The Strain

So anyone else watch it? I'll confess I never read any of the books but the FX debut held my interest for the entire 69 minutes. Pretty horrific concept and I'm not a fan of del Toro at all.. FX is slowly replacing AMC with just outright better shows (i.e. Fargo etc)

 

I liked it a lot. The one scene of unexpected uber violence was great.

Why don't you like Del Toro? I can see why some people hated Pacific Rim and that Blade movie he did but I have never talked to anyone who didn't love either Pan's Labyrinth or The Devil's Backbone. Is it something about his style specifically or maybe that he interjects so much politics into his stuff?

 

I liked Pan's Labyrinth and that's pretty much the extent of his work that I could get into. It has nothing to do with politics at all. Hellboy, Pacific Rim and that sort of superhero movie genre I have zero interest in. I hate all superhero movies. I know it sounds weird coming from someone who collects licensed oldschool japanese action hero toys but the genre seems like a giant CGI fuck-fest money train. Not down. Stuff like "Devils Backbone" with the whole scary orphanage, or his remake of a truly scary movie I saw when I was a kid "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark" don't really make the cut either.

 

Haven;t seen his yet, but it looks nuts and a fun watch. Del Toro's early film Cronos was great, great concept and creepy execution. Worth a watch
even if you are not into his stuff.

 

^^^
I'll have to check Cronos out. I mean so far The Strain, which I know he co-wrote, is good! Even though it's just the first episode. I'll check out anything apocalyptic. Unlike the Walking Dead, which I read beforehand so it sort of spoiled me on watching and being very critical of the show, I have not read The Strain. That will help (I think).

 

That is understandable. Superhero stuff is really a mostly garbage genre anyway so apart from a few specific movies I dislike most of what comes out. The one big exception being some of the newer animated films like Under The Red Hood. I'm a sucker for any decent "scary" movie though so that stuff always holds my interest.

I think this series appeals to the part of me that has always and will always love stuff like The Andromeda Strain. I haven't been excited for a series like this since The Fringe which I really enjoyed from start to end.

 

Cronos is definitely worth a watch, it is creepy and touching at the same time. I love del Toro, I am a huge fan of the Hellboy movies (and comics), but they are really the ONLY superhero movies that I enjoy. Hellboy has always been the quintessential anti-hero anyway. The superhero genre truly is garbage nowadays. Total crap.

I will have to check this show out.

 

I was surprised how much i liked it!

 

I read the first two books. Enjoyed 'em a lot, but for some reason never got motivated to read the third. Thus far I have mixed feelings. Much of the 1st episode, especially the opening sequence with the plane is precisely as I imagined while reading, but I'm not really feeling engaged or addicted. Too soon to pass judgment, though. I'm just glad it got made. Don't wanna get into spoilers but it's going to be interesting to see how they convey the forthcoming milieu. There's a spirit of fun that comes with the horror ... I'm not sure some of the professional reviewers picked up on that, but it's clear in the Del Toro-directed episode that the producers wanted the grotesque sense of humor to translate from book to screen.

I don't enjoy arguing with my respected fellow SB members, but who was the superhero in Pacific Rim? I thought a major theme there was the power of regular human teamwork?

 

The third book is spectacular ! You must finish the trilogy....the graphic novels aren't too shabby either.

Not even 'Puss In Boots' ???

 

I recently went on an itunes binge of Hannibal Season 2, True Detective and Fargo. Loved all of them. Watched the first episode of the Strain and was a bit underwhelmed. I liked the idea of it but it didn't leave me wanting more. It was just okay.

 

The Strain could be interesting but the acting is boring me. And the sets.

 

I had super high hopes going into this show but from the first episode I was disappointed with how bad and boring it was. I haven't watched last night's yet and will give it at least two or three episodes before I write it off but unless the acting improves, the story gets better, or the scares become even remotely scary, I will gladly tap out from watching it. There are far better new shows on cable right now and I would rather spend time with those. I started Tyrant and right from GO it seems like a winner, and I had no desire to watch it. Fargo was the best thing since Breaking Bad (imo) and i'm hoping for more shows with that caliber to continue watching. I hope the Stain gets better, I really do, but my hopes are low on it.

 

Episode 2 strained my brain.

 

Yes! Really liking this series so far, I particularly liked the opening of last nights episode in the doll factory.

 

Watched the first episode of The Strain, and was mildly entertained.
It felt like it was supposed to be a movie, but was then handed off to be turned into a TV show and inserted with a but of filler and dumb characters.
Reminds me of Mimic (directed by Del Toro) or The Relic.
The old dude with the cane is the most interesting part, and hopefully they stick with that tone and character.


