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(I would never do this before a book review, but I doubt that the people at Netflix would mind, so here goes: I'm geeked. I get Kacey Ezell's newsletter and I see that she is nearing completion on the third novel in the Minds of Men series. I reviewed the first two here at Jimbo's. Write faster Kacey! I need to feed my habit! Oh, and you heard it here first! Well, unless you get the newsletter and you've checked it already, in which case I got scooped. *SIGH* The life of a blogger is a hard one.)
So one day, I received a tip from a friend of mine named Tom. He stated that I should watch and review The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance for my blog. He was right. This is a damn good series. I was vaguely aware of the existence of the comic before I heard from him (Meaning that I had walked past it in my LCS) but I had never really read it. My bad.
So yeah, The Dark Crystal is pretty awesome. I mean, it's got all the neat stuff that I look for. It's got characters that I care about, either hoping they'll succeed or wanting to see them get the tail-kicking they so desperately deserve. It's got a plot that moves and entertains. The special effects are over the moon awesome. And guess what? It's got something that reminds me of the greatest video game of all time. (YMMV)
That's right folks. If you can look at the Skeksis and not immediately think Arakkoa then you've never played World of Warcraft. I mean, the look, the mannerisms, the voices, it was scary. I felt like I was watching the Skeksis in Skettis. Or maybe like I was running Skyreach looking for ah uhh... Dark Crystal? Yeah, I know. That wasn't even a real pun. Yes, I know there is a special place in Hell for people who pun. I'll save you a spot.
Anyway...
This is the type of show that you don't watch when you have to leave the house. It kept me riveted. The show writers all deserve raises. I would watch an episode or two and then go to work or off to church and find myself wondering what would happen next. It's that good.
I find myself thinking of both a particularly bloody and horrifying event in history and also Harry Turtledove's portrayal of it while watching this. I don't know if the story was lifted straight off the pages of the comic or if it was written fresh for the show, but I'm willing to get that whoever wrote the scripts for The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance has read some history. The details aren't even close to what actually happened and that's okay because it's fantasy fiction and doesn't need to match up. As a matter of fact, it's probably better that way. It was really grisly in real life.
I can't do this review and not mention the puppets/muppets/whatever they're called. They were terrifical. I really want to know how you get that much emotion out of a face that doesn't move. Even Keanu Reeves has never managed that. So kudos to the people who made the Muppets and the people who controlled the Muppet strings (or however that works.) Saying I was impressed would be a serious understatement.
I can't say enough about the sets that were used to produce this series. I'm not sure if they were actually fabricated or if it was all just CGI, but it was gorgeous. Everything from the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Skeksis to some of the outdoor scenes were amazing. There was even one setting that reminded me somewhat of Yoda's home on Dagobah. The look of The Dark Crystal itself was amazing. Seriously, someone deserves a pat on the back. I haven't watched the Emmies since..uhh..
Well, maybe once because I went to a party since there was a cute girl there. Then again, that might have been the Oscars because I don't really watch those either.
As I was saying...
This thing deserves some type of award for special effects and maybe scenery if that's a thing. We all know it won't win best show because it's something geeky and enjoyable, but I'm thinking it might win a couple of other categories. I'd be happy, anyway. Well, that's assuming I heard about it. One of you will let me know, right?
Speaking of categories...
I'd love to see The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance get Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series from the Dragon Awards this year. I mean, I'm kind of bitter toward the Dragon Awards because I thought David Weber deserved Best SF Novel instead of Best Mil SF Novel but then again I'm happy because Brad Torgersen got it because A Star Wheeled Sky was a great book and he's a great author. And I'm willing to forgive the Dragon Awards voters for getting this one simultaneously right and wrong because they're pretty amazeballs. Okay, so my feelings on the matter are somewhat complicated. Just vote for the show and I'll feel somewhat vindicated. Maybe we can get Casey Ezell a win this year instead of just a nomination, too. Assuming that the new book is as good as the first two were, anyway. No pressure.
(And yes, that was a horrible run-on sentence. I left it in because confusion. Don't you love me?)
The characters in this thing rocked too. The Skeksis were evilly evil with evil tendencies. Like, I hated those guys. Seriously. I'd love a chance to run their emperor through. The Chamberlain was a stinker too. I'd stand in line for a chance to slap that guy. The Gelflings, on the other hand, were my people. All was not well for them, but when push came to shove they banded together to do the thing. There were some Gelflings who wouldn't cooperate because people are people and the writers did a good job with that but overall I loved these guys.
