Man in the High Castle - Amazon

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by DreadPikathulhu, Jan 17, 2015.

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  1. fluffskul

    fluffskul Would rather be at a concert

    Location:
    albany, ny
    I would say MitHC had the strongest season 2 of any drama since Game of Thrones. Really pumped for Season 3. Agree that Amazon should push it a little more, I'm surprised the show doesn't get more critical/consumer praise. Everyone I know who has watched loved it.
     
  2. GregM

    GregM The expanding man

    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    To take the other position, as entertainment goes, I sort of question the sanity of anyone who would voluntarily want to watch a show about the aftermath of the Allies losing WWII. I think we all grew up understanding that would not be a world we'd want to live in. The show offers some compelling stories that support this understanding. But a show needs to have something fantastic and fun about it to keep me coming back. I found myself just dreading the next episode. Made it all the way through Season 1 like that but have not watched Season 2.
     
  3. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    I guess you also don't watch The Handmaid's Tale, as it portrays a similarly oppressive/distasteful environment. What keeps me engaged, other than fantastic acting (especially in THT), is the glimmer of hope that slowly builds to what may lead to a full-on rebellion and the restoration of actual sanity. I think they've mentioned that that will be a major focus in the upcoming season.
     
  4. GregM

    GregM The expanding man

    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    Funny you should say that. I made a decision to not get into Handmaid's Tale because it seems stressful and oppressive. Exactly what I don't need after a long day being abused in the office. I do admire the engaging elements and some of the actors (not all) in MitHC, but I think they bit off something that couldn't be easily chewed or digested.
     
  5. KevinP

    KevinP Forum introvert

    Location:
    Daejeon
    I watched the two seasons of this show a month or so ago. It is flawed but I still enjoyed it very much.

    Spoilers. I mean, from the very premise, it's clear that it's an alternate universe, but the pilot strongly suggested there was an awareness among certain characters that they were in an alternate universe, or at least that there were other universes and that they weren't in the best one. But that strand was untouched for a long time, to the point where I almost wondered if I had misunderstood it. (I have a problem with people accepting the films as proof. Or actually, I don't, but I did have problems with the fact that their taking it as proof seemed to mean that I, the viewer, was supposed to as well.) That came back in a big way later, but for a while there I was getting confused if there were 'in-universe' sci-fi elements or if it was an otherwise non-sci-fi story that just happened to be in a different universe from ours. I'm sure if I was more familiar with the book I'd've been better able to fill in the gaps, but not being familiar with the book beyond a one-sentence summary (and not being unique in this regard), I don't think those gaps should have existed.

    Now that's a criticism, but like I said, I enjoyed the first two seasons a lot. While Juliana's conversion to her cause happens too quickly for my taste (unless we're supposed to take it that gullibility is a trait of hers, which we don't seem to be), Frank's was deftly handled, each step being a logical progression from the previous one without looking like a series of plot points needed to get from Point A to Point B, at least on first viewing.

    The show's greatest strength is in the world-building.

    John Smith's backstory of his conversion from American soldier to Nazi leader is not preposterous, but it really needs to be addressed properly, in dialogue if not a flashback, and I'd like to know how unique he is in this regard. He doesn't seem to considered a novelty by the Germans, suggesting this is a common situation.

    Looking forward to more.
     
  6. hybrid_77

    hybrid_77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    Streams tomorrow

     
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  7. MikeInFla

    MikeInFla Glad to be out of Florida

    Location:
    Kalamazoo, MI
    Looking forward to it but I am ready for them to wrap it up.
     
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  8. I just saw the pilot, and I have no idea where any of this is going...but I love the premise. They did a very good job of setting the stage in the alt-history piece.

    My only knock, just having seen the first Ep. of season 1, is that some of the actors are pretty bad, and some pretty good. Nonetheless, the premise and the story line so far has really grabbed me. It's very "Hollywood Pretty," which I don't care for. I mean, as we know, only beautiful people can be courageous and true, right? :rolleyes:

    Now, I'm going to have a snack and see if Ep.2 keeps me groovin'.
     
  9. White_Noise

    White_Noise Forum Resident

    Location:
    Templeton, MA
    Wasn't a big fan of season 1. I liked season 2 a bit more. I'm 4 episodes into season 3 and I think the pacing and focus is much improved. Really liking it so far.
     
  10. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    I'm two eps in and I'm not sure that the 'pacing and the focus' is much improved, having rewatched the last episode of the previous season, which was much better paced.
     
  11. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    So, 4 eps in and I'm bored witless! This show really needs to end this season.

    Also, the narrative MacGuffin of alternate reality tapes seems pointless. Who cares what happens in a different reality/universe? Characters have tape access to what happens in reality xxxx - so what? Only perhaps the 'traveler' can have any kind of influence, but that seems too much like a magic wand.

    Anyhow, so far there is no narrative propulsion or any real reason to keep watching (though I will, for a few more eps at least).
     
