Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
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Post by Quiara on Aug 7, 2020 19:01:33 GMT -8
OOPS, I FINISHED THE FRICKIN' SEASON. Now that is a twist ending. Such an astonishingly cool show.
It almost makes me want to watch Bojack, given the creative teams are almost the same, but the ugliness of Bojack's animation style has me shook. I dunno.
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Post by ThirdMan on Aug 8, 2020 16:54:33 GMT -8
I was never in love with Bojack's style of animation, but the quality of the writing and performances ultimately made it borderline irrelevant to me.
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Post by Jeremy on Aug 9, 2020 4:02:27 GMT -8
I think the static animation of Bojack is an asset to the show, since it meshes with the show's dry sense of humor and then catches you off-guard when it goes for deeper drama.
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Post by Incandescence 112 on Aug 13, 2020 13:20:56 GMT -8
Lot of Avatar news lately. Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino recently departed the upcoming live-action re-make of Avatar: The Last Airbender over creative differences. I'm sure this will turn out well.....On the other hand, Aaron Ehasz's The Dragon Prince was recently renewed for 4 more seasons, bringing its total to about the same as Avatar. I might have to catch up on it now. From what I hear, it's a very good series that can't quite escape Avatar's shadow. Maybe now that they can definitely plan the story over a specified period of time, it will reach that level.
I recently marathoned my way from The Boy in the Iceberg to The Last Stand. I haven't seen them since I first watched them years ago. I have thoughts.
So Book 1: Water gets the show off to a relatively good, if patchy start. The characters come off as shockingly two-dimensional at times, but overall I really enjoyed the season more than I did when I first watched it. It does a pretty solid job of setting up the main conflicts of the show in an efficient manner, and episodes The Southern Air Temple, Avatar Roku, The Storm, The Blue Spirit, The Deserter, and The Siege of the North really stand out. Of course, there's also the terrible Great Divide and near unwatchable Fortuneteller (worse than any love triangle material from Korra). Hard to sit through at times, but it's lucky enough to be part of one of those really good shows that always seek to improve themselves and build on what worked before. So that boosts it quite a bit. It's not a waste of time by any means.
Book 2: Earth is practically animation perfection. Azula is a terrific foil to Zuko and the Aang gang, the sheer number of brilliant episodes is staggering, the humor is sharper (though almost never quite to my taste, it's bearable here), the characters become deeper, and the momentum almost never stops. One of the very best tv seasons of all time. If you forced me to choose between this, Person of Interest S3, Steins;gate, Angel S5, and Buffy S3/5 (either one)...I'd have a really hard time choosing which king-sized (credit to Jeremy for that phrase) season is the best. Tough decisions, tough decisions....
Book 3: Fire is almost equally great, though slightly less well-plotted. There's not much major plot development here, but once again, that back half is practically flawless, and almost all of the character work hits the mark (some awkward moments in The Beach and The Headband, but they both also provide interesting insights into the main villains and the average Fire Nation civilian. The Painted Lady is the only out-and-out dud). Zuko joining the gang was delightful, and I must repeat, I have a hard time thinking of a stretch of tv as long and uniformly brilliant as The Avatar and the Firelord to Sozin's Comet.
It's a wonderful show that will stand the test of time. It gets almost everything right, and, despite the fact that energy-bending is, in fact, BS, it is near-perfect.
Oh boy. The Legend of Korra is dropping on Netflix tomorrow. Who else can't wait for the next Civil War to break out in the Avatar fandom? Apparently this is a love-it or hate-it type show. I definitely lean more towards the former.
Book 1: Air is, for the most part, quite excellent, and certainly a more assured start to the series than Water. Unfortunately, some rather severe pacing issues (I really enjoy the pro-bending. It's just that Amon should be the main focus in such a short season.) and the fact that the love triangle basically swallows the show for awhile hold it back from true greatness, and the ending kind of leaves the series in a hole that it will....keep digging into for awhile.
