Watchmen s1e8: A God Walks into Abar

Rating: 10/10

Jon Osterman, aka Dr. Manhattan, returns to Earth but he’s walking right into the 7th Kavalry’s trap. Many parts of the mystery are revealed here save one, how it’s all going to play out.

A magnificent episode that shows that, just like in the comic books, it’s all kind of Dr. Manhattan’s fault. As with every other episode, it follows the story along nicely while also playing around in whatever genre or style it needs to in order to tell this chapter of the story. What we get in this show is the same thing we get from the comic book, a well-crafted story told masterfully by all involved.

SCORING:

+10: Another great episode in a terrific series

Watchmen s1e7: An Almost Religious Awe

Rating:

Sister Night relives the worst parts of her past as she’s treated for her overdose on Nostalgia. Laurie finds herself in danger as she chases down her latest clue.

Plans are revealed in this one as we’re gearing up for what I’m hoping are some climatic upcoming episodes. Still keeping with it’s terrific style with tons of substance to back it up. I like the direction they’ve taken with this series as a whole and am surprised that something like this, a sequel to one of the greatest graphic novels of all time, doesn’t drown under its own hubris (like so many supervillains do, I might add). Instead this is a labor of love for the original property while also creating something in a similar style that doesn’t just retread old waters. I think I’ve basically said this already in every review for this, ironically…

SCORING:

+10: Terrific series that I recommend to anyone who’s a fan of the comic, or just a fan of dark realistic television about superheroes.

Watchmen s1e6: This Extraordinary Being

Rating: 10/10

Sister Night takes too much of her grandfather’s Nostalgia, a futuristic drug that apparently lets you share the memories of whoever it’s prescribed to. As Night ODs, she also relives her grandfather’s past and learns that masked vigilantism might run in the family.

This episode goes through the backstory of a character that I’m sure many fans have been waiting to see and doing it in an interesting and unique way. Another match to original comic, in this way like Dr. Manhattan and how he lives his memories as if her were actually there living them, but in this case it’s someone reliving the life of someone else.

I’m going to compliment the acting this time as everyone does a great job of playing their parts as very real and very flawed people. No one is perfect and all sides are shades of grey, this is how things are, not how they should be like other superhero properties mainly project.

SCORING:

+10: This is a good show, okay!?

Watchmen s1e5: Little Fear of Lightning

Rating: 10/10

In this episode we delve into Wade/Looking Glass’s baskstory and explores how his world is shattered by the 7th Kalvary. Also, Veidt escapes his prison…for a moment.

Another great episode, and this time I’ll talk about the writing. It’s a great mix of drama and mystery, but it feels more like a mystery for the audience than for the actual characters. Such as Veidt’s story, he’s not surprised by the things happening around him, he’s quite used to it by this point, but it only slowly reveals things to us and leaves us guessing. It just keeps building up to something that I’m hoping is going to be its own “squid monster.” I only hope it’s as good a reveal as that one at the end of the comic book, anything less would be a huge disappointment.

SCORING:

+10: A great character piece that slows down the main plot quite a bit but works for the episode and really picks up once a few conspiracies are revealed

Watchmen s1e4: If You Don’t Like My Story, Write Your Own

Rating: 10/10

The plot thickens as we discover two things, first that Ozymandias seems to be trapped in an unknown location with a never-ending supply of clones… for some reason. And secondly, that a rich billionaire from the 51st state, Vietnam, has taken over Veidt’s company and seems to evil, but it’s too soon to call.

Since I can’t complain about anything, I’ll start picking out things to compliment. This time I want to focus in on the cinematography which does an amazing job of capturing the feel of the comics, itself drawn in a more classic-comic style, and this captures that style without copying it’s scenes, though I’m sure you could probably find a lot of similarities between the two. I also like how the music is used expertly to flow with each scene cinematically, it’s use is one that matches the comic’s style with how it matches it’s style to the scene rather than the other way around.

