Tales from the Loop

I watched this right the way through. It's intriguing. The action takes place in a landscape peppered with discarded machines that perform near miraculous functions. These are products of the 'loop' of the title, a research facility that is exploring ways to harness the powers of an inexplicable (and unexplained) artifact. The cinematography is gorgeous, the script and acting are excellent and the entire thing has a lyrical, mesmeric quality that completly draws the viewer in. Each episode is a stand alone story - though there is also a through line that connects them, but overall, it reminded me a little of the short stories of Nadine Gordimer. Beautifully constructed tales that don't amount to whole heck of a lot once you get to the end of them. Any one else see it?
 
I found it thoroughly depressing - almost exclusively centered on senseless loss, death, hurt, and displacement. Along with Devs and Dispatches from Elsewhere, one of the ultimately most disappointing recent shows that started with a truly intriguing premise but completely squandered the opportunity. I'm looking forward to the return of Stranger Things.
 
*SPOILER* On the fence. I thought they were WAY too accepting with the idea of the kid getting stuck in the machine.
 
martinbayer said:
I found it thoroughly depressing - almost exclusively centered on senseless loss, death, hurt, and displacement. Along with Devs and Dispatches from Elsewhere, one of the ultimately most disappointing recent shows that started with a truly intriguing premise but completely squandered the opportunity. I'm looking forward to the return of Stranger Things.
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Yeah, Devs started out interesting and ended up pretty depressing. Almost like a Black Mirror episode. If you haven't seen it, you should check out "For All Mankind".
 
sferrin said:
martinbayer said:
I found it thoroughly depressing - almost exclusively centered on senseless loss, death, hurt, and displacement. Along with Devs and Dispatches from Elsewhere, one of the ultimately most disappointing recent shows that started with a truly intriguing premise but completely squandered the opportunity. I'm looking forward to the return of Stranger Things.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Devs started out interesting and ended up pretty depressing. Almost like a Black Mirror episode. If you haven't seen it, you should check out "For All Mankind".
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Sounds like a good reason to sign up to yet another streaming service :).
 
martinbayer said:
sferrin said:
martinbayer said:
I found it thoroughly depressing - almost exclusively centered on senseless loss, death, hurt, and displacement. Along with Devs and Dispatches from Elsewhere, one of the ultimately most disappointing recent shows that started with a truly intriguing premise but completely squandered the opportunity. I'm looking forward to the return of Stranger Things.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Devs started out interesting and ended up pretty depressing. Almost like a Black Mirror episode. If you haven't seen it, you should check out "For All Mankind".
Click to expand...
Sounds like a good reason to sign up to yet another streaming service :).
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I was skeptical. I was hooked from the first episode. :)
 
I watched "Dark" from the beginning, it belongs in this discussion. The trouble with time travel is that the anomalies always end up making your brain hurt. The first seasons were OK, but the last one where they try to put the fractured timelines back together just gets surreal.
 
In another reality, if the Superconducting Super Collider had been completed, the stories could have been placed in Texas. What a disappointing project cancelled!
 
Richard N said:
In another reality, if the Superconducting Super Collider had been completed, the stories could have been placed in Texas. What a disappointing project cancelled!
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Years ago, someone started writing a novel based on the idea that the SSC in Texas was so powerful that it opened up a bridge between alternate realities. And then the idiots in Congress cancelled the SSC, leaving the author in a bit of a lurch. A bit of a re-write, and now the novel is about an abandoned patch of Texas where a portal opens up because the SSC got funded on the *other* side.

"Beforeigners" (on Hulu) turned out to be an entertaining bit of Norwegian fluff: for no readily apparent reason, people from the Victorian era, the Viking era and the Stone Age start popping up in the water off shore. Apparently this happens all over the world, but the show focuses on Oslo, Norway. It's now several years later, and a Viking woman is the first "beforeigner" to join the Oslo police force. Hijinks ensue!

"Hard Sun" (also hulu) was an intriguing idea, but it only got one season. News leaks that scientists think the world will end in five years. Most people think it's a hoax, but conspiracy theorists and cultists and whatnot go extra-buggo. So the first season is about some cops - who know a bit more about this theory than most people - chasing down killers and whackos in Britain who are going on about the "Hard Sun" end of the world conspiracy. It was... meh. But the final scene - a cliffhanger for the never made second season - was fricken' *glorious.*

"Another Life" on Netflix is *aggressively* awful. It is evidence that Hollywood doesn't just disrespect the audience... it *despises* the audience. A theory appeared on Reddit that Netflix intentionally made the worst sci-fi show they could as a form of data mining experiment. It's a show where Every Single Time when the characters are presented with the option of "go left" or "go right," they decide "go rutabaga."

"Space Force" on Netflix was proof that you need more than a "timely idea" to make an interesting show.
 
Oh wow, a TV serie inspired by Simon Stålenhag work. Good to know that, thks.

by_burned_2560.jpg

From here :
https://www.simonstalenhag.se/
 
sferrin said:
martinbayer said:
sferrin said:
martinbayer said:
I found it thoroughly depressing - almost exclusively centered on senseless loss, death, hurt, and displacement. Along with Devs and Dispatches from Elsewhere, one of the ultimately most disappointing recent shows that started with a truly intriguing premise but completely squandered the opportunity. I'm looking forward to the return of Stranger Things.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Devs started out interesting and ended up pretty depressing. Almost like a Black Mirror episode. If you haven't seen it, you should check out "For All Mankind".
Click to expand...
Sounds like a good reason to sign up to yet another streaming service :).
Click to expand...

