Adaptations & Remakes is an ongoing feature where I take a movie or a book and compare it to its remake and/or adaptation. Each post follows the same basic format:
General plot overview/source material
Original movie/first adaptation
How I would adapt and/or remake it.
How they adapted/remade it
And don’t forget, you can follow around the internet with the links below.
I’ve waited a couple days before writing and posting this review. I’ve been busy editing and prepping 2 episodes of the podcast for release this week. Shameless plug, if you’re a fan of Breaking Bad, you should check out our first of 3 special Breaking Bad episodes where we breakdown the show’s final run episode by episode.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to Under the Dome, shall we?
Under the Dome has become a successful mystery series in that each week I don’t know whether I will write a favorable review or pick the whole thing apart while comparing it to another show. It’s been a very inconsistent show in its first eight episodes. Being an eternal optimist, I view this inconsistency as a good thing. If the writers listen to feedback and examine what works and what doesn’t, the series could really thrive in season two.
For now, however, let’s talk about episode 9: “The Fourth Hand.”
I feel like I was a little hard on the show last week. I want to reiterate that it was a good episode but the similarities to Lost were obvious to the point of being distracting for me.
I also want to say that Under the Dome season 1 now has a home video release date. It’ll be released on November 5th on DVD, Blu-Ray and a collector’s edition Blu-Ray set. You can preorder it by clicking the corresponding links in the previous sentence. I think it’s interesting that it’s releasing so soon. It’s an interesting way to combat piracy.
But enough about that; here’s my review of the episode. As always, BEWARE, MAJOR SPOILERS Continue reading →
Last week’s Under the Dome was the closest the series has come to being what I hoped it would be before the series premiered. I went into this week’s episode hopeful that it would keep the momentum going. So did it? Read on to find out but beware. There are MAJOR EPISODE SPOILERS in this review. Continue reading →
A note before I get started with this week’s review. I mentioned last week in my “Parting Thoughts” section that I didn’t understand last week’s episode title (Blue on Blue) and thought a better episode title would be “Friendly Fire.” Thanks to Reddit user “AegisToTheCrown” I now know that “Blue on Blue” is actually military terminology for “friendly fire.” I don’t know why I didn’t know that, but all the same, thanks Aegis!
Before you start reading, I must warn you that this is a SPOILER HEAVY list, obviously. Read at your own discretion.
I wrote this in response to the end of season 3 of Game of Thrones. When I first started watching the series, I wanted to read each season’s corresponding book before I watched the adaptation. Given the length of the novels, my impatience and fear of being spoiled I stopped about 1/3 of the way through the second book and got caught up on the series.
Thankfully, I avoided all spoilers for the end of season three. What I got in return was one of the biggest “HOLY SHIT” moments in recent television memory. It’s the moment everyone has been talking about and now that I’ve finally seen it, I’ve been inspired to make a list of the most tragic moments in television. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Clearly this list is only limited to the shows I’ve seen. Think I missed something? Let me know in the comments, on Twitter @ObsessiveViewer or on Facebook. Continue reading →
I am going to make a conscious effort not to compare the series to Stephen King’s novel. I might do something at the end of the season, but I’ll make that decision when the time comes. For now, you can read my thoughts on the novel and the series in the lead up to the premiere on the Stephen King Week page. You can also hear my thoughts on some of the changes the show made on this week’s episode of The Obsessive Viewer Podcast (which releases on Friday). Continue reading →
I finished reading Under the Dome last week. I haven’t read much about the show, for fear of spoilers, but I did read the character bios. Dome Day is tomorrow and today I’d like to share some thoughts on what I hope will be included in (and excluded from) the novel. Read on for my vision for Under the Dome as a television series. Continue reading →
First and foremost, I admit this is a ridiculous claim and I am being slightly facetious when I make premature comparisons to Lost with a series I haven’t watched yet. Besides, Lost had so many contributing factors tied to its success, that it would be difficult, maybe impossible, for network television to have a serialized show capture the hearts, minds and imaginations of so many viewers and “armchair showrunners.” Continue reading →
Pilots are interesting beasts in the television world. They’re used to convince a studio to shell out more money for more episodes. In order to do that, a pilot needs to succeed on several more fronts of storytelling than any other single episode. A pilot needs to introduce the major characters of a series in an engaging, often standalone, story that will leave the audience clamoring for more.
Furthermore, a good pilot needs to rely on a strong cast to build a rapport in a short period of time. Writers working on pilots also have to gauge possible long-term onscreen relationships completely blind of actors’ chemistry. Because of these factors, I live by one steadfast television-viewing rule:
Never judge a show by its pilot.
But some series have such strong pilot episodes that you can and should judge them on the pilots. And so, here I have compiled a list of some of my favorite pilot episodes. They aren’t necessarily my favorite shows ever, and they aren’t exactly the best episodes of said shows. These episodes are just the most engaging series-starters that I’ve seen. They also introduce the characters and story arcs in a highly satisfying way.
You can click the episode titles in the list to buy them digitally on Amazon.
Over the last decade, there’s been a steady shift toward more cinematic storytelling on the small screen. TV has dug its heels into the consciousness of the viewer like it never has before. While the television medium has become a juggernaut of long-form storytelling, it is not without its cast of disposable, irritating characters.
Everyone has that one character they wouldn’t mind seeing buried alive on a beach, mauled to death by a female goat or drowned in a creek filled with tears of their own narcissistic self-pity. Below you’ll find some of the characters whose appearances will have me checking my twitter feed, updating my Facebook or biding my time contemplating why I would even watch a show with such an irritating character.
Fair warning, there are some SPOILERS throughout this list so read sections at your own discretion… Continue reading →
The zombie genre often raises interesting questions. How would we behave if society as we know it was gone? How far are we willing to go to protect our own and when the teeth are closing in, what or who are we willing to sacrifice?
These are themes The Walking Dead has played with since day one and things are quickly coming to a head as the show soon ends its third season. Only two new episodes are left and I feel now is as good a time as any to reflect on where the show’s been and where it’s heading. Let’s start from the beginning…
(Includes spoilers up to and including S03E14 – Prey) Continue reading →
Thanks to The Walking Dead and American Horror Story, the horror genre is in the midst of its biggest television presence since Tales from the Crypt camped up the airwaves of the 1990s. Now A&E is trying to get in on the ground floor by taking a beloved character of the genre and enlisting network hit makers to create a modern day prequel series.
Rewatched this while working from home solely because I've been working on a Top 19 Stephen King Movie/TV Works list for an eventual Tower Junkies episode.It's currently at my number 19 spot on my list. I really don't know if it's because there's such a glut of sub-par/objectively terrible King adaptations out there or if Sometimes T […]
Last movie of 2020, specifically because I started the year with a rewatch of Her.This movie was terrible. Some of the vulgar humor worked for me. The "sex" scene with Jexi surprisingly made me laugh quite a bit. And it was refreshing to see Adam Devine in a likable role, even if everything in the movie is absurd and over the top. It probably would […]
Finally got around to watching this. What a delightful documentary covering a piece of our culture that has all but become extinct. The nostalgia trip that this doc provides is so wonderful.But the most satisfying and fascinating thing about The Last Blockbuster is how much it's about how this massive corporation that was once a dominant force in its in […]