SCORING:

+10: Just a great show, really

Watchmen s1e3: She Was Killed By Space Junk

Rating: 10/10

FBI Agent Laurie Blake is part of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force and is assigned to Tulsa Texas to work the murder case. Once being a vigilante herself, she’s a step above everyone else when it comes to this case.

Another great episode, and everything seems to fit right into where the comic book left off despite being a giant step forward in time. The mystery is continuing to build, especially with Jeremy Iron’s character as he gets into some pretty weird stuff in this one but I suppose that’s to be expected at this point.

I’m binging through this for something else, so I’ll try to keep these short. At least until I find something to complain about the show.

SCORING:

+10: A great episode, I like that it matches the graphic novel to come before it, in both substance and style.

Watchmen s1e2: Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship

Rating: 10/10

The plot thickens as Sister Night does some digging into the past of the murdered chief of police. Meanwhile, Red Scare takes the police to raid the Kalvary’s base of Nixonville.

This was an interesting second episode as the mystery builds into who killed the chief and why. At the same time, Night is just starting to see what influences might have played in the past of her dead boss while also looking into her own past as she meets someone she hadn’t even known about before now.

This episode was very slow paced, which at first I didn’t like as it seemed to be meandering on unimportant plot points but by the end everything sort of comes together in a very interesting way that I really appreciate and also makes this show feel like it’s more in line with the comic book than I first thought. I still wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a retelling though… yet.

SCORING:

+10: Another great episode with a slowly building mystery and great form by all parties involved, and maybe this is going to be the first series I’ve reviewed that I can’t complain about anything. Well, I guess we’ll see.

Watchmen s1e1: Its Summer and We’re Running Out of Ice

Rating: 10/10

A continuation from the 1987 comic book series from Alan Moore, this series shows the aftermath of how the world copes with superheroes 34 years after the events of the comics (which is 2019). This opening episode chronicles how a white supremacist group donning Rorschach masks as they battle a police force consisting only of masked vigilantes in Texas.

I am thoroughly impressed by this pilot episode. It has a terrific style that matches the darker and more realistic tone of the comic books that a longtime fan like me can really appreciate. It also takes things from the comics while making it totally new and using this moments more to pay homage to Alan Moore’s original work without just retelling or rebooting the same story over again.

I have to say that I am thoroughly impressed and hoping the rest of the series is just as good as this episode has been. Great form all around, almost something more than just another TV show, almost.

SCORING:

+10: A great beginning to what I’m hoping is a great series, good acting from everyone and enough mystery about the world they now live in to keep you guessing as to what’s even going on in this crazy world

Superman (1941) s1e6: The Magnetic Telescope

Rating: 10/10

A scientist is demonstrating his new invention that allows for magnetically attracting celestial objects towards Earth. When he goes too far with a nearby comet, can Superman stop it before it destroys the Earth?

I like how they use the scientist but he’s not a villain this time, just unable to stop his experiment. It’s a neat way to flip the script without overdoing the same mad-scientist-as-a-villain plotline. I also like how they use Lois as a heroine here as she’s almost more important than Superman at stopping the meteorite. Does that spoil something? Well these are only 10 minutes long, there’s not much to talk about…

SCORING:

+10: A very entertaining short that takes what we’ve seen previously and gives us something original

Superman (1941) s1e5: The Bulleteers

Rating: 5/10

A gang that drives a Bullet Car that can fly through and destroy buildings, threatens the city. When the mayor won’t give in to their demands, they’re out for revenge. This looks like a job for Superman!

A decent short, but it feels like when they’re especially short like this then the opening feels especially long. I get that it has to introduce everyone even when they’ve never heard of Superman before but it’d be like if Supergirl had it’s opening of “My name is Kara Zor-El…” and then cut off only five minutes after the episode began. You’d feel a tad disappointed that you had to sit through such a long opening.

SCORING:

+5: Decent but nothing new and overly short, even for a short