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  12. wwaldmanfan

    wwaldmanfan Born In The 50's

    Location:
    NJ
    I really liked season 3, and I hope the series continues.
    The films represent an allegory, clues to alternative realities, the premise on which the story is based, and which is explored more in the third season. All of this is based on Philip K. Dick's science fiction writings, and his thematic interpretation of our perception of reality that recurs throughout many of his stories.

    If you have not read his novels, a good place to start is "UBIK", my personal favorite. It's very easy reading, but one which has not been sucessfully translated to film, although the movie rights have been bandied about in Hollywood for years. The film, "The Fifth Element", with Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich, pays tribute to this novel through its art direction, although differs entirely in plot.
     
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  13. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    But what allegory, that things could have been different? Well yeah, that's not so deep. When you're confronted with an infinite multiverse of different worlds and outcomes where anything could and does happen, the allegory angle ceases to have meaning.

    It's just like Rick and Morty - they're so jaded with the multiverse experience that they don't give a crap about any of them, including their own reality (they could always pick a similar but better reality to inhabit).
     
  14. I think that we may get some of that in season four.
    There's a purpose in the films as will be shown later in the season. I completed watching it this weekend. I like the series but I do agree that it is a little slow in building the universe. We don't need to see it built brick by brick. There are some reveals this season that make it worthwhile as well.
     
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  15. DigMyGroove

    DigMyGroove Forum Resident

    I’m halfway through and enjoying it very much. While I thought that EP 301 was a bit slow (and it’s 70 minute length didn’t help), the next few episodes picked up the pace significantly, and looking back 5 episodes in a heck of a lot has gone down, including the huge developments at the conclusion of EP 305. Looking forward to viewing the rest of the season this week.
     
  16. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    The back half of the season was much better than the first half. It seemed a bit far fetched (given that there is no other magic tech for the time period) that the Nazis would know how to build machine to travel to alternate universes (based on what theoretical framework?), whereas some people are able to do it just by 'mind-power'. Eh whatever, but it seems to have been set up for another season.
     
  17. DigMyGroove

    DigMyGroove Forum Resident

    Finished Season 3 tonight and really enjoyed the story even if that story was a very tough one to watch at times, especially in these times we live in. I think the final few episodes were outstanding as all the major characters reached a greater understanding of they were and their place in this nightmare of a country. Some of the imagery in the finale was particularly heart wrenching to watch, especially as a New Yorker.
     
  18. Giant Hogweed

    Giant Hogweed Senior Member

    Location:
    Exeter, Devon, UK
    I'm about a third of the way into season three, I've enjoyed it more since I turned on the subtitles as all the main characters seem to mumble so much i've no idea what they were saying. Juliana is quite guilty of this, but then everyone has to speak quietly while living under these regimes.
     
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  19. Dick felt that, as different as it was based on what he saw of it, it captured the feeling of his novel. I also read a draft of the script that he liked. A Scanner Darkly has come closest to capturing Dick's novel.
     
  20. Giant Hogweed

    Giant Hogweed Senior Member

    Location:
    Exeter, Devon, UK
    Finished Season three, sort of 'enjoyable' in a way that some things have actually started happening!...but it's very slow.
     
  21. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    We're through episode 7 of the third season. The first couple episodes of S3 seemed to be going slow to the point that we almost dropped out, but we've continued on. Things seem to be building toward something big.
     
  22. I'm avoiding spoilers since I'm only half-way through Season 2, but so far it's an amazing show! I'm so surprised it's this good. The setting is fantastically realized - all of the Nazi Germany stuff in 1963, the clothing, the buildings, and the cars, right? I'm pretty sure there have been a few cars that never existed, as if they've been modified.

    The whole world, and its premise, is what originally kept me watching, because really the show is way too "Hollywood Handsome;" it's ridiculous! But then all of these weaving storylines and plot points allowed me to forgive the cast, who, by the way, do a pretty good job as actors. Not Emmy material, yet they hold the fort down well, sometimes exceeding expectations, sometimes falling short (a few occasions way short). Nevertheless, any nitpicks aside, yeah, the whole world just keeps me coming back for more. To avoid spoilers I've not read much about the show, but I would imagine that it cost a small fortune in props, art, CGI, sets, clothing and such.

    Anyway, yeah, unless the show suddenly takes a nosedive, I'm in for the duration. It's only going to be 4 seasons, right?
     
  23. I hope so. I enjoy the series and while each season has its ups and downs in terms of the narrative moving too slowly, it's a very rewarding alternate imagining of Dick's novel (I haven't read it in 30 years but as I recall, it focused mostly on the Japanese occupation of California because, well, Dick lived here) but I find this a fascinating extension of Dick's universe. There have been many alternate history novels since then (and a couple before) and some TV shows that did the same type of thing but none of them has dealt quite with the same issue of alternate realities and the impact each has on another.
     
  24. I finished Season 2 and it was damn good.

    Started the first episode of Season 3 and I was really shocked by the time jump. I don't think it could jumped over 6 months, probably more like 4 months. It didn't feel right, though. I hope it'll only take one more episode to slip into it.
     
  25. jriems

    jriems Audio Ojiisan

    All I'm going to say about season three is that it "goes to eleven." Stick it out.
     
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