Deet in particular was my kind of character. She knew how to take a licking and keep on ticking. That girl has spunk. Seriously, as a descendant of the McCoy/Hatfield feud, I love a person who is too stubborn to admit that they're beaten. She stayed upbeat through it all. She pushed hard to get through it. She found a way to do what needed to be done. She... Is she busy later?
Nevermind, fictional character. I do that sometimes.
For real though, if you have Netflix and you're a geek you have no excuse. It's not like you'd have to pay extra for the content. It's ten one-hour episodes so, while you probably won't have time to binge it all in one sitting (Lord knows I didn't) you don't have to. It's original content and it just came out at the end of August so it's not like it's going anywhere. You've probably binged something much longer. So take your time, make your popcorn and hie thee off to Netflix to witness some awesome. You'll thank me when you're done. Even if >redacted< never got to >redacted< with his >redacted<.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews
Netflix, 2019
Some The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance related merchandise is available at the links below:
Showing posts with label Netflix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Netflix. Show all posts
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Another Life on Netflix
Radio telescopy detects a signal from many light years away. Something slams into the Earth and sprouts a huge crystal tower looking thing. A ship is prepped to trace back the signal to make contact with the aliens who sent it. Interpersonal conflict begins. It's finally far enough into the first episode that I can crack open my bottle of Coca Cola. Welcome to Another Life, a Netflix exclusive. And no, it doesn't slow down afterwards.
Seriously, this us not the show for people who get anxiety attacks from watching TV shows. There is always something going on and it gets pretty intense at times. In some ways, although Another Life is hard science fiction, it feels more like Science Horror. I know that doesn't make sense, but watch the thing and see if you don't believe me.
Ya know, it's kind of weird. Another Life is certainly not Event Horizon. There is no space fold, no lost ship, no Latin phrasing, no trip to Hell... You get the idea. The thing is, Another Life and Event Horizon share a similar atmosphere. There's always something going on. It's almost always bad. Our heroes are working their tails off to avoid wherever it is, but we're still pretty sure it's going to get worse and not better. There doesn't seem to be a way out but we still want there to be. And things aren't always what they seem.
With the good comes the not so good. Fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation (especially the first two seasons) will be all too familiar with the we're-all-going-to-die storylines that a lot of these episodes embody. What the producers of Another Life got right that Gene Roddenberry did not is that there is still a lot of tension between characters. And I'll give Another Life this as well: There is no holodeck. We don't see Moriarty escaping to conquer the Enterprise here. I'll take that.
The star of the show, of course, is Katee Sackhoff. Any actress who can play a part well enough to make me accept a female Starbuck is worth watching. I was not disappointed. As Captain Niko Breckenridge, Sackhoff has a tough task: She has to keep a bunch of twenty-something punk kids on task while things continuously go wrong. It doesn't help that she took over the ship from another captain that those same young adults had served under. You can cut the drama here with the knife.
Of course, a lot of that has to do with the youth of the characters. They get into the same type of drama we all did at that age, only they've got more reason to freak out. Life on the Salvare is constantly in flux and most of what happens is not necessarily good. That's okay though. Safe and sane is boring. I'd rather see them all flipping their lids when something crazy happens. And seriously, life in space can sometimes be crazier than your ex-girlfriend on a full moon.
Something I really like is that the writers of the show didn't forget about those left behind. Granted, we were going to see some of what was happening on Earth because of the alien artifact there, but tying in spouses and children is a master stroke. It is also sometimes heart-breaking. I think this works particularly well right now, because there is a lot of sympathy for military families. The crew of the Salvare is not military per se, but they are damn sure deployed and in harm's way so the situation is similar.
I also like the fact that the characters are human and act in human ways while suffering the consequences of doing so. There was a moment in the show where I found myself striking my forehead with the heel of my hand like it was 1985 again. I got why the character did the thing and I was pretty sure I knew what came next. I was right, for the most part. Being Another Life it was a bit worse than what I thought it would be. That's okay. I like the realism here. When things make sense it makes me happy, even when what happens makes me sad. That makes sense, right?
