HBO's WATCHMEN

[falafel]

HBO's take on the WATCHMEN universe premiered last night. Did anyone else watch? I haven't read the graphic novel, although I did see about 20 minutes of the horrible 2009 movie.

This series exists in the Watchmen universe, but takes place about 30 years after the events of the book. Some of those original characters are still around, but I'm not sure how much they figure in this show. There are a few easter eggs in that regard, such as a news report about Dr. Manhattan living on Mars.

Without giving too much away, and coming from a completely virgin Watchmen experience, I thought the pilot was excellent. It is set in a time where police officers are masked to protect their identities and weapons are on such high lock-down that not even the police can carry them without going through several steps. There is a white supremacist group called the 7th Kavalry that figures heavily into the story. This alternate reality seems to be based on what would have happened if African-Americans had come out on top in the race wars of the early 20th century and perhaps the whites were the minorities or oppressed group.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

HBO's take on the WATCHMEN universe premiered last night. Did anyone else watch? I haven't read the graphic novel, although I did see about 20 minutes of the horrible 2009 movie.

This series exists in the Watchmen universe, but takes place about 30 years after the events of the book. Some of those original characters are still around, but I'm not sure how much they figure in this show. There are a few easter eggs in that regard, such as a news report about Dr. Manhattan living on Mars.

Without giving too much away, and coming from a completely virgin Watchmen experience, I thought the pilot was excellent. It is set in a time where police officers are masked to protect their identities and weapons are on such high lock-down that not even the police can carry them without going through several steps. There is a white supremacist group called the 7th Kavalry that figures heavily into the story. This alternate reality seems to be based on what would have happened if African-Americans had come out on top in the race wars of the early 20th century and perhaps the whites were the minorities or oppressed group.

I googled the Watchmen series and this gem came up from IMDB.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6928532/

America's largest pro-Israel organization joins forces with the world's largest Christian television network to produce "The Watchman," a hard-hitting weekly 30-minute program, hosted by CUFI's Erick Stakelbeck on TBN

HARD PASS

[Flystripper]

I googled the Watchmen series and this gem came up from IMDB.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6928532/



HARD PASS

this isn't the same thing but yeah.

I saw the HBO premiere. I don't know anything about the watchman universe and didn't read up on anything prior to watching it. As a result, I spent most of the first episode being pretty confused. My wife was like WTF is going on. I am curious where it goes but my wife probably won't have the patience to overcome the WTF is going on feeling as she bails on stuff quick.

[falafel]

this isn't the same thing but yeah.

I saw the HBO premiere. I don't know anything about the watchman universe and didn't read up on anything prior to watching it. As a result, I spent most of the first episode being pretty confused. My wife was like WTF is going on. I am curious where it goes but my wife probably won't have the patience to overcome the WTF is going on feeling as she bails on stuff quick.

I was in the same boat as you in terms of familiarity and background. But I thought the WTF moments were part of what was pretty cool about it. I know it will take some time to get to know the universe. Here's an article that I found helpful: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/a...pgtype=Article

[Commando]

I saw the movie, but I was lost during the premiere episode and fell asleep. Maybe I'll give it another shot.

[Jeff Lebowski]

IMDB rating = 7.1. That is really low for a new series.

[falafel]

IMDB rating = 7.1. That is really low for a new series.

Interesting that women seem to like it more than men. Is it Regina King as the lead? Do men not like watching a show with a woman lead?

[Katy Lied]

I wasn't paying close attention, but I totally was confused and could not follow a thing. Just a big head scratcher, and if it is going to just be easter eggs and inside jokes, I have no interest in investing my time learning about the background and history of the Watchmen.

I was surprised that the director was a woman. Maybe that's why it did well with women? Sure didn't appeal to me though.

[falafel]

There were a lot of things that were confusing, but I didn't feel like the main story of the episode was confusing at all.

Spoiler for Story for first episode:

The story was pretty basic, I thought. Alternate universe where we won the Viet Nam war (its now a state), weapons are severely restricted even with the police, white supremacist groups are pushing back against what seems like a black majority or at least a black/minority-controlled society, Regina King and a few others act as masked vigilantes in a time where vigilantes/superheroes are outlawed, police are apparently in danger so they keep their identities secret and have their own medical care.

Sure, there are lots of strange things: the raining squid, the batteries, the connection to the Tulsa race riots. But this is the first episode. Lots of first episodes leave you wondering about background and introduce some strange or interesting ideas to get you interested (the squid is one of the strangest of those, of course). Is this episode heavier on those tactics than most other first episodes? Probably.

[UVACoug]

Didn't know a thing about the franchise before hand, and I loved it. Regina King is one of my favorite actresses and this is a role unlike anything she's done before. She was amazing. Even though I didn't understand everything, I feel like the characters were all fully realized and I felt a connection with many of them in a way you don't see in many series at the outset (especially comic book series). Really love what Damon Lindelof has done in the past (especially The Leftovers), so I'm excited to see what happens here.

[falafel]

IMDB rating = 7.1. That is really low for a new series.

Series rating drops to 6.8 after episode 2 last night. Strange, as each of the individual episodes are rated at 8.0 or higher.

[falafel]

Episode 3 was excellent, the best in the series so far.

[falafel]

Holy sh*t, how are people not watching this show?! Sunday's episode was nuts.

The episode before that was also excellent. This show is doing some really cool stuff with editing and storytelling techniques, in addition to telling a great story. And since this is a Damen Lindeloff show, there are strong similarities to The Leftovers and LOST (the good parts).

[UVACoug]

This show was amazing. The finale was perfect, in my opinion. If you haven't checked it out already, I highly recommend.

[jay santos]

I'm watching this, about four episodes in. Has a very Leftovers kind of feel for me (which I completely loved). I think it's made by same people. I'm digging this so far.