Have you seen the “Special Edition” of Alien3?

It works out a lot better overall.

I would rather fanfic-tier adaptions (e.g. Man in the High Castle, Foundation) were not made. I don’t have issue with creative adaptations or re-interpretations, or even attempts that don’t go well. I do have issue with taking the setting and making up some random concept. Make up your own settings.

Season 02 of True Detective was all in all a better production than Season 01. The first season was objectively better made, the second was in many ways flawed, but it had a realistic ending and more gritty motifs.

Mini series or tight single season series are generally much better quality than multi-season narrative driven productions. This of course doesn’t apply to sitcoms, anthologies, [show concept] of the week series where there is minimal emphasis on a broader narrative arc.

Hopefully someone else will get the rights to it and either make a more respectful adaption or go with a crazy creative take. E.g. a re-interpretation of The Silmarillion set in prohibition era US with gangsters or during the Russian revolution with the Greens fighting both commies “orcs” and the pro-Monarchy “goblins” (doesn’t have to be literal).

I thought it was supposed to be partially based on the The Silmarillion. Either way, from the first episode alone, it was pretty clear that the show would be shit.

So I am very picky with series and I rarely start stuff that I feel I am on the fence on and I drop stuff pretty fast it I am not feeling it.

That being said, there were a few huge disappointments that I regret wasting time on.

Man in the High Castle - I didn’t know this was a fanfic-level script that just used the setting. Up until the end of the second episode, I was still hoping that it would at least loosely adapt the story of the book. I was really disappointed when I realized it would be purely a fanfic story when I watched episode 3. An adaption of the book could have made for such an intense ending.

Alien: Earth - Forced myself through the first three episodes. Did not like it all, Peter Pan stuff, uninspired characters, trying too hard to be edgy (while still being fundamentally PG in its themes). Then I heard that Episode 05 was a cool self-contained episode that offered a nice throwback. Watched 15 minutes of it and turned it off. Absolute trash.

Ring of Power - I am a big fan of The Silmarillion even though IMO it’s rather dense and difficult to follow. Watched a single episode of Ring of Power and I immediately dropped it (not getting fooled again).

That or DVDs.

Neve heard of Charlie Jade! Will need to check it out.

It sounds similar, but Total Recall 2070 really focuses of Philip K. Dick style stories about replicants, hacking, space colonies and so on. It’s difficult to miss.

I will just say that it’s relatively easy to enjoy the first seasons by itself, although a second season would have been nice.

I discovered this earlier this year. I thought it was great, it couldn’t have been purely nostalgia as I never saw this series until 2025.

The acting can be so-so, the CGI definitely hasn’t aged well (although I don’t mind at all and even like this aesthetic), but if you like cyberpunk you’ll enjoy this. The setting oozes with style.

It’s a mix of main story arc and self-contained cyberpunk detective stories. Unfortunately, there is only one season.

I don’t mind new takes on a series and even occasional inconsistencies and unbelievable moments. For example, I really enjoyed the Aliens: Phalanx novel even though it suffers from many of the same issues I noticed in the first three episodes of Alien: Earth (distracting YA themes, unbelievable plot devices, plot pacing), but it offered it’s own experience. While reading the novel, I was curious about the world, I wanted to find out what happens next.

I just didn’t feel anything while watching the first three episodes, it felt like some random scenes without much point other than to make a somewhat generic Alien themed streaming mass market action-scifi show.

I might check out E05 at a later date. But for now, the series is on hold for me.

I will note that I didn’t watch Foundation (not interested in watching a random show with a Foundation setting, it’s like reading a fanfic) and I immediately dropped The Man in the High Castle after 1-2 episodes once I realized they merely took the setting and completely ignored the main point of the book.

Is this remake or a story continuation (unrelated to the book)?

I gave up after the third episode. And it took a lot of effort to watch E02 and E03.

This is the first Alien production where I didn’t really care what was going on.

I don’t mind a novel take on a series, but this was merely a “mainstream adaption for a streaming service” production. I am good.

Instead of watching this I would recommend the 90s show Total Recall 2070:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Recall_2070

It’s not that well know and it’s a great cyberpunk show.

What happened to Dexter: The Killer Haemorrhoids S69?

Leaving Las Vegas was also really good.

I liked S02 much more than S01.

S01 is better made and more consistent, but I thought the theme and the ending of S02 was pretty unique for an American series.

S04 was OK and had a good start but IMO it went nowhere. S02 (and S01 for that matter) had a much more coherent beginning, middle and end structure.

Watched E01 and E02, this was the first Alien production where I didn’t care what was going on.

Way too much quirkyness, faux-edgyness and Peter Pan “appeal to YA demographic” BS.

Lots of annoying, lazyily written characters (trillionaire kid, flea market Roy Batty, prince Hermit in the magical plot armour).

I don’t mind a completely novel take on Alien (big fan of Aliens: Phalanx even though its very YA and Alien: Isolation), but the execution of Alien: Earth reeks of the feces of Disney executives.

It though it was fine.

It helped that seasons in The Wire were somewhat independent.

From the thread someone else posted, it sounds like he thought of himself as an internal victim.

Damn, that’s rough. It’s even worse than I imagined.