Book 2: Spirits certainly happened. The pacing gets even worse somehow, Unalaq is...awful, and the whole Northern/Southern Water Tribe conflict feels horribly contrived. And all of the subplots happening in Republic City are worthless. Almost--VARRICK! I don't like the Nuktuk story-line at all, but Varrick is a superb character and he gets one of the smartest moments of the season, with a well-earned twist that sadly doesn't really mean anything to the season as a whole. I love the Spirit World stuff, though. No, Beginnings doesn't quite line up with what we've heard before. Yes, it is a kind of discount Miyazaki/Pokemon. I still really enjoyed the time spent there. And I always knew that Spirit Owl was no good. The final few episodes of the season were...pretty dumb but enjoyable. And it set the stage for....
Book 3: Change is a drastic turnaround. Romance jettisoned. Story focused. Villains get added depth. Fast paced but not rushed. The final 5 episodes are just stunning. Korra is worth it for this season alone.
Book 4: Balance is no slouch either. The best thing about it is the laser focus on Korra herself. This means the supporting characters slightly get the shrift, but it's worth it to me. Korra Alone was possibly the strongest episode of the show, but the rest of the season almost lived up to it. Kuvira was a great antagonist to finish off Korra's journey of using empathy and wisdom to solve problems instead of always resorting to brute force, as she did in Books 1 and 2. Oh yeah--great to see Toph again as well.
Overall, The Legend of Korra certainly has its weaknesses. I've been harsh on it in the past. But do those weaknesses stop it from being a damn great show? I don't think they do. It is not as good as A:TLA, but it is one of the better animated shows out there.
Overall ranking for me would go:
7. Korra Book 2
6. A:TLA Book 1
5. Korra Book 1
4. Korra Book 4
3. A:TLA Book 3
2. Korra Book 3
1. A:TLA Book 2
It's an astounding achievement that can't be ruined by Shyamalan or whoever they get to run the live-action show.
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Post by Jeremy on Aug 13, 2020 19:28:35 GMT -8
I mostly agree with that breakdown, although I think I preferred Avatar S3 over S2. That series sticks the landing in a way that should make most TV shows envious.
I'm impressed by how much attention the show has received in the last few months - it was in the Netflix Top 10 for over two straight months! It's great that a whole new set of fans have been discovering it. It's too bad that DiMartino and Konietzko are leaving the live-action series; hopefully, it doesn't wind up veering into Shyamalan territory.
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Post by Incandescence 112 on Aug 14, 2020 8:22:31 GMT -8
I mostly agree with that breakdown, although I think I preferred Avatar S3 over S2. That series sticks the landing in a way that should make most TV shows envious. I'm impressed by how much attention the show has received in the last few months - it was in the Netflix Top 10 for over two straight months! It's great that a whole new set of fans have been discovering it. It's too bad that DiMartino and Konietzko are leaving the live-action series; hopefully, it doesn't wind up veering into Shyamalan territory. That is true. It was difficult for me to order the top 3. Book 2 just puts the whole package together--animation, theme, plot, character--basically got everything right, and is near perfect start-to-finish. But they had so much pressure on them to deliver a satisfying conclusion, and again, they somehow pulled it off. And Korra Book 3 was outstanding as well! If you switched around Avatar Books 2 and 3 I couldn't really argue with that. It's getting the attention it deserves! I love to see it. Imagine if Buffy got that same attention.....
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Post by Jeremy on Aug 14, 2020 12:52:55 GMT -8
Buffy is definitely not lacking for online attention. That attention just seems to have petered out in recent years as other shows in the genre gain traction and as its original fanbase ages out of the social media fandom. (Joss Whedon being in the news for the wrong reasons every few months probably doesn't help, either.)
Re. the live-action Avatar, apparently DiMartino and Konietzko left over a few creative clashes with Netflix:
- Netflix wanted the show to be more adult (sex, bloody violence) and age up the protagonists to reflect this; D&K wanted to keep it kid-friendly. - Netflix wanted the show to be darker in tone; D&K wanted to keep it light and upbeat. - Netflix wanted the ability to cast white actors; D&K refused to allow a single white actor on the show. (Maybe penance for the mostly-white cast of the animated series?)
My theory (and as with all my theories, it's only a theory) is that Netflix - like every other cash-filled network/streaming service - wants to make the next Game of Thrones, and they feel that Avatar, with its built-in fanbase and potent mythology, fits the bill. But I don't want to see Avatar become Game of Thrones. I kinda like it just being Avatar.
