# Reacher - the full-sized version is a vast improvement {Season 2, 1st 3 episodes available 2023-12-15} **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, amazon-prime\ **Created:** [February 5, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978 "2022-02-05T21:10:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/81 "2022-02-08T13:07:06Z")
Curious to know the gender of the Reacher fans commenting in this thread. Cis male here. The books have brief mentions of Reacher’s moral code: protect the weak from those who prey on them is about it, if he gets arsed enough to care. Child has said he modeled Reacher on Travis McGee, the errant knight with a rusty lance. Reacher doesn’t go into monologues/rants the way McGee does, but there is an attempt to have him act in accordance with a code. It’s the professional wrestling code where the face plays by the rules until the heel pulls a dirty trick and then all rules are set aside so good can triumph. It’s about exciting simple passions so you tune in next week and buy the next book in the series, not Kant. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/82 "2022-02-08T13:17:20Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Is Robin Hood an antihero? No, being an outlaw is not the same as being an antihero. If Robin Hood stole from the rich to feed his growing drug addiction, sexually abused his merry men, and also happened to feed the children and widows of Sherwood, then, yes, he might also be an antihero. Basically, they may do the “right” thing but it will often be for self-serving purposes and/or will buck conventional morality. Hence, the classic Robin Hood would be a traditional hero. Dirty Harry would not. Note there is a trend towards anti-heroes as protagonists in recent decades. A Robin Hood film made today could well feature an anti-hero. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/83 "2022-02-08T14:58:30Z")
> [@solost](#): > > There will be a season 2: Yay! Only objection to that article - it describes Reacher as liking punching people in the face. Any fan would know that he prefers elbows to the face/head over fists! 😃 I hadn’t known LC intentionally modeled Reacher after Travis McGee. Had long wondered who would win between the 2. Long figured those 2 series pretty much typified “guy” lit. And apparently [url=[https://screenrant.com/reacher-lee-child-cameo-finale/](https://screenrant.com/reacher-lee-child-cameo-finale/)] LC’s cameo[.url] IS in the final diner scene. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/84 "2022-02-08T15:11:46Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > He stops bad guys and leaves them webbed up for the police so they face the justice system. “Your honor, some strange guy in a suit tied me up 40 floors up with this money. I was just walking down the street.” “Sure buddy. When Spiderman testifies, we’ll…what’s that? Superheroes don’t go to court? Case dismissed!” ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/85 "2022-02-08T15:53:15Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Only objection to that article - it describes Reacher as liking punching people in the face. Any fan would know that he prefers elbows to the face/head over fists! Yes, in the books Reacher does prefer elbows over fists. But in the show it’s appeared to me that TV Reacher uses his fists plenty, and I don’t remember seeing too many, if any, elbow strikes. So you can’t really fault the article, which is describing the show, not the books. And I can’t really fault the show either, because when you’re choreographing a fight scene, it’s probably not nearly as dramatic-looking to see a guy elbowing his enemies into submission. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/86 "2022-02-08T16:02:57Z")
That’s odd. As I recall the fight scenes, Reacher used his elbows quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/87 "2022-02-08T16:03:14Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Yes, in the books Reacher does prefer elbows over fists. But in the show it’s appeared to me that TV Reacher uses his fists plenty, and I don’t remember seeing too many, if any, elbow strikes. So you can’t really fault the article, which is describing the show, not the books. Well, my criticism was somewhat tongue in cheek. One reason I favored the initial prison bathroom scene was the use of elbows - very useful in close quarters. That was IMO a pretty realistic scene. One of the “schools” of MA I used to practice/teach had the motto “HKE” - which stood for headbutts, knees, and elbows. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/88 "2022-02-08T16:09:52Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > That’s odd. As I recall the fight scenes, Reacher used his elbows quite a bit. I guess he did then, as Dinsdale points out here. He does punch a lot though too: > [@Dinsdale](#): > > One reason I favored the initial prison bathroom scene was the use of elbows - very useful in close quarters. That was IMO a pretty realistic scene. > [@Dinsdale](#): > > Well, my criticism was somewhat tongue in cheek. So was my response meant to be 🙂 > [@Dinsdale](#): > > One of the “schools” of MA I used to practice/teach had the motto “HKE” - which stood for headbutts, knees, and elbows. Now I’ve got “headbutts, elbows, knees and toes, knees and toes” stuck in my head 😄 ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/89 "2022-02-08T18:02:57Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Now I’ve got “headbutts, elbows, knees and toes, knees and toes” stuck in my head 😄 Hopefully only figuratively. