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Good Omens (series) – Neil Gaiman (2019-)

These series had been on my watch list for a while, but I kept skipping them. Once I did watch the first episode, I wished I had watched it earlier.

“Good Omens” is a very amusing series, created by Neil Gaiman, the man to go to for mythology inspired series such as “American Gods”, “Lucifer” and “The Sandman”.

Aziraphale and Crowley make an unlikely couple. They have known each other since Creation, but when both originally angels, Crowley hobbled along with the great Rebellion and became a demon in stead. The two keep running into each other while both living on earth for many centuries. A friendship of sorts develops, even though this is -of course- not allowed by either “side”.

By now there are two seasons. Just before I watched the last episode, I heard that work is being done on the third season. Season two ends with a massive spoiler, so this is not really a surprise.

Story wise, the first season is the most interesting. Heaven plans on Armageddon. Not that they really know why, but it’s part of “the plan”. Hell looks forward to finally having to do something. Aziraphale and Crowley like earth so much, that they decide to thwart Armageddon.

In the second season Supreme Arch Angel Gabriel stumbles naked into Aziraphale’s London bookshop. It is not like our amusing couple decides to really help him, but both Heaven and Hell do think so and both decide that they have to take possession of Gabriel.

“Good Omens” is full of subtle humour, well-place jokes, an amusing story of a hidden friendship that has the suggestion of being something more, funny inhabitants of Heaven and Hell, the relationship of angels and demons with humans, a bit of critique on modern living, etc. Well written, funny, great looking with with very funny opening titles.

Oh, Crowley is played by a great David Tenant who you may know as twice “The Doctor” in the 2005-2022 “Doctor Who” series.

Recommended.

Star Trek: Picard (series) – Beyer / Chabon / Goldsman (2020-2023)

There have been many Star Trek spin-offs. I do not really follow them. When looking for a bit of a quiet series to watch, I gave this one a try. This spin-off -of course- has Patrick Steward return to the Star Trek franchise.

There are three seasons with a variety of stories. Picard has retired and lives on a wine farm. We are in some time in the future in which several of the kinds of beings that we know from earlier Star Trek material coexist. Usually picard is asked for help, he has to talk his way back into Starfleet to obtain a ship, is confronted by missteps in his past, but manages to go on his mission.

There are references to earlier Star Trek films (and series?), old characters return and in a way “Star Trek: Picard” is a bit of a reunion.

There is more action than I remember in other Star Trek material that I know. The series are fairly predictable, but alright watching.

Riget: Exodus (series) – Lars von Trier (2022)

In 1994 the first season of “Riget” / “Kingdom” aired. That was a reason to watch this classic again. Season 1 had only 4 episodes and suddenly ended. Also the second season from 1997 had only 4 episodes and it also suddenly ended. I was looking something up and found out that there was actually a season 3. Now how did I miss that? For a long time it seemed as it Lars von Trier was not going to give any more answers, but apparently, he was talked into ‘wrapping things up’ 25 years later.

For 5 episodes I have been thinking: “Wow, Von Trier really did not have a whole lot of inspiration for this new season.” Many characters have been replaced by carbon copies. Druse because Karen, Bulder was replaced by Balder who looks so much like Bulder that everybody calls him Bulder. Stig Helmer is replaced by his son. Moesgard senior has another airhead follower. There are again two dishwashers who comment on events.
A few characters return in their original roles, such as Judith, Mona, director Bob, Camilla and Lillebror.
We also have a few original actors/characters that got other places in the hospital: Krogshøj, Rigmor and Moesgaard junior.

Von Trier stuck to the concept. There is the story about the swamp, the silly song and the commentary after the episodes, but for vanity’s sake, Von Trier placed himself behind the curtain (who is suffering from Parkinson).
It is not like he wraps up the story-lines of the first two seasons. Some story-lines continue, some you hear nothing of. There are also new elements. “Helmar” (Helmer jr.) is a bit of a whiny character who also tries to run out the Swedes against the Danes (an antagonism that is stressed even more). Then we have the problem of the hole to the underworld that has not been closed properly closed and this time it is Karen who sets out to fix things. Even more powerful than Åge Krüger is the “Grand Duc” who is (surprisingly) played by Willem Dafoe. There are a lot of tiny sub-plots and returning jokes that do not always work out too well. There are many references to the first two seasons in different ways.