I was skeptical. I was hooked from the first episode. :)
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I watched the first two episodes (I still have to find a way to unlock the rest [I have the same problem with the The Morning Show from the same fruit themed purveyor - any pointers would be welcome]), and while the portrayal of actual space related ongoings is outstanding, ironically in my view the show suffers from the exact same problem as Space Force - too much mixing of personal/relationship drama with the underlying sweeping 'big picture' narrative for my taste. I realize that is is probably intended to increase the overall appeal to a broader, more diverse viewership, but while that concept of dramatic showcasing of an integral work/life picture certainly worked for Mad Men of roughly the same historical period (perhaps due to the somewhat more freewheeling lifestyle of Madison Avenue advertisers back in the day as opposed to NASA astronauts), I think here it just slows down the core story line. Just my two cents though - I'll continue watching as soon as I can figure out how.
 
martinbayer said:
I found it thoroughly depressing - almost exclusively centered on senseless loss, death, hurt, and displacement.
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It's a common theme in fiction these days, especially fiction pitched at teens and tweens - almost as if there were an industry-wide, agenda-driven push to impress hopelessness and acceptance of defeat/doom into an entire generation.
 
Orionblamblam said:
Richard N said:
In another reality, if the Superconducting Super Collider had been completed, the stories could have been placed in Texas. What a disappointing project cancelled!
Click to expand...

Years ago, someone started writing a novel based on the idea that the SSC in Texas was so powerful that it opened up a bridge between alternate realities. And then the idiots in Congress cancelled the SSC, leaving the author in a bit of a lurch. A bit of a re-write, and now the novel is about an abandoned patch of Texas where a portal opens up because the SSC got funded on the *other* side.

"Beforeigners" (on Hulu) turned out to be an entertaining bit of Norwegian fluff: for no readily apparent reason, people from the Victorian era, the Viking era and the Stone Age start popping up in the water off shore. Apparently this happens all over the world, but the show focuses on Oslo, Norway. It's now several years later, and a Viking woman is the first "beforeigner" to join the Oslo police force. Hijinks ensue!

"Hard Sun" (also hulu) was an intriguing idea, but it only got one season. News leaks that scientists think the world will end in five years. Most people think it's a hoax, but conspiracy theorists and cultists and whatnot go extra-buggo. So the first season is about some cops - who know a bit more about this theory than most people - chasing down killers and whackos in Britain who are going on about the "Hard Sun" end of the world conspiracy. It was... meh. But the final scene - a cliffhanger for the never made second season - was fricken' *glorious.*

"Another Life" on Netflix is *aggressively* awful. It is evidence that Hollywood doesn't just disrespect the audience... it *despises* the audience. A theory appeared on Reddit that Netflix intentionally made the worst sci-fi show they could as a form of data mining experiment. It's a show where Every Single Time when the characters are presented with the option of "go left" or "go right," they decide "go rutabaga."

"Space Force" on Netflix was proof that you need more than a "timely idea" to make an interesting show.
Click to expand...
 
Orionblumen= I'm watching episode 2 of Beforeigners. The show is great. Thanks for the heads up. I get the sci fi, and the wife gets a police procedural.
 
Started watching "Dark". It's interesting , and well done. Thing is, you hardly see the caracters ever smile, and never laughs... they all play well , but are all depressed. Which is understandable given the story, but they could have add a bit of (dark ?) humor here and there maybe to lighten the thing.
It's a good thing there is the mysterious time travel plot you want to follow, cause otherwise the all thing is indeed like the tittle, just dark.
Better have your Prozac box ready next to the TV remote.
Loved "Devs". Indeed, not super funny either. But at least the caracters were not all looking like they were going to comit suicide any 1/4 hours.
Plus the plot was developing faster, better done.
I think these bleack mood series reflect the mood of our times. Can't say expectations in the future radiates hope nowadays...
 
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Since this thread has expanded to new shows in general, let me throw in my thoughts on Netflix's The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance. Some have (correctly) referred to it as Jim Henson meets Game Of Thrones. You do not have to be a fan of the original movie to get into this series - you do not even have to have seen it as this series takes place before the events in the movie. Age Of Resistance returns us to Thra in all it's glory - a living landscape. However. It also has what was missing in the movie - well thought out and interesting lead characters. (for those who have seen the movie, lets face it. Jen was a wimp.) The events in the ten episodes of the first season start with the Skeksis discovery of how to drain essense that leads to a demonstration that transforms Rian from a seemingly comic relief Gelfling character to a lead character who is on the run accused of murder. Brea's introductory scene in the library is full of the beauty and charm you expect from a Henson production. Through the episodes, we see how fractured Gelfling life has become under Skeksis rule and we see how they eventually, and grudgingly, come together to stand up to the Skeksis. This is far from the traditional (early) Henson story. Characters do evil things in this, and some characters do die - one in an act of self-sacrifice that will likely drop your jaw. Simon Pegg did a great job providing Chamberlain's voice - whimpers and all, and Chamberlain is an even darker character in this series. I enjoyed every minute of it and I'm looking forward to the announced second season.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3_owZfYVR8
 
The Artist said:
Since this thread has expanded to new shows in general, let me throw in my thoughts on Netflix's The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance.
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Hear, hear. A remarkably good series... doubly remarkable in how respectful it was of the original movie. Be sure to watch the "making of" special afterwards. it includes test footage that was made of a scene that used a CGI gelfing. It was done well enough, but it was just plain *wrong.* Going with muppetry was far and away the right choice.

Simon Pegg did a great job providing Chamberlain's voice
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Clearly the man knows him some Chamberlain. He nailed it. as did the voice actress for Aughra.
 
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