Just a bump - another 8 episodes dropped on Netflix a few weeks ago. I’m about half way through, about the same quality as the original 18.
I’ve seen the first two so far, liking the killer Roomba, didn’t care for the Ice one except the actual animation. The story felt very incomplete.
None of the new episodes blew my mind, but the Roomba one was mildly amusing.
I just started watching the first season and I’m really enjoying it. I’m a little embarrassed to admit I had a literal tear-down-the-cheek moment at the end of “Lucky 13.”
Season 2 is much shorter, and thus much less diverse in style and story. I thought overall it was significantly weaker. Not terrible, by any means, I thought almost all the segments were worth watching, but I didn’t think there were any real stand-outs in Season 2. Except The Drowned Giant, which stood out in the wrong direction. I guess it was supposed to be some sort of meditation on life and death and impermanence of being…or something? I really didn’t get what exactly they were trying to do there. Maybe it was just too “literary” for my tastes.
One thing I will say, though, is that CGI animation of humans continues to improve. I was really impressed with some of the micro-expression work, especially in Snow in the Desert and Life Hutch. There were still moments of uncanny valley with the movements and expressions, but we seem to be moving ever closer to CGI humans being interchangeable with live actors. I’m not quite sure how I feel about that…
I finished the second season and have to say that I enjoyed them overall but was hoping for more overall, especially since the first season was 18 episodes. I kept getting this nagging feeling as I watched that I had seen this kind of show before and it finally dawned on me that this was exactly like Heavy metal magazine, which I loved. Sure enough, a quick Google search confirmed that this is basically an updated version of the magazine.
D’oh!
Now I want an updated movie; I think that could be epic with today’s animation technology.
I have to agree that the animation is getting really good, in some cases I had to really pay attention, like Life Hutch. It’s also interesting how many of these stories are from some SF heavyweights like J.G Ballard and Harlan Ellison. Now they just have to do some Spider Robinson or William Gibson.
Laughed outloud at the best.christmas.short.ever.
Kinda liked the killer roomba -
The rest of them were rather mundane - well animated, some good ideas, but in general, nothing that memorable - but “all thru the house” was great.
Nothing standout here for me. There were 2 that found me skipping to the end and one that had me wishing I had just before it ended. I thought most of the art was good but decry the lack of variations/styles. 5/10: no reason not to watch it but no reason to watch any of it again, either.
I think I have read that story it was taken from (basically all the narration was the whole thing) and what stood out for me is that, even though they set it in contemporary times, I didn’t think it reflected the way people would react to a huge actual giant washed up on the shore. It would be a manic frenzy of tourists and scientists and analysis, not an idle curiosity that was quickly forgotten about.
Anyway, it was a very impressively pretty series.
Though I suspect some of Life Hutch was live-action and they refuse to admit it.
You may have been a giant in life, but as soon as you snuff it your works are picked over by lilliputian scavengers who quickly lose all awe, regard and then respect; mutilated, butchered, and distorted, and finally forgotten and misattributed when purloined fragments surface at all.
Season 3 premieres on May 20th.
Awesome ! I love this show. Thanks for the heads up.
Season 3 is so very good too, but the last episode of season three just stunned me. Amazing. Early into it I was already impressed. By the end of it I was saying out loud, this is amazing, with expletives. WOW!
This whole series is worth my Netflix payments. A few have been merely enjoyable, the majority a cut above, and some, just on another amazing level.
I hope Netflix continues the series and continues it’s level.
I binged the season. I recommend doing that. It is not a continuous buildup to a crescendo, but gets you into a mindset that maybe helps to set up for that final episode? But that is just my personal taste. It may not be so wow for you.
Is there a particular reason why they did not name the show after Heavy Metal (maybe some behind-the-scenes background)?
I believe the story goes that it was originally made for Heavy Metal, then the deal fell through, so they went a more independent route to not waste all the time and money spent.
I have three episodes left but have some notes so far. The head trip on Io felt very much like a Moebius piece crossed with Archer.
Three robots had a way too predictable end.
The cyborg bear felt like it should have had Bock Samson in it. A real Venture Bros. feel.
The swarm was interesting but ultimately felt a little pointless.
The Thanopod piece was very…Squelchy. And kind of predictable.
I LOVED the miniature zombie apocalypse.
Says Wikipedia;
Correct: I started watching yesterday in Germany, where it was shown to me as a sugggestion for the first time. My first episode was “Three Robots”, then “Beyond the Aquila Rift”, “Ice Age”, “Sonnie’s Edge” and “When the Yoghurt Takes Over”. I like it so far, I like the animations and the gratuitous nudity, that he episodes are short and there are some good twists.
Is it weird that I heard the Mini Apocalypse in
speeded up South Park voices?
Wow on Jibaro. I loved the freaky way she moved and how the knights twirled and danced as they ran to their death. It really highlighted the madness of her scream. I feel like she was as much a harpy as a siren what with her “call” being a violent scream rather than a song.
Also, I like that it was the deaf knight who first woke her up when he dipped his hand in the water for a drink.