“Riget: Exodus” to me is not (yet) the classic that the first two seasons are. Also do not expect answers, but who would really expect that anyway? What you can expect is similar humour, similar characters and the recognition of actors and characters of 25 years ago.

“Riget Exodus” was produced and made available through MUBI and it not very well available. So far there appears only to be a very expensive box set with all three series or you should have a MUBI service in your country that offers “Exodus”. Hopefully there will be a release for those who already have the old series (a few times) like myself.

The End of the F***ing World (series 2018/9)

James is a weird and silent kid. He likes taxidermy and considers killing a human being. At school he meets the extremely disinterested Alyssa and the two outsiders team up. They decide to run away from it all and end up killing a man. That makes them killers on the run.

The series have a bit of a grim, Fargo style, but in spite of black humour, the series are more of a drama. Two awkward adolescents are condemned to each other, but they are both attracted and distant.

In the first season we follow the traveling teens and their chase. In the second second season the duo has been apart for a while, but their paths cross once more. Then there is another type of chase.

Alyssa is both annoyingly, yet amusingly cold. James is an over-nerd who overthinks everything. We hear the thoughts of both and even though their bad decisions are somewhat relatable, the two surely manages to mess up their lives.

Not bad for a teen series.

Titans (series) – Berlanti / Goldsman / Johns (2018-2023)

A while ago I was looking for another series to watch when I have some time to kill. On Netflix I ran into “Titans”. The series open with a beautiful lady who lost her memory. After a while she meets a group of ‘superheroes’ (the Titans) and there proves to be a Batman connection to the story. The group is led by Dick Grayson, a runaway Robin who is still somewhat in contact with Bruce Wayne.

There are other “Titans”, an emo-type girl, a boy who can change into a tiger, but also you more typical comic book heroes in fancy clothing either with just weapons or some supernatural skill.

In four seasons some heroes come and go. Every so often a new arch-villain has to be found. Needless to say that there is drama. Not all characters are very interesting and the writing is not too great either. It frequently seems as if suddenly somebody thinks there should be a plot twist and one storyline is wrapped up and another started within one episode. The Titans are always out to save the world.

The series are not boring, but they are not great either.

Utopia (series) – Gillian Flynn (2020)

In 2015 i watched both seasons (2013 and 2014) of the British series “Utopia“. On Amazon Prime I ran into a series with the same title. When I started to watch it, the Amazon “Utopia” appeared to be a remake of the British series. Or would both series be based on the same (graphic) novel?

The original series is an interesting watch. Bright colours, interesting camera work, violently weird situations. The Amazon version is a fairly normal kid’s thriller series. Both series appear to have about the same story.

Some nerds know about an elusive comic (“graphic novel” in the British series) called “Utopia” which would not only predict past and future pandemics, but also present their cures. When a copy surfaces, the group sets out (meeting each other for the first time) to get hold of the copy. They are not the only people after the book though.

Followed by a similarly cold killer in both series, the group tries to find the main character of the comic book in which they eventually succeed. Together they try to prevent the world-ending events to come.

The British series use two seasons to tell the story (12 episodes), the American version one (8 episodes). The American version is much more explanatory, especially towards the end. Both have an open end. This may be due to the fact that originally there would have been a third season, but the project was dropped, so the creator (and author) of the original series (Dennis Kelly) simply did not write more. According to Wikipedia first HBO bought the rights, but when their project fell through, the rights went to Amazon. They made an adapted version of the original series.

The original is better in every regard. Not that the Amazon version is bad or boring though.

Sense8 (series) – Wachowski (2015-8)

I ran into this Wachowski series on Netflix. It does not have the pomp of some of their creations and (perhaps) not even the complex story.

Well, there is an ‘attempt’ at a complex story. The title refers to a different kind of human being. Besides the “homo sapiens” there is also the “homo sensibilus”. The series do not explain how these “sensates” are born to ‘normal’ humans. We follow eight such sensates. It seems that they all have the same age and that they discover their abilities only later in life. We have the Korean daughter of a wealthy business family. A German criminal. An Indian beauty about to marry rich. There is an LA cop, a Mexican actor, a Nigerian buss driver, a woman who used to be a man and an Icelandic DJ.

The sensates can be in each others presence whereever they are. Also they can take over each other’s bodies. Along the way our eight sensates learn that they are a “cluster”, that there are other clusters and that there are also people hunting them. The last element brings thriller elements to the series.

