all, i'd definitely recommend this first season and would certainly watch a second if one gets made.
It's clearly made with not a lot of money and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the locations are houses of friends or relatives but there's nothing wrong with that, people like Sam Raimi started on a shoestring too. Not being able to throw money at problems pushes the creators to be inventive and focus on telling their stories well.
All in all, i'd definitely recommend this first season and would certainly watch a second if one gets made.
Another Life (2019)
Very disappointing.
Well, I have to disagree with those saying it gets better. I watched all 10 episodes (presumably because I haven't yet fully accepted my own mortality or that one day i'll be on my deathbed and pretty keen to have those 8 ish hours back) and for me it didn't, though it did at least get unintentionally funny at times, which is something I guess. Among other things the big, scary black cloud of literally _dark_ matter made me laugh - you have to at least admire the sheer cheek of a sci-fi writer that apparently can't even be bothered to read the Wikipedia entry for the science they reference.
Most of the characters are petty, unlikable and stupid (and not stupid by "best and brightest" standards, stupid by average high-schooler standards - like, shout at the TV, pre-'Scream' horror movie levels of stupid). Which I can accept if they're at least interesting but almost without exception this group are interchangeable cliches that we never get to know on anything beyond a superficial level. We don't like them, we don't respect them and therefore we don't root for them. The plot is also nothing we haven't seen before. It plays out like a 50s B-movie but without the schlocky charm or self-awareness.
If this somehow gets renewed I certainly won't be watching any more, not even for Katee Sackhoff (hard not to view her character running around trying to hold the ship and crew together despite their incompetence as a metaphor for Sackhoff herself trying to hold the show together despite the writing). By the end of season 1 it didn't feel like a show finding its feet, it just felt like one that, given the chance, is capable of finding all new ways to be terrible.
Still, 3 stars split between the ever reliable Sackhoff, the attractiveness of the cast and as consolation to the many people involved who were no doubt at least _trying_ to make something good.
Most of the characters are petty, unlikable and stupid (and not stupid by "best and brightest" standards, stupid by average high-schooler standards - like, shout at the TV, pre-'Scream' horror movie levels of stupid). Which I can accept if they're at least interesting but almost without exception this group are interchangeable cliches that we never get to know on anything beyond a superficial level. We don't like them, we don't respect them and therefore we don't root for them. The plot is also nothing we haven't seen before. It plays out like a 50s B-movie but without the schlocky charm or self-awareness.
If this somehow gets renewed I certainly won't be watching any more, not even for Katee Sackhoff (hard not to view her character running around trying to hold the ship and crew together despite their incompetence as a metaphor for Sackhoff herself trying to hold the show together despite the writing). By the end of season 1 it didn't feel like a show finding its feet, it just felt like one that, given the chance, is capable of finding all new ways to be terrible.
Still, 3 stars split between the ever reliable Sackhoff, the attractiveness of the cast and as consolation to the many people involved who were no doubt at least _trying_ to make something good.