I also like the enigmatic nature of the aliens. Nobody knows who they are or what they want. There is no established way to communicate with them at first. I like that. Listen, I'm as big a Star Trek fan as you're ever likely to meet, but not every alien in the galaxy is going to speak English. It just doesn't work that way. And it takes awhile. That makes sense too. It seems likely to a nerd like me that aliens are not likely to think like humans. Their languages are therefore not going to be instantly translated into any human language. I like that. Even with prime numbers and the Fibonacci Sequence, all we're doing is showing that we can do simple math. Two humans who are both educated in math but don't have a language in common can't talk. Why would a human instantly know how to talk to an alien?
It mystifies me that this thing receives so much hate from Rotten Tomatoes. I don't get it. Yes, as I said previously, it has a horror type feel to it, but SO WHAT? It works. This thing is a cross between and alien invasion story and early space exploration crossed with a touch of political intrigue. I don't get the hate. Is it perfect? No. Is anything human made perfect? No. It's good. It's entertaining. It holds the attention. It keeps things moving.
All in all, I'm glad I watched it. I'm looking forward to Season Two. I damn well better get a Season Two. I need a Season Two because reasons, and it's not just because I have a thing for Katee Sackhoff. Well, maybe that's part of it but that's not all of it. Netflix just needs to shut up and show me the series. Seriously.
Bottom Line: 4.5 out of 5 Alien Whatevers
Another LifeNetflix, 2019
Seriously, this us not the show for people who get anxiety attacks from watching TV shows. There is always something going on and it gets pretty intense at times. In some ways, although Another Life is hard science fiction, it feels more like Science Horror. I know that doesn't make sense, but watch the thing and see if you don't believe me.
Ya know, it's kind of weird. Another Life is certainly not Event Horizon. There is no space fold, no lost ship, no Latin phrasing, no trip to Hell... You get the idea. The thing is, Another Life and Event Horizon share a similar atmosphere. There's always something going on. It's almost always bad. Our heroes are working their tails off to avoid wherever it is, but we're still pretty sure it's going to get worse and not better. There doesn't seem to be a way out but we still want there to be. And things aren't always what they seem.
With the good comes the not so good. Fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation (especially the first two seasons) will be all too familiar with the we're-all-going-to-die storylines that a lot of these episodes embody. What the producers of Another Life got right that Gene Roddenberry did not is that there is still a lot of tension between characters. And I'll give Another Life this as well: There is no holodeck. We don't see Moriarty escaping to conquer the Enterprise here. I'll take that.
The star of the show, of course, is Katee Sackhoff. Any actress who can play a part well enough to make me accept a female Starbuck is worth watching. I was not disappointed. As Captain Niko Breckenridge, Sackhoff has a tough task: She has to keep a bunch of twenty-something punk kids on task while things continuously go wrong. It doesn't help that she took over the ship from another captain that those same young adults had served under. You can cut the drama here with the knife.
Of course, a lot of that has to do with the youth of the characters. They get into the same type of drama we all did at that age, only they've got more reason to freak out. Life on the Salvare is constantly in flux and most of what happens is not necessarily good. That's okay though. Safe and sane is boring. I'd rather see them all flipping their lids when something crazy happens. And seriously, life in space can sometimes be crazier than your ex-girlfriend on a full moon.
Something I really like is that the writers of the show didn't forget about those left behind. Granted, we were going to see some of what was happening on Earth because of the alien artifact there, but tying in spouses and children is a master stroke. It is also sometimes heart-breaking. I think this works particularly well right now, because there is a lot of sympathy for military families. The crew of the Salvare is not military per se, but they are damn sure deployed and in harm's way so the situation is similar.
I also like the fact that the characters are human and act in human ways while suffering the consequences of doing so. There was a moment in the show where I found myself striking my forehead with the heel of my hand like it was 1985 again. I got why the character did the thing and I was pretty sure I knew what came next. I was right, for the most part. Being Another Life it was a bit worse than what I thought it would be. That's okay. I like the realism here. When things make sense it makes me happy, even when what happens makes me sad. That makes sense, right?
I also like the enigmatic nature of the aliens. Nobody knows who they are or what they want. There is no established way to communicate with them at first. I like that. Listen, I'm as big a Star Trek fan as you're ever likely to meet, but not every alien in the galaxy is going to speak English. It just doesn't work that way. And it takes awhile. That makes sense too. It seems likely to a nerd like me that aliens are not likely to think like humans. Their languages are therefore not going to be instantly translated into any human language. I like that. Even with prime numbers and the Fibonacci Sequence, all we're doing is showing that we can do simple math. Two humans who are both educated in math but don't have a language in common can't talk. Why would a human instantly know how to talk to an alien?