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Post by Incandescence 112 on Aug 14, 2020 13:16:48 GMT -8
Buffy is definitely not lacking for online attention. That attention just seems to have petered out in recent years as other shows in the genre gain traction and as its original fanbase ages out of the social media fandom. (Joss Whedon being in the news for the wrong reasons every few months probably doesn't help, either.) Re. the live-action Avatar, apparently DiMartino and Konietzko left over a few creative clashes with Netflix: - Netflix wanted the show to be more adult (sex, bloody violence) and age up the protagonists to reflect this; D&K wanted to keep it kid-friendly. - Netflix wanted the show to be darker in tone; D&K wanted to keep it light and upbeat. - Netflix wanted the ability to cast white actors; D&K refused to allow a single white actor on the show. (Maybe penance for the mostly-white cast of the animated series?) My theory (and as with all my theories, it's only a theory) is that Netflix - like every other cash-filled network/streaming service - wants to make the next Game of Thrones, and they feel that Avatar, with its built-in fanbase and potent mythology, fits the bill. But I don't want to see Avatar become Game of Thrones. I kinda like it just being Avatar. The two areas that didn't really work in the original were humor and romance. If they updated them, I'd be fine with that. If they dug a little deeper into adult themes, I'd be fine with that too. But turning it into Game of Thrones, with sex and violence? Pass. I agree with the creators that kids should be able to enjoy it. Maybe you'd review Avatar once you're done with The West Wing? Mmmmm.....
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Post by Jeremy on Aug 14, 2020 13:34:44 GMT -8
I did review the first two seasons, episode by episode, on the old forum in 2015/16. Never finished the series, though, and I've always felt kind of bad about that.
If I do review another show after The West Wing (and Wonderfalls, which I'm also technically pledged to), it will definitely be a half-hour show (the time commitments to rewatch those are far easier), and most likely an animated one. And preferably something short; I think one 150-episode series is enough.
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Post by Incandescence 112 on Aug 14, 2020 14:02:40 GMT -8
I did review the first two seasons, episode by episode, on the old forum in 2015/16. Never finished the series, though, and I've always felt kind of bad about that. If I do review another show after The West Wing (and Wonderfalls, which I'm also technically pledged to), it will definitely be a half-hour show (the time commitments to rewatch those are far easier), and most likely an animated one. And preferably something short; I think one 150-episode series is enough. 61 episodes is better than 156, eh? Also, time to dig into the old forums. Edit: Turns out you stopped with "Lake Laogai". I will enthusiastically comment on every review if you do end up reviewing Avatar. That would be a lot of fun.
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Post by Jeremy on Aug 14, 2020 14:19:09 GMT -8
Not sure I'd want to re-review the show from the beginning - unless I want to beef up the reviews I've already written for the forum?
And 61 episodes is still probably too much. I'm going to be very exhausted whenever I finish The West Wing. Will have to stick to short and sweet shows in the future.
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Post by Jay on Oct 13, 2020 13:20:29 GMT -8
Jeremy. Jeremy.
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Post by Jeremy on Oct 13, 2020 14:53:06 GMT -8
This is amazing. Same voice cast, same designs, same multi-layered meta-humor (referencing a film that today's adults will remember from their childhoods). This is clearly hewing much closer to the original series than a reboot like, say, DuckTales, so presumably it will be judged at a higher standard. But that Jurassic clip looks promising.
Also, apparently one of the early Pinky and the Brain shorts will be called "Of Mice and Memes." Good to see we're updating with the times.
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Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
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Post by Quiara on Oct 13, 2020 21:33:55 GMT -8
Erggggggh... see, this is what makes me uneasy about even a good, faithful reboot of a very 90s cartoon: those clean vectored outlines are really throwing me off.
I'm glad the voice cast is up for it though - lot of love for Animaniacs, and deservedly so. It is freaky seeing Dot Warner's voice come out of Tress Macneille's body at 69, but in a good way.
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Post by ThirdMan on Oct 13, 2020 21:38:08 GMT -8
The dude voicing The Brain doesn't sound as (Orson) Wellesian as he used to.
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