Netflixing
I've been putting a dent in some shows that I've had on my "I should watch this sometime" list, slowly but surely...
The first season of Stranger Things was pretty good. The 80's nostalgia factor works for me. The mix of youth adventure and supernatural works for me. The cosmology felt a little so-so, but overall interesting enough to watch and I'll follow up on it, I'm sure. There were a few details that strained my suspension of disbelief, but overall pretty cool. I do find it a little hard to devote the time to hour-long shows, though, it seems. Curious.
I also went through the first season of The Dragon Prince. That was easier in a time sense, at least. The whole "from the makers of Avatar" sort of told me early on I would want to check it out. The art style turned me off a little, though. I dislike the CGI/cell-shaded look to the point it's a mark against several series, though I can like something in spite of it (like SW: Rebels). This is actually worse than that when watching it in motion. It may be a lack of funds for in-between work or it could be some deliberate choice, but there's a choppy/jerkiness to the animation that bugged me while watching.
I also feel it has a particularly imbalanced tone, going back and forth from dramatic fantasy to child-friendly adventure. Some of the characters do rapid pendulum swings as well, particularly the... villain(?). He goes from shady influence to genuine concern for king and country, then back off the deep end to manipulative schemer. I also see some implication that the dark magic he uses (seriously, even they call it "dark magic") might be influencing him to some degree. His son and daughter provide some levity to scenes by being joker and ditz respectively, but they also seem willing to follow him down a pretty dark path. I feel like this could all be a bit more nuanced and balanced rather than what seems heavy handed to me.
I would also say that this is one of those super-dramatic stories that probably could have been avoided if the youths involved had actually been a little more trusting of adults instead of being secretive and keeping everything to themselves.
But, I've reasonably enjoyed the dynamics between the main characters and the story itself isn't bad. I am optimistic the show will get better with some development.
And I whipped through the even-shorter second season of Aggretsuko. I still find the office and home life antics fun and entertaining, though points of this season veered a little close to home in a couple spots - enough to evoke some borderline existential crisis thoughts. And this without being nearly so dark as Bojack Horseman or something.
The first season of Stranger Things was pretty good. The 80's nostalgia factor works for me. The mix of youth adventure and supernatural works for me. The cosmology felt a little so-so, but overall interesting enough to watch and I'll follow up on it, I'm sure. There were a few details that strained my suspension of disbelief, but overall pretty cool. I do find it a little hard to devote the time to hour-long shows, though, it seems. Curious.
I also went through the first season of The Dragon Prince. That was easier in a time sense, at least. The whole "from the makers of Avatar" sort of told me early on I would want to check it out. The art style turned me off a little, though. I dislike the CGI/cell-shaded look to the point it's a mark against several series, though I can like something in spite of it (like SW: Rebels). This is actually worse than that when watching it in motion. It may be a lack of funds for in-between work or it could be some deliberate choice, but there's a choppy/jerkiness to the animation that bugged me while watching.
I also feel it has a particularly imbalanced tone, going back and forth from dramatic fantasy to child-friendly adventure. Some of the characters do rapid pendulum swings as well, particularly the... villain(?). He goes from shady influence to genuine concern for king and country, then back off the deep end to manipulative schemer. I also see some implication that the dark magic he uses (seriously, even they call it "dark magic") might be influencing him to some degree. His son and daughter provide some levity to scenes by being joker and ditz respectively, but they also seem willing to follow him down a pretty dark path. I feel like this could all be a bit more nuanced and balanced rather than what seems heavy handed to me.
I would also say that this is one of those super-dramatic stories that probably could have been avoided if the youths involved had actually been a little more trusting of adults instead of being secretive and keeping everything to themselves.
But, I've reasonably enjoyed the dynamics between the main characters and the story itself isn't bad. I am optimistic the show will get better with some development.
And I whipped through the even-shorter second season of Aggretsuko. I still find the office and home life antics fun and entertaining, though points of this season veered a little close to home in a couple spots - enough to evoke some borderline existential crisis thoughts. And this without being nearly so dark as Bojack Horseman or something.
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