It mystifies me that this thing receives so much hate from Rotten Tomatoes. I don't get it. Yes, as I said previously, it has a horror type feel to it, but SO WHAT? It works. This thing is a cross between and alien invasion story and early space exploration crossed with a touch of political intrigue. I don't get the hate. Is it perfect? No. Is anything human made perfect? No. It's good. It's entertaining. It holds the attention. It keeps things moving.
All in all, I'm glad I watched it. I'm looking forward to Season Two. I damn well better get a Season Two. I need a Season Two because reasons, and it's not just because I have a thing for Katee Sackhoff. Well, maybe that's part of it but that's not all of it. Netflix just needs to shut up and show me the series. Seriously.
Bottom Line: 4.5 out of 5 Alien Whatevers
Another LifeNetflix, 2019
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Stranger Things Season 3
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Okay, guys. I need to get something off of my chest. It's a very minor spoiler about something that is only there to create that Eighties feel, but it makes me a little crazy. It's weird because Season Three was the best season of Stranger Things so far and this is making me this nutty, but there it is: In one of the episodes this season Lucas sings the praises of New Coke from the Eighties. YOU DO NOT SING THE PRAISES OF THAT CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY! IT'S JUST NOT DONE! AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, I almost lost my lunch when I saw that. It was terrible. Horrible, even.
But despite all of that, Season Three of Stranger Things is the best so far. The kids are growing up a bit and experiencing some of the things that go along with that. That makes sense. Kids do that. I used to be a kid at one point. I'm an adult(ish type person) now. It's good to see. We saw Mike and Eleven get together at the end of Season 2 and now we get to see what comes next. That's awesome, except when it's not. Mike, bro...
Never mind. No spoilers. But um yeah. What happens makes sense and screams young kid with his first girlfriend but, but..
Yeah, I'll shut up.
Oh, and newsflash: Elle is a badass. I know that hasn't exactly been a secret but it's good to see her coming into an understanding of her powers that wasn't really there before. She's gaining confidence. I see shades of a young Luke Skywalker here: She's got tons of power. She wants to know how to use it. She has no real mentor. She has to puzzle it out herself and she's doing an amazing job. I'm proud of this girl.
I have to admit something else here too: As a father of a couple young girls and a dude named Jim, I share Jim's pain in watching his daughter getting her first beau. Seriously. I'm not sure how I'll deal with that when it comes, but it feels real to me. People talk about teen angst in stories and yeah, it's overdone. That doesn't change the fact that adults get a wee bit angsty sometimes themselves. Dude is stuck in a situation that he didn't ask for and he's not sure how to deal with it. Yeah. Sounds like he's a dad to me. I love it.
Of course, Jim is also a bit of a hothead and that comes out in full force as well. Jim does what he needs to do because he needs to do it and doesn't always worry about what the rules are. I like that about him. Of course, American fiction has a tradition of the outlaw lawman and Jim is one of the finest examples of that I've ever seen. He's the bad cop with no good cop. I want to have a drink with this character.
As a matter of fact, the subject of young love is a theme this season and that's good. The kids are at the right age for it. It would seem a bit awkward if it weren't. The fact that the kids don't always know how to relate to having a significant other is also logical. They're kids. They haven't been there before.
Of course, that's always been the strength of Stranger Things. The writers take a totally outlandish concept (IE the creatures of the Upside Down loose in the real world) and set it in a totally believable, realistic setting. Remember mall life from the Eighties? That's in there. Remember when bike riding wasn't a way to stay in shape, but a form of transportation? That's in there. Remember when none of your friends had cell phones and you had to try to catch them at home? Yep, that's in there too. It all fits. It's Eighties nostalgia to be sure, but it's not just that. It's a realistic look at how things used to be.
Of course, Stranger Things has always contained fantastical elements and they're here in bulk. It takes a bit longer for some of them to show up than I initially preferred, but I guess the writers were a bit too busy making an awesome story to throw random shots of monsters into the mix, so they did the right thing. It was really well done too, even if it may have been just the slightest bit gross in places. But then again, evil is supposed to be gross right? And these people eating monsters are most definitely evil. If you've played Dungeons and Dragons, then you automatically get a shiver up your spine when you hear the term "Mind Flayer." You instinctively remember the horror and evil of a Mind Flayer. If you're worldly enough, you recognize Mind Flayers as echoes of Lovecraft's Chthulu. Yeah, the Upside Down monster rise to that level of evil.
