Recently got a new iPhone from my company which came with a 3-month trial of Apple TV.
So I’m in the middle of a tour de force of the great sci-fi shows in there:
Severance
Foundation
Silo
For All Mankind
I’ve only just finished S1 for all of them so no spoilers please!
For All Mankind is amazing. Perhaps a bit too much non-space related drama but still excellent.
Silo also got me very curious to find out what happens in S2.
I’m a big Asimov fan so I was really looking forward to Foundation. S1 was OK but not entirely sure about some of the many ways they have departed from the books.
Severance is perhaps a bit overhyped and disappointed me a bit but it’s still pretty good.
You might want to add Murderbot to this list, since it’s currently releasing weekly on Apple TV+. I’ve been mostly enjoying it so far, at least as far as the story it’s telling. My only problem is with the episode length/structure. It’s a 22-minute show and I always feel like I’m just getting into it by the time it’s over, with the episodes tending to end very abruptly; there’s rarely a satisfying conclusion to the story elements introduced in that episode.
I don’t normally mind having a week to digest an episode, but with this show it feels like reading a few pages of a book once a week, without the benefit of finishing a chapter. I think the show would be far more enjoyable if watched once all the episodes are available. That said, I find most of the characters likeable and the titular Murderbot’s arc is a unique take on the “android develops humanity” trope. Their behavior is already very human at the start, with the major shortfall being their difficulty/discomfort when relating to people, in a way that’s very autism-coded.
I feel it does become a different show, but I still find it enjoyable. With having to crank up the sense of disbelief due to the need to accept a lot of tech that doesn’t currently exist, I think it makes accepting the overdramatic and unrealistic stuff of the characters more bearable than if things would have stayed closer to present day reality. I thought the whole thing was still really fun overall and I can’t wait for more.
Silo and Severance stay much more even IMO, but we don’t have the massive jumps we get in FAM. Haven’t seen Foundation.
I could not get on board with Silo. Forced myself through 3 and a half episodes before I realized it was just a lower energy version of Fallout without the cheeky self awareness.
When I got the notification, I was going to say if you lined the premise but not the execution to try Fallout.
I like the slow burn of Silo and the putting back of the layers of their situation, but I get why people wouldn’t.
I was originally going to avoid Fallout, but I heard enough good about it that I checked it out. I only played Fallout 4 and watched a playthrough of New Vegas and listened to lore videos as background chatter a good bit, and I felt they really got the mood of Fallout right. Was pretty thrilled with that show.
If you want people trapped in one place but with more action and creepiness than Silo, you might check out From also.
I’m pretty sure I know which you’re referring to. By the words you chose, I think this is about the politician?
I found a lot of the discrimination (all varieties the show goes into) to be something grounding the show a bit while it is still an alt-history show, as it gets tied into some real-world events at the time, socially and politically. Granted I wouldn’t have been affected by that stuff then or now, so I’m not saying it shouldn’t bother people to see it, and I didn’t like how a number of characters get treated for different reasons, but the way people’s personal beliefs really cause a lot of trouble in the show throughout all of it is one of the things that makes it compelling to me. I feel it gets to be as much a political show as it is a sci-fi show. If people don’t want to see that in their escapism, I get it.
But for myself, with the behavior of all the eventually involved factions still treating each other just as crappy as in today’s reality, I find it an interesting change in how space exploration is typically depicted in a world where we’ve resolved our Earthly pettiness and have formed a cohesive world society of peace and harmony and that was what allowed us to venture off into space. In the FAM universe, we’re still as idiotic and petty as ever, and most of what we accomplish is just to spite people we don’t like, from a personal level up to the international.
Oh lord, I remembered the event happened, but I went back to read the details why that was one of the worst parts for you and all of a sudden I realized my brain had repressed a looooot of details about that whole plotline! 😦
I’m a big Asimov fan so I was really looking forward to Foundation. S1 was OK but not entirely sure about some of the many ways they have departed from the books.
Ironically i’d say the best thing about the show is something they completely made up for the show: the whole genetic dynasty with dawn/day/dusk.
Yes, I’d like a sci-fi show just purely based on that. Purely based on Trantor (or whatever they call it in a show not based on Foundation) . A sci-fi court intrigue empire show based around the mechanics and philosophical implications of a genetic dynasty.
Recently got a new iPhone from my company which came with a 3-month trial of Apple TV. So I’m in the middle of a tour de force of the great sci-fi shows in there:
I’ve only just finished S1 for all of them so no spoilers please!