On a side note The Leftovers is pretty good.
Love me some Lindelof (HUGE fan of LOST) so I'm all for unanswered questions and just going down the deep rabbit hole of mystery.

And on another side note, True Blood has been horrendous and I can't wait for the show to end.
Halt and Catch Fire has been pretty good. Mediocre, but really well done. I hope it keeps going.

 

The Leftovers. Other than the mystery of it I cant get why the world is so worked up over 2%. We have 1% of our nation incarcerated and no one seems to care. We have 50 million displaced people on the globe and people still want more war. The show feels like to much personal and mundane drama. And the cults just feels like a flash back to everything around me as a child in the early 70's in California. So far the only good part to me was, "I get the Pope, but Gary f'n Busey?"

 

My sis made me watch the first episode of the Leftovers while on vacation. Wasn't bad but it was just ehhh. I told her watch it's going to get real convoluted real fast for no reason. I think we all know my utter hate for Lindelof though. Crap writer who writes himself into a box all the time and then uses the lamest plot lines to get out. He just keeps getting gigs based on Lost. Same with his old partner, who ironically is writing The Strain.

 

I didn't read "The Leftovers" although I found it interesting while reading reviews and interviews to learn that an atheist had attempted to take a serious stab at the whole "Rapture" contingency. Less likelihood of offensive judgment than, say the "Left Behind" series.

Still on the fence about "The Strain" although I agree that the execution just doesn't seem to be up to snuff. If the entire project had been directed by Del Toro it might have been better. I'll stick with it for now. FWIW the character of Sertrakian was the best in the books, too. There's some back story there which I'm hoping the series will be able to cover with some degree of dignity ... otherwise it might come across as tastelessly corny. Specifically

Spoiler

Nazi vampires vs. persecuted Jews material.

I wish the actor playing Eph were better. It's hard to care when acting is so wooden, and this is someone we're supposed to care about.

BTW if you want to read some excellent and humane apocalyptic fiction, both "The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller and "The Age of Miracles" by Karen Thompson Walker are recommended. Heller's book takes a Hemingway-esque and somewhat macho approach to the scenario, mitigated by occasional sudden flights of pure poetic prose. By contrast Walker's blends a young woman's coming-of-age story with an impossibly sad end of the world caused by gradual cessation of the Earth's rotation. Neither book has zombie-vampires.

 

Right there with ya!

I didn't think it was possible to top Dexter's horrendous last season(s), but True Blood is definitely throwing in the towel hard. Only good parts are Eric and Pam. Because they have somewhat of a plot going on in this ridiculous, nonsensical final season.
All the characters just need to die.

And yeah, Halt & Catch Fire has really good production design and its shot really well.
When they are working on the computer, its great. But the drama is a bit drab. But again, the production and quality is what keeps me sticking with it. Just wish the script would focus in on that. The little things that occurred in pop culture during the time period.
The text adventure game stuff was neat, and the cabbage patch kid chase was great.
Gordon and Cameron are great characters, but Joe is a bit stale.

 

This thread kinda died but I wonder if anyone else has been keeping up with the series? Despite my initial misgivings I've become addicted to The Strain and really enjoy each week's episode. Maybe the key is to just stop comparing it to the books and other things and enjoy the ride, or maybe it just gets better as it goes along. I find The Master truly spooky and even had one disturbing nightmare inspired by the series, which I suppose is a compliment.

 

I watched the first season but it was really hit and miss for me. I think The Master is just too stupid looking to be scary. The giant jaw and tiny head thing is ridiculous. So are the gigantic fingers that don't even move like they could actually be used for anything.

Overall I think the biggest mistake was how poorly they portrayed the city being overrun by monsters. I mean in some scenes the streets are literally crawling with vampires and it others people are just walking around reading newspapers and going on about their day? And there is no real police activity or military or national guard just because the internet is down? I mean really, just the fact that the main characters can drive around the streets in a bread truck all easily is hilarious.

Spoiler

And that ending? You hunt a monster your whole damn life and finally have it at your mercy and you are gonna waste your time yelling at it instead of killing it then you're all shocked it slithered away? Pretty lame.

 

I stopped after episode 3 or 4. The pirate site I was watching it on became too unstable and annoying. I was getting bored though. I agree with you though Dean. It's my new approach to Walking Dead. Suspend belief in all rationality and forget the comics! Once in a blue moon the show will surprise (in a good way maybe) you or at least make you laugh.