And the way all involved rise up to save their town and the world (again) is epic. I've always admired the characters in Stranger Things because they've never backed down. They've never shown cowardice. They've all been very visibly scared, but they continue on anyway. That's what courage is. Richard the Lionhearted said it best: "Only the dead are without fear." These kids are scared. They sacrifice their bodies along the way. No one knows how things will end, but they all have faith that they'll win out in the end if they just keep fighting.
Or course as kids get older, they sometimes drift apart. Sometimes that's because of external forces. Sometimes it's not. Anyone who has ever played a pen and paper role playing game knows the old adage: Never split the party. This is the first season where I remember things being this split up. The kids are doing things separately in some parts. That too is part of growing up. Establishing independence is a big thing. We see that here too. The writers of this season of Stranger Things have not forgotten what it was like to do that.
Oh, and I have a feeling we'll be seeing Season Four. I can't wait.
Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Demogorgons
Stranger Things, Season 3
Netflix, 2019
Some Stranger Things related items are available at the links below:
Okay, guys. I need to get something off of my chest. It's a very minor spoiler about something that is only there to create that Eighties feel, but it makes me a little crazy. It's weird because Season Three was the best season of Stranger Things so far and this is making me this nutty, but there it is: In one of the episodes this season Lucas sings the praises of New Coke from the Eighties. YOU DO NOT SING THE PRAISES OF THAT CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY! IT'S JUST NOT DONE! AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, I almost lost my lunch when I saw that. It was terrible. Horrible, even.
But despite all of that, Season Three of Stranger Things is the best so far. The kids are growing up a bit and experiencing some of the things that go along with that. That makes sense. Kids do that. I used to be a kid at one point. I'm an adult(ish type person) now. It's good to see. We saw Mike and Eleven get together at the end of Season 2 and now we get to see what comes next. That's awesome, except when it's not. Mike, bro...
Never mind. No spoilers. But um yeah. What happens makes sense and screams young kid with his first girlfriend but, but..
Yeah, I'll shut up.
Oh, and newsflash: Elle is a badass. I know that hasn't exactly been a secret but it's good to see her coming into an understanding of her powers that wasn't really there before. She's gaining confidence. I see shades of a young Luke Skywalker here: She's got tons of power. She wants to know how to use it. She has no real mentor. She has to puzzle it out herself and she's doing an amazing job. I'm proud of this girl.
I have to admit something else here too: As a father of a couple young girls and a dude named Jim, I share Jim's pain in watching his daughter getting her first beau. Seriously. I'm not sure how I'll deal with that when it comes, but it feels real to me. People talk about teen angst in stories and yeah, it's overdone. That doesn't change the fact that adults get a wee bit angsty sometimes themselves. Dude is stuck in a situation that he didn't ask for and he's not sure how to deal with it. Yeah. Sounds like he's a dad to me. I love it.
Of course, Jim is also a bit of a hothead and that comes out in full force as well. Jim does what he needs to do because he needs to do it and doesn't always worry about what the rules are. I like that about him. Of course, American fiction has a tradition of the outlaw lawman and Jim is one of the finest examples of that I've ever seen. He's the bad cop with no good cop. I want to have a drink with this character.
As a matter of fact, the subject of young love is a theme this season and that's good. The kids are at the right age for it. It would seem a bit awkward if it weren't. The fact that the kids don't always know how to relate to having a significant other is also logical. They're kids. They haven't been there before.
Of course, that's always been the strength of Stranger Things. The writers take a totally outlandish concept (IE the creatures of the Upside Down loose in the real world) and set it in a totally believable, realistic setting. Remember mall life from the Eighties? That's in there. Remember when bike riding wasn't a way to stay in shape, but a form of transportation? That's in there. Remember when none of your friends had cell phones and you had to try to catch them at home? Yep, that's in there too. It all fits. It's Eighties nostalgia to be sure, but it's not just that. It's a realistic look at how things used to be.