For All Mankind is amazing. Perhaps a bit too much non-space related drama but still excellent.
Silo also got me very curious to find out what happens in S2.
I’m a big Asimov fan so I was really looking forward to Foundation. S1 was OK but not entirely sure about some of the many ways they have departed from the books.
Severance is perhaps a bit overhyped and disappointed me a bit but it’s still pretty good.
You might want to add Murderbot to this list, since it’s currently releasing weekly on Apple TV+. I’ve been mostly enjoying it so far, at least as far as the story it’s telling. My only problem is with the episode length/structure. It’s a 22-minute show and I always feel like I’m just getting into it by the time it’s over, with the episodes tending to end very abruptly; there’s rarely a satisfying conclusion to the story elements introduced in that episode.
I don’t normally mind having a week to digest an episode, but with this show it feels like reading a few pages of a book once a week, without the benefit of finishing a chapter. I think the show would be far more enjoyable if watched once all the episodes are available. That said, I find most of the characters likeable and the titular Murderbot’s arc is a unique take on the “android develops humanity” trope. Their behavior is already very human at the start, with the major shortfall being their difficulty/discomfort when relating to people, in a way that’s very autism-coded.
I found Murderbot to be a disappointing adaptation. I recommend reading the books instead.
A warning that For All Mankind ramps up the soap opera drama in S02 quite a lot. It declines a bit again in 3 and 4 (although it’s always there).
For All Mankind starts turning into “The Expanse” prequel in seasons 3 and 4. I enjoy it all the same!
I feel it does become a different show, but I still find it enjoyable. With having to crank up the sense of disbelief due to the need to accept a lot of tech that doesn’t currently exist, I think it makes accepting the overdramatic and unrealistic stuff of the characters more bearable than if things would have stayed closer to present day reality. I thought the whole thing was still really fun overall and I can’t wait for more.
Silo and Severance stay much more even IMO, but we don’t have the massive jumps we get in FAM. Haven’t seen Foundation.
I could not get on board with Silo. Forced myself through 3 and a half episodes before I realized it was just a lower energy version of Fallout without the cheeky self awareness.
When I got the notification, I was going to say if you lined the premise but not the execution to try Fallout.
I like the slow burn of Silo and the putting back of the layers of their situation, but I get why people wouldn’t.
I was originally going to avoid Fallout, but I heard enough good about it that I checked it out. I only played Fallout 4 and watched a playthrough of New Vegas and listened to lore videos as background chatter a good bit, and I felt they really got the mood of Fallout right. Was pretty thrilled with that show.
If you want people trapped in one place but with more action and creepiness than Silo, you might check out From also.
I mean in s02 a particular plot line is kinda revolting and it hurts that they did that. I assume you know which one I mean.
I’m pretty sure I know which you’re referring to. By the words you chose, I think this is about the politician?
I found a lot of the discrimination (all varieties the show goes into) to be something grounding the show a bit while it is still an alt-history show, as it gets tied into some real-world events at the time, socially and politically. Granted I wouldn’t have been affected by that stuff then or now, so I’m not saying it shouldn’t bother people to see it, and I didn’t like how a number of characters get treated for different reasons, but the way people’s personal beliefs really cause a lot of trouble in the show throughout all of it is one of the things that makes it compelling to me. I feel it gets to be as much a political show as it is a sci-fi show. If people don’t want to see that in their escapism, I get it.
But for myself, with the behavior of all the eventually involved factions still treating each other just as crappy as in today’s reality, I find it an interesting change in how space exploration is typically depicted in a world where we’ve resolved our Earthly pettiness and have formed a cohesive world society of peace and harmony and that was what allowed us to venture off into space. In the FAM universe, we’re still as idiotic and petty as ever, and most of what we accomplish is just to spite people we don’t like, from a personal level up to the international.
No,
spoiler
It’s about Karen and Danny.
Oh lord, I remembered the event happened, but I went back to read the details why that was one of the worst parts for you and all of a sudden I realized my brain had repressed a looooot of details about that whole plotline! 😦
Yeah, the show could have done without that!
Ironically i’d say the best thing about the show is something they completely made up for the show: the whole genetic dynasty with dawn/day/dusk.
Yes, I’d like a sci-fi show just purely based on that. Purely based on Trantor (or whatever they call it in a show not based on Foundation) . A sci-fi court intrigue empire show based around the mechanics and philosophical implications of a genetic dynasty.