FX's "Legion"

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by vince, Feb 9, 2017.

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  1. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    Any possibility that putting out bad Fantastic Four movies could be strategic, in order to sour a franchise in order to sour other components of an ancillary franchise? Because, they seem to be pretty consistent in putting out bad Fantastic Four movies. Even a broken mutant is right twice a day, y'know...
     
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  2. dynamicalories

    dynamicalories Forum Resident

    Location:
    Peekskill, NY
    The Fantastic Four movies have been pretty terrible but really that's not because Fox did anything wrong it's because the Fantastic Four themselves are pretty embarrassingly bad. They're just characters that haven't held up over time.
     
  3. dprokopy

    dprokopy Senior Member

    Location:
    Near Seattle, WA
    My guess is that Fox is allowed to use X-Men characters, but they probably still have to pay some sort of royalty to Marvel for the privilege. I think even Deadpool made a joke/reference to this (about not being able to afford any of the "real" X-Men).

    So I'm guessing "Legion" could conceivably bring in other X-Men characters in the future (and surely, they will at least bring in Professor X as the big "reveal" at some point), but given that it's "just" a TV show with a more limited budget, they would have to do so sparingly.

    My understanding from what I've read is that "Legion" technically takes place in an "alternate" universe (slash-timeline?) from the Fox/X-Men movie universe(s)/timeline(s). Which is of course a different universe than the Marvel one. It's all so confusing.
     
  4. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    It's their go-to excuse for not following canon, in a medium where the core fans pride themselves on knowing the canon. A cheat.
    It's also a way to frustrate a critical audience for getting the buzz of credibility, because they really don't get how important it is to "get it right this time" for them.

    If I sweat bullets devouring what my teenaged mind thinks is the greatest saga ever written, and nobody in my world seems to see that it's important to me, I need the people in the mainstream medium to take it seriously, so the audience finally understands the buzz I get from this artform.
     
  5. clashcityrocker

    clashcityrocker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Great White North
    Just a heads up:

    SEASON TWO coming:


    The season features the parasitic villain Amahl Farouk / Shadow King, portrayed by Navid Negahban, searching for his original body after being forced out of Haller's mind at the end of the first season.

    The season will run for ten episodes, beginning on April 3, 2018.
     
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  6. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law Thread Starter

    I guess that means no Aurbry Plaza?.......


    boo, I say....
     
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  7. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

    Yeah, bad news, looks as if she only shows up in the second episode, probably in flashback.
     
  8. jpelg

    jpelg Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Elm City
    Was hoping to re-watch season 1 before the new one begins, just to refresh.
    However, it's not available on-demand thru my cable provider. Only pay-per-episode for some reason. Wierd *shrug*. :(
     
  9. 93curr

    93curr Senior Member

    BluRay of season one out tomorrow. :goodie: Finally!

    Probably because they want you to buy the BluRay.
     
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  10. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law Thread Starter

    Just saw a new ad.....
    and, it was ALL AUBREY!
    Here's hoping she's back...in a big way!
     
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  11. jpelg

    jpelg Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Elm City
    Looks like we are off to another beautifully trippy journey in season 2!
     
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  12. balzac

    balzac Senior Member

    Just watched the first episode of the new season. Much like Season One, I get the sense they're trying to frustrate the audience. I hadn't watched Season One since it aired, so the pretentious "weird for the sake of weird" nature of the show had partly left my mind.

    As with the first season, those who are impatient with it or find it vastly too pretentious are sometimes accused of just "not getting it", but I think an argument can be made still that this show's stylization is more a hindrance than helps it.

    I refused to let the showrunners of this show win, at least for the first episode; I almost shut off the episode about a half dozen times but stuck through to the end. There's an interesting plot and some interesting performances buried under too much "quirky for the sake of quirky."
     
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  13. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law Thread Starter

    You're a stronger man than I;
    I turned if off at the 41 min. mark....
    I could feel myself falling asleep, and will try to watch it "On-Demand"...
    But your line,"I refuse to let the show runners of this show win!" is the BEST quote of the year....... so far!
     
  14. Ken_McAlinden

    Ken_McAlinden MichiGort Staff

    Location:
    Livonia, MI
    I continue to enjoy the heavy stylization and find it to be a fun watch.
     
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  15. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    I think the show is more substantial than some people are willing to acknowledge. There is a fine line between weird-for-weird sake and a well thought out storyline. Season one managed to thread that needle, so I'm hoping that S2 can continue in the same vein (from what I've read, this seems to be the case).

    I think I'll wait until a handful of episodes have aired and then binge watch, just to better appreciate the flow of S2.
     