Of course, Stranger Things has always contained fantastical elements and they're here in bulk. It takes a bit longer for some of them to show up than I initially preferred, but I guess the writers were a bit too busy making an awesome story to throw random shots of monsters into the mix, so they did the right thing. It was really well done too, even if it may have been just the slightest bit gross in places. But then again, evil is supposed to be gross right? And these people eating monsters are most definitely evil. If you've played Dungeons and Dragons, then you automatically get a shiver up your spine when you hear the term "Mind Flayer." You instinctively remember the horror and evil of a Mind Flayer. If you're worldly enough, you recognize Mind Flayers as echoes of Lovecraft's Chthulu. Yeah, the Upside Down monster rise to that level of evil.
And the way all involved rise up to save their town and the world (again) is epic. I've always admired the characters in Stranger Things because they've never backed down. They've never shown cowardice. They've all been very visibly scared, but they continue on anyway. That's what courage is. Richard the Lionhearted said it best: "Only the dead are without fear." These kids are scared. They sacrifice their bodies along the way. No one knows how things will end, but they all have faith that they'll win out in the end if they just keep fighting.
Or course as kids get older, they sometimes drift apart. Sometimes that's because of external forces. Sometimes it's not. Anyone who has ever played a pen and paper role playing game knows the old adage: Never split the party. This is the first season where I remember things being this split up. The kids are doing things separately in some parts. That too is part of growing up. Establishing independence is a big thing. We see that here too. The writers of this season of Stranger Things have not forgotten what it was like to do that.
Oh, and I have a feeling we'll be seeing Season Four. I can't wait.
Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Demogorgons
Stranger Things, Season 3
Netflix, 2019
Some Stranger Things related items are available at the links below:
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Altered Carbon on Netflix
So, being a nerd with a Facebook addiction, I kept hearing about this whole Altered Carbon thing. Some were praising it. Others were a little less impressed. The one thing that no one can deny, though, is that the show had generated precisely one metric bunchaton of buzz. Oh, and it's on Netflix. I have Netflix.
*SIGH*
Alright, you stupid meanie heads are making me do this. I don't wanna! I don't have time. I work sixty-five hours on a slow week and I need to read these books so I can review them (Note: Jimbo loves his authors. Thank you for submitting!) and I have stuff to do as far as keeping things clean and washing clothes and you're all a bunch of Commie-loving, evil weenies and oooh...SHINY! I like this!
I'll be honest. The first time I watched the first episode I missed a lot of it because I was falling asleep. This is not the show to be watching in bed while falling asleep after working a fourteen hour shift. It's just not. There is too much in that first episode that you need to understand to make the rest of the show work. This is a rich universe with an absolute buttload of backstory and new technology like I've never seen before. I've been a science fiction fan for as long as I can remember. Yes, there are people out there who have been watching/reading SF longer, but they're all older than me. I thought I knew all the tropes. I didn't, or more accurately, whoever wrote the book that this is all based on came up with some new ones . Altered Carbon puts the whole world on its head. The most important piece of tech changes basically the entire society that we're viewing.
What is that technology you ask? It's called a Stack. Basically, it gets installed in the base of the human head/top of the neck and it works like a hard drive. When a person gets one installed (done at some point in childhood) all of their thoughts, feelings, memories, everything that makes them them is uploaded into it. A stack is updated continuously. If you choke to death while eating a steak you can still remember the taste of the meat and the sense of panic when it lodged in your throat when you're “spun up.”
Spun up? Yep. They cut the spot where your stack was implanted open, then pull it out and slap it into another body. In the show they're known as “sleeves” and if you die but can still be loaded into a new sleeve, that's called “sleeve death.” Hey presto, you're alive again. As long as your stack doesn't get damaged or destroyed, of if you have paid big money to have it backed up on a satellite just in case it gets damaged or destroyed you can be brought back to life. New sleeves come from convicts, who have their stacks pulled and are placed into a Matrix like construct to serve their time, or from cloning. Victims of violence get new sleeves on the government dime. Others can purchase or be gifted new ones. The sad part is that not everyone gets one.
The whole world changes because of this one invention. Sleeve death isn't all that scary to a person who has someone else to buy them a new body. Rich people keep clones of themselves stored so that they can be spun up immediately if something kills their sleeve. A fight to the death for the entertainment of a crowd is no big deal. The fight promoter can simply replace both sleeves. The dead person lives again and the beaten up but still alive person gets put into a new, uninjured sleeve. Life goes on just like before only now they have a new look. Oh, and is your wife not as hot as she was twenty years ago? Buy her a new sleeve, move that stack over and BAM! She's hotter than ever and she's still all yours. Yeah, it's awesome but it's a little weird until you get used to it.
