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Here’s a roundup of Super-hero-ish television shows.
FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER
disney.com
I think it’s safe to say that the latest Marvel Television series, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, is a hit. While WandaVision started off strong and impressive, it didn’t quite stick the landing. The show runner admitted that COVID actually prevented them from doing all the things they really wanted to do with the ending. Some characters basically disappeared at the end, that’s because they couldn’t travel to do filming and their parts were basically cut.
Unfortunately, WandaVision, and now Falcon, Marvel has a problem with ending their shows. It starts off well enough, but they just can’t stick the landing. In the Falcon’s case, it felt rushed and ultimately just sets up for Season 2, or perhaps, Captain America 4.
The worst part of the show’s finale was the speech that Falcon, in his colorful new costume, at the end. It just sounded too preachy…. And really didn’t belong in the show. I really felt the show should have explored more on John Walker’s murder of a “terrorist”. Perhaps ended with the Falcon and Winter Soldier taking Walker down and bringing him to justice. Maybe have Walker do a little time, before trying to redeem the character and turning him into USAgent.
For a six-episode show, there were just too much going on: John Walker, Battlestar, The Power Broker, the Flag Smashers, Batroc the Leaper, Isaiah Bradley (the Black Captain America), Dora Milaje, and Baron Zemo. With only a few episodes, I wish they would have just concentrated on some of the ideas: the Super Soldier serum and John Walker. That would’ve been more compelling than adding the whole Flag Smashers and their revolutionary cause.
Clearly the M.V.P. of the show is Baron Zemo, who proved himself to be a really likeable villain with certain morals. I am hoping to see more Zemo in the future.
INVINCIBLE
amazon.com
I have to admit, I wasn’t terribly excited to hear that Robert Kirkman had a new show called Invincible, based on his superhero comic book of the same name. This is because his Walking Dead show had gotten worse with each season. The writing was so bad that I had to give up on the show altogether around Season 6 or so (it was after the war with Negan).
Since the first three episodes of Invincible were on Amazon Prime, I decided to give it a chance... and you know what? It’s actually pretty good. The first episode ended up in a bizarrely violent end, and it had enough mystery that kept me interested. After watching the first three episodes, and while waiting for the next one to air, I picked up the source material (the original Image Comics) to give it a read.
Based on what I’ve read and what I’ve seen... they’re both very different from each other. If you’re a comic book reader only, you can get into the show without feeling bored. Personally speaking, I think the TV show does a better job in telling its story. The comic book, at times, did not seem to have a direction, and it felt like they were making things up as it went along. For example, one of the key player isn’t introduce in the comic book until much later... while the show definitely had plans for this character from the start.
Anyway, the show is available on Amazon Prime, so if you’re a member, you can watch it for free. I’m not sure what the pricing is if you don’t have Amazon Prime, but based on per episode costs, I would imagine it to cost $2 per episode. As of this writing, only four episodes are available to view.
THE NEVERS
hbo.com
Joss Whedon created The Nevers, but due to the scandals, he removed his involvement with the HBO show. It’s still very Whedon-ly, like Victorian British girls fighting in corsets.
In the world of The Nevers, there was an alien spacecraft that that “touched” all some people in London, England. Everyone that it touched ends up having super powers. The show made it seems like only women were “touched”, but apparently there were a few men that also had powers (such as the henchmen that could walk on water).
Maybe I didn’t pay attention, or maybe it’s because I’m very early in the show, but I never really understood the show’s name of “The Nevers”. Shouldn’t they call the show “The Touched” ?
Anyway, comparing this show to previous Whedon’s ideas, this has elements of Dollhouse and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What I mean by that, is that it’s typically a Whedon show to feature beautiful young, strong women as the leads. Since this is cable/HBO, the show doesn’t shy away from showing boobs and buttocks… which was not expected for a Whedon production.
FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER
disney.com
I think it’s safe to say that the latest Marvel Television series, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, is a hit. While WandaVision started off strong and impressive, it didn’t quite stick the landing. The show runner admitted that COVID actually prevented them from doing all the things they really wanted to do with the ending. Some characters basically disappeared at the end, that’s because they couldn’t travel to do filming and their parts were basically cut.
Unfortunately, WandaVision, and now Falcon, Marvel has a problem with ending their shows. It starts off well enough, but they just can’t stick the landing. In the Falcon’s case, it felt rushed and ultimately just sets up for Season 2, or perhaps, Captain America 4.
The worst part of the show’s finale was the speech that Falcon, in his colorful new costume, at the end. It just sounded too preachy…. And really didn’t belong in the show. I really felt the show should have explored more on John Walker’s murder of a “terrorist”. Perhaps ended with the Falcon and Winter Soldier taking Walker down and bringing him to justice. Maybe have Walker do a little time, before trying to redeem the character and turning him into USAgent.
For a six-episode show, there were just too much going on: John Walker, Battlestar, The Power Broker, the Flag Smashers, Batroc the Leaper, Isaiah Bradley (the Black Captain America), Dora Milaje, and Baron Zemo. With only a few episodes, I wish they would have just concentrated on some of the ideas: the Super Soldier serum and John Walker. That would’ve been more compelling than adding the whole Flag Smashers and their revolutionary cause.
Clearly the M.V.P. of the show is Baron Zemo, who proved himself to be a really likeable villain with certain morals. I am hoping to see more Zemo in the future.
amazon.com
I have to admit, I wasn’t terribly excited to hear that Robert Kirkman had a new show called Invincible, based on his superhero comic book of the same name. This is because his Walking Dead show had gotten worse with each season. The writing was so bad that I had to give up on the show altogether around Season 6 or so (it was after the war with Negan).
Since the first three episodes of Invincible were on Amazon Prime, I decided to give it a chance... and you know what? It’s actually pretty good. The first episode ended up in a bizarrely violent end, and it had enough mystery that kept me interested. After watching the first three episodes, and while waiting for the next one to air, I picked up the source material (the original Image Comics) to give it a read.
Based on what I’ve read and what I’ve seen... they’re both very different from each other. If you’re a comic book reader only, you can get into the show without feeling bored. Personally speaking, I think the TV show does a better job in telling its story. The comic book, at times, did not seem to have a direction, and it felt like they were making things up as it went along. For example, one of the key player isn’t introduce in the comic book until much later... while the show definitely had plans for this character from the start.
Anyway, the show is available on Amazon Prime, so if you’re a member, you can watch it for free. I’m not sure what the pricing is if you don’t have Amazon Prime, but based on per episode costs, I would imagine it to cost $2 per episode. As of this writing, only four episodes are available to view.
hbo.com
Joss Whedon created The Nevers, but due to the scandals, he removed his involvement with the HBO show. It’s still very Whedon-ly, like Victorian British girls fighting in corsets.
In the world of The Nevers, there was an alien spacecraft that that “touched” all some people in London, England. Everyone that it touched ends up having super powers. The show made it seems like only women were “touched”, but apparently there were a few men that also had powers (such as the henchmen that could walk on water).
Maybe I didn’t pay attention, or maybe it’s because I’m very early in the show, but I never really understood the show’s name of “The Nevers”. Shouldn’t they call the show “The Touched” ?
Anyway, comparing this show to previous Whedon’s ideas, this has elements of Dollhouse and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What I mean by that, is that it’s typically a Whedon show to feature beautiful young, strong women as the leads. Since this is cable/HBO, the show doesn’t shy away from showing boobs and buttocks… which was not expected for a Whedon production.
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