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  16. balzac

    balzac Senior Member

    There's definitely an interesting (not Earth-shatteringly interesting, but interesting enough to weave through a show) story going on in the background of this show. I think the pretentious stylized stuff gets in the way. But I think the showrunner(s) *want* it to get in the way.

    My near-breaking point last season was the ridiculous episode where Aubrey Plaza's face appeared inside a piece of partially-consumed Cherry Pie. I nearly hit that same breaking point in the *premiere* of this new season when they introduced the guy with a wicker basket on his head followed by three mustached women talking through some sort of vocoder. It's like Hawley is daring people to call it even more pretentious than it was last season.

    I guess it's pretty surprising that FX is willing to put something like this newest episode on as the *premiere* of the season; it's probably the *least-inviting* thing I could think of if they're trying to hook in any new viewers. Even returning viewers are likely to be off-put by the episode's 37 false-start beginnings, the apparent *refusal* to do even a cursory "Previously On..." recap, the seemingly random aspect ratio shifts, tons of upside-down and sideways shots (why filmmakers get made fun of now for "Dutch Angles" while "Legion" is 100% on Rotten Tomatoes despite regular sideways/upside down shots is beyond me), etc.

    But as I've said, I think Hawley wants the viewer to be on the edge of throwing the remote down and shutting the TV off and reading a book or something. If I didn't at least assume he *wants* people to watch and for the show to continue, I'd swear he wants the final episode of this show to reach a point where *nobody* is left watching it because they're fed up with it. It's so pretentious and oozes "weird for the sake of weird" that if feels like Hawley is trying to be *that* subversive as if he's trying for "anti-TV" and "anti-drama" instead of actually doing it. To throw one off even more, you'll get random scenes here and there that *are* played totally straight and like a normal serialized action/drama/sci-fi show.
     
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  17. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

    I'm rewatching Season 1 on blu-ray before venturing into this second season.

    I love this show, I think it's brilliant.
     
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  18. jpelg

    jpelg Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Elm City
    Awww...then you missed an incredible dance sequence!

    Me too! (although I do understand others' frustrations/criticisms.)
     
  19. notesofachord

    notesofachord Riding down the river in an old canoe

    Location:
    Mojave Desert
    An absolute mind---- of a show. In the best possible way.

    The psychedelic weirdness or "pretentiousness" as others have stated above, is what makes the show worth watching. If it was just another sci-fi/mutant/comic book show that was like all the others, I'd have little-to-zero interest, to be honest.
     
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2018
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  20. notesofachord

    notesofachord Riding down the river in an old canoe

    Location:
    Mojave Desert
    So Farouk shows himself to David - nice. Should David trust "future" Syd and help Farouk find his body in order to fight an even greater threat? Hmmm..

    Also, was future Syd missing her left arm, or was I just seeing things?
     
  21. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law Thread Starter

    So...is Farouk the Shadow King? AND, why isn't he that kind-of 'lumpy-monster-looking' guy he was in Season One?
     
  22. Canadacrowe

    Canadacrowe Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    I binge watched season 1 recently. Weirdly, I had recorded the season when it aired, and at about episode 3 watched 10 minutes while it was broadcast and decided the show was maybe not worth watching. Sort of an odd decision, as I think Fargo is brilliant and like stylized non-linear storylines. With the press around season 2, and then looking back at the cast from the season and reviews, decided to give it a chance.

    Really glad I did. Possibly watching the 8 episodes over three evenings does help pick up some subtly repetitive visual details, but to be honest I did not find it incomprehensible or pretentious. Visually, one of the best shows on TV now, and I'm struggling to find parallels other than Fargo (which is a lazy parallel -- maybe Preacher season 1 was close). I expect it would leave some viewers behind, especially those whose tastes veer more towards a really progressive plotline. Hawley's created a TV show that demands some patience from its viewers.

    I'll likely record all of season 2 and watch it all in a few evenings again.
     
  23. woody

    woody Forum Resident

    Location:
    charleston, sc
    Yes, future Syd was missing a left arm.

    This blog has a nice breakdown of the current story based upon the end of season one, the first episode of season 2, and the comic books. It helped me get things somewhat more straight in my head.

    'Legion' Season 2 Delivers a Shocking New Origin Story for the Shadow King | Inverse
     
  24. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

    I've not moved to the new season (nor read about it) yet. I'm re-watching the first season on sumptuous Blu-ray and savoring every moment.

    Such a wonderful show. Very "Philip K. Dickian." I don't know any of the source material, but there's elements from UBIK and The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch here if not from other novels. That's not a bad thing. This is such an expertly crafted show. The writing, directing, acting and especially the cinematography and its conception and execution are amazing.

    Next week I'll start on the new season that has been collecting on my DVR. . . .
     
  25. Yikes, I couldn't disagree more. ANY of the characters in the comic books will need updating just as they did with Thor, etc.
     
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