This...uhhh... leads to a lot of depravity honestly. I'm not just talking about the show's indulgence in gratuitous amounts of sex and nudity, I'm talking about straight up twisted shit. At one point in the show, a hooker actually suggests to a visiting client that he could stab her and then, in her words “fuck me in the hole you made.” I mean, I've seen a lot. I've done quite a bit. I'm a bit of a dom myself. That much being said, DAMN THAT'S TWISTED. Eat your heart out John Ringo, because you can't touch that. It's done for plot purposes though. The villains are the people who patronize these places and put these people through all of this crap. I loved the show, but I will give you this warning: If you find yourself bothered by nudity, sex and/or depravity, this is not the show for you.
A word to the wise since I know I have some Conservative readers. There is a lot of Leftism in this book. Rich people are assumed to be both corrupt and depraved. Religion is well... uhh... not mocked, but more like treated as backward. Catholics, in particular, are called believers and treated as weirdos because they don't believe in re-sleeving. To a Catholic, you are meant to stick to the body you were born with and accepting a new one is a one way ticket to hell. It's weird though because the hero of the whole things is pretty damn well funded. At one point, a terrorist/freedom leader tells her followers that they have to be against re-sleeving because it will created an immortal existence for the rich and they will take over society and suck the life out of it. I'm paraphrasing. It doesn't linger long over it though, or become overly preachy.
Our hero is Takeshi Kovacz. He is a terrorist from (I think) one hundred fifty years ago and he is an utter bad-ass. Seriously. Not only can he kick your ass in a straight up fight, he can probably outshoot you too. He's got a problem. I wasn't joking when I called him a terrorist. His stack has been imprisoned for over a century. He is freed by an uber rich individual, the aforementioned Laurens Bancroft, whose sleeve was murdered, stock shot out and damn near had his satellite backup deleted. He's more than just a little pissed. Bancroft wants to know who tried to kill him. Kovacz spends the entire first season trying to put together a team and figure out who did it.
Along the way, there is plenty of action. Altered Carbon features fight scenes that are both intense and bloody. There are twists aplenty and nothing is what it seems. This thing was really well done. I haven't read the books (Hey, don't blame me. None of my Adoring Public [TM] told me they existed.) but I've been told by people that have that it's a good translation. That makes sense. It takes ten hours to do a good translation of a novel, not two. You get your ten hours here. I think I'm going to check the books out though.
Yes, I did say books, plural. I'm hoping that translates into more seasons of Altered Carbon. Takeshi Kovacz is apparently involved of lots of things. I'm not sure how far we are into the series but I'm guessing that it's only one book based on the way the storyline works. There's only one major resolution. It only makes sense if this is only one book. At the end of the day though, grab hold and ride hard because this is one wild ride.
Bottom Line: 4.5 out of 5 Stacks
Altered Carbon
Netflix, 2018
Altered Carbon (the book) is available at the following link:
*SIGH*
Alright, you stupid meanie heads are making me do this. I don't wanna! I don't have time. I work sixty-five hours on a slow week and I need to read these books so I can review them (Note: Jimbo loves his authors. Thank you for submitting!) and I have stuff to do as far as keeping things clean and washing clothes and you're all a bunch of Commie-loving, evil weenies and oooh...SHINY! I like this!
I'll be honest. The first time I watched the first episode I missed a lot of it because I was falling asleep. This is not the show to be watching in bed while falling asleep after working a fourteen hour shift. It's just not. There is too much in that first episode that you need to understand to make the rest of the show work. This is a rich universe with an absolute buttload of backstory and new technology like I've never seen before. I've been a science fiction fan for as long as I can remember. Yes, there are people out there who have been watching/reading SF longer, but they're all older than me. I thought I knew all the tropes. I didn't, or more accurately, whoever wrote the book that this is all based on came up with some new ones . Altered Carbon puts the whole world on its head. The most important piece of tech changes basically the entire society that we're viewing.