The series show the characters with both the personal and the joint problems. Nomi has frictions with her parents who do not accept her transition. Lito is a popular actor, but he fears the end of his career when his fans learn that he is gay. Sun takes the fall to save her brother’s career in the family business. Wolfgang tries to do his own thing, but the criminal underground of Berlin tries to draw him in further. Kala has a loving future husband but second thoughts about the marriage. LA cop Will has frictions with his father. DJ Riley tries to balance between succes and personal life. Capheus (played by another actor in the second series) unintentionally becomes the hero of his slum.
In times of crisis, another member of the group, or all of them, team up to solve a problem of one of them. This often brings unnecessary extra drama or another tension. This typical ‘enhanced drama’ that is present in many American films and series, also crept into the work of the Wachowski’s. Sometimes these elements even overshadow the development of the story.

Overall, “Sense8” is alright. Especially in the first season (which is directed by both Wachowskis) there is quite some stress on ‘minority issues’ (trans, gay). Later (only Lilly Wachowski, but also guest directors) the ‘larger story’ gets the upper hand, making more of a thriller. There is the earlier mentioned drama, but the creators also wanted to add a layer of sensuousness, both are overdone and superfluous in my opinion. The story develops alright, but it seems that some turns had to be made to allow for future episodes or seasons. The two-and-a-half-hour final episode seems to have been made to wrap things up (quite thinly) when there no more would be a new season.

Not bad, but not the Wachowski’s best work either.

Children Of Dune (series 2003/4)

A while ago I wanted to rewatch David Lynch’s “Dune” (1984). In spite of my old review of the film, I quite like it, but I still find the story hard to follow. Shortly after I ran into “Children Of Dune”.

The mini series is announced as “Frank Herbert’s Children Of Dune”. It has three episodes of about an hour and a half, so basically it is three films.

The children of Dune are the twin kids of Paul “Muad’Dib” Atreides, Leto and Ghanima. Muad’Dib walked into the desert at the end of the first book (the films of Lynch and Villeneuve). Apparently he planned to make the desert planet of Arrakis more habitable by watering it and growing forests. The planet is ruled by the Atreides, Paul’s sister Alia. Paul and Alia’s mother left the planet, but she is still of considerable influence. Alia is not the best of leaders and the people start to oppose her reign.

Like in the first book / film, there is a lot of politics, allegiances, family feuds, etc. again making a complex story. The mini series are not great, but enjoyable. Only now for this review did I check, but Children Of Dune indeed is a book of the same author as Dune and this Frank Herbert (1920-1986) wrote six “Dune” books and other authors have continued the “saga”, with currently a list of 22 novels and nine other books! Plenty of material for further movies.

The Sandman – Gaiman / Goyer / Heinberg (series 2022)

Another Neil Gaiman mythological fantasy. “The Sandman” from the title is the lord of dreams, Morpheus. When he gets captured by a wicked magician, the world of dreams crumbles. After a long time Morpheus manages to escape and he tries to set things right. First he has to regain his objects of power.

Morpheus looks like he plays in The Cure. Other characters are more colourful, especially in “the dreaming”. The series jump from ‘real world’ to ‘dream’ scenes. Morpheus meets entities that are either or not friendly towards him and one storyline is pulled up after the other. Also halfway the series seem to jump to a quite different season, while in fact, when I write this, there is only one season. New characters are introduced, even again in the very last episode.

The series are alright. There are many references to mythology, there is the fantasy pomp that you perhaps expect. Some story lines are more interesting than other, the same goes for the range of characters that pass by.

The Order – Heaton & Erikson (series 2019/20)

A fairly weak Netflix series that holds the middle somewhere between “Harry Potter” and “Stranger Things”.

Jack Morton lives with his grandfather close to a prestigious college. At this college a secret order is active, the leader of which caused the death of Jack’s mother. The grandfather is obsessed with taking down the order, so Jack not only has to try to get a place at the college, but also to find his way into the secret order.

The members of the order speak quite openly about their secret order and it is basically a school for magic with teachers as teachers and students as students and the students are the “Stranger Things” age.

Jack also gets recruited by another secret order, making him both suspected on both side and a double agent. Of course there is a nascent romance in which both parties are tossed between responsibilities.

The “Grand Magus” has big plans with a powerful magical book and members have to take sides.