What is that technology you ask? It's called a Stack. Basically, it gets installed in the base of the human head/top of the neck and it works like a hard drive. When a person gets one installed (done at some point in childhood) all of their thoughts, feelings, memories, everything that makes them them is uploaded into it. A stack is updated continuously. If you choke to death while eating a steak you can still remember the taste of the meat and the sense of panic when it lodged in your throat when you're “spun up.”
Spun up? Yep. They cut the spot where your stack was implanted open, then pull it out and slap it into another body. In the show they're known as “sleeves” and if you die but can still be loaded into a new sleeve, that's called “sleeve death.” Hey presto, you're alive again. As long as your stack doesn't get damaged or destroyed, of if you have paid big money to have it backed up on a satellite just in case it gets damaged or destroyed you can be brought back to life. New sleeves come from convicts, who have their stacks pulled and are placed into a Matrix like construct to serve their time, or from cloning. Victims of violence get new sleeves on the government dime. Others can purchase or be gifted new ones. The sad part is that not everyone gets one.
The whole world changes because of this one invention. Sleeve death isn't all that scary to a person who has someone else to buy them a new body. Rich people keep clones of themselves stored so that they can be spun up immediately if something kills their sleeve. A fight to the death for the entertainment of a crowd is no big deal. The fight promoter can simply replace both sleeves. The dead person lives again and the beaten up but still alive person gets put into a new, uninjured sleeve. Life goes on just like before only now they have a new look. Oh, and is your wife not as hot as she was twenty years ago? Buy her a new sleeve, move that stack over and BAM! She's hotter than ever and she's still all yours. Yeah, it's awesome but it's a little weird until you get used to it.
This...uhhh... leads to a lot of depravity honestly. I'm not just talking about the show's indulgence in gratuitous amounts of sex and nudity, I'm talking about straight up twisted shit. At one point in the show, a hooker actually suggests to a visiting client that he could stab her and then, in her words “fuck me in the hole you made.” I mean, I've seen a lot. I've done quite a bit. I'm a bit of a dom myself. That much being said, DAMN THAT'S TWISTED. Eat your heart out John Ringo, because you can't touch that. It's done for plot purposes though. The villains are the people who patronize these places and put these people through all of this crap. I loved the show, but I will give you this warning: If you find yourself bothered by nudity, sex and/or depravity, this is not the show for you.
A word to the wise since I know I have some Conservative readers. There is a lot of Leftism in this book. Rich people are assumed to be both corrupt and depraved. Religion is well... uhh... not mocked, but more like treated as backward. Catholics, in particular, are called believers and treated as weirdos because they don't believe in re-sleeving. To a Catholic, you are meant to stick to the body you were born with and accepting a new one is a one way ticket to hell. It's weird though because the hero of the whole things is pretty damn well funded. At one point, a terrorist/freedom leader tells her followers that they have to be against re-sleeving because it will created an immortal existence for the rich and they will take over society and suck the life out of it. I'm paraphrasing. It doesn't linger long over it though, or become overly preachy.
Our hero is Takeshi Kovacz. He is a terrorist from (I think) one hundred fifty years ago and he is an utter bad-ass. Seriously. Not only can he kick your ass in a straight up fight, he can probably outshoot you too. He's got a problem. I wasn't joking when I called him a terrorist. His stack has been imprisoned for over a century. He is freed by an uber rich individual, the aforementioned Laurens Bancroft, whose sleeve was murdered, stock shot out and damn near had his satellite backup deleted. He's more than just a little pissed. Bancroft wants to know who tried to kill him. Kovacz spends the entire first season trying to put together a team and figure out who did it.
Along the way, there is plenty of action. Altered Carbon features fight scenes that are both intense and bloody. There are twists aplenty and nothing is what it seems. This thing was really well done. I haven't read the books (Hey, don't blame me. None of my Adoring Public [TM] told me they existed.) but I've been told by people that have that it's a good translation. That makes sense. It takes ten hours to do a good translation of a novel, not two. You get your ten hours here. I think I'm going to check the books out though.
Yes, I did say books, plural. I'm hoping that translates into more seasons of Altered Carbon. Takeshi Kovacz is apparently involved of lots of things. I'm not sure how far we are into the series but I'm guessing that it's only one book based on the way the storyline works. There's only one major resolution. It only makes sense if this is only one book. At the end of the day though, grab hold and ride hard because this is one wild ride.
Bottom Line: 4.5 out of 5 Stacks
Altered Carbon
Netflix, 2018
Altered Carbon (the book) is available at the following link:
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