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/90 "2022-02-08T19:53:57Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Is Robin Hood an antihero? This is embarrassing, but all I really know about Robin Hood is the “steal from the rich, give to the poor line” and a couple of his men’s names. I’ve never read the book or seen a movie so I really can’t say because I don’t know any details. I will say that an anti-hero doesn’t have to be evil. They are just a different kind of protagonist than the usual good guy that shoots the gun out of the bad guys hand. I find them much more interesting than Matt Dillon or the Lone Ranger. Just as I find Batman more interesting than Superman and Wolverine is more interesting than Cyclops. > [@solost](#): > > There will be a season 2: > > [Amazon gives Reacher another season of bicep flexing, face punching - AV Club](https://www.avclub.com/amazons-reacher-second-season-order-alan-ritchson-lee-c-1848497436) Love the title of the article! I thought it was good but this is more than I expected: > More importantly, people are watching the show. [Per _Deadline_](https://deadline.com/2022/02/reacher-renewed-season-2-amazon-1234928214/), _Reacher_ ranks among Amazon’s top five most-watched shows ever in the U.S. and around the globe over a 24-hour period. Amazon also says that it’s one of the streamer’s highest-rated original series ever. > [@Kropotkin](#): > > Curious to know the gender of the Reacher fans commenting in this thread. Cis male here. Cis male also. I think Reacher is similar to McGee, but I admit I love all the McGee books and everything else MacDonald wrote. I may have made it thru 10 Reacher books when I gave up because of the repetitive nature most series books have. If I had to choose, the McGee books would win every time. I have to say that this Reacher series is about 1000 times better than any Travis McGee movie I ever saw. > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Case dismissed!” You obviously are not from NY. Superheroes all over the place here, we have special laws. That guy’s going to superhero court and then to prison. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/91 "2022-02-08T22:36:25Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > Spider-Man is a hero. He stops bad guys and leaves them webbed up for the police so they face the justice system. Spiderman leaves bad guys webbed up on the sides of buildings and hanging off cranes with webbing that degrades in about an hour or so. You can’t convince me that NYPD is able to spot and recover all those criminals within those 60 minutes, and that no small number of them have plummeted to their deaths. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/92 "2022-02-08T22:55:09Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > Spiderman leaves bad guys webbed up on the sides of buildings and hanging off cranes with webbing that degrades in about an hour or so. You can’t convince me that NYPD is able to spot and recover all those criminals within those 60 minutes, and that no small number of them have plummeted to their deaths. Trust me, it’s been working for decades. Spidey has designated drop off points for criminals. Police drive by every hour or so to pick up the webbed up criminals and haul them to superhero court. Easy-peasy. I’ve lived in NY for over 20 years and I’ve yet to have a criminal drop out of the sky on my head. Except for that whole Gwen Stacy thing he’s got a pretty good record. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/93 "2022-02-08T22:56:26Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > I will say that an anti-hero doesn’t have to be evil. They are just a different kind of protagonist than the usual good guy that shoots the gun out of the bad guys hand. I find them much more interesting than Matt Dillon or the Lone Ranger. Just as I find Batman more interesting than Superman and Wolverine is more interesting than Cyclops. This isn’t the movies - I had a chance to take them out and I did. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/94 "2022-02-08T23:07:32Z")
Comparison to the books: Neaghy was brought in too early. She doesn’t come on to the scene until book 4 or 5. What was consistent was Reacher using guns to kill people. In the books he uses firearms in the first two books, but after that, it is usually hand to hand combat for his killing. I’ve heard that Netflix has already begun discussion for a season 2 with the creators. I also liked that young Reacher is also Will Robinson. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/95 "2022-02-08T23:11:29Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > Except for that whole Gwen Stacy thing he’s got a pretty good record. You just had to go there, didn’t you. 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/96 "2022-02-08T23:22:00Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > Spidey has designated drop off points for criminals. Like a reverse Amazon drop box. “You have criminals to pick up, at SPIDERBITE” “You have two criminals to pick up at MULTIVERSE” Note, you have two hours to claim your criminals. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/97 "2022-02-09T08:43:24Z")
> [@simster](#): > > This isn’t the movies - I had a chance to take them out and I did. Yep, a great line. > [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Neaghy was brought in too early. She doesn’t come on to the scene until book 4 or 5. I thought I had read about 10 of the books, but I cannot remember her at all. Either I didn’t get that far or she was totally forgettable to me. > [@si\_blakely](#): > > You just had to go there, didn’t you. 🤣 No use trying to hide these little mishaps, they always end up on twitter anyway. Best to get ahead of the stories. > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Like a reverse Amazon drop box. Exactly! Could someone refresh my memory about Reacher’s military experience? My thoughts were that his career was pretty much all in the Military Police. Did he have any other special training beyond Basic and AIT? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/98 "2022-02-09T10:53:51Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > Could someone refresh my memory about Reacher’s military experience? My thoughts were that his career was pretty much all in the Military Police. Did he have any other special training beyond Basic and AIT? He is a competent, quite skilled, marksman, but, most significantly, the Army employs him to eliminate people (spies, terrorists, criminals, whoever), off the books: > [@](#): > > In the morning they gave Reacher a medal, and in the afternoon they sent him back to school. The medal was another Legion of Merit. His second. It was a handsome item, enameled in white, with a ribbon halfway between purple and red. Army Regulation 600–8–22 authorized its award for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the United States in a key position of responsibility. Which was a bar Reacher felt he had cleared, technically. But he figured the real reason he was getting it was the same reason he had gotten it before. It was a transaction. A contractual token. Take the bauble and keep your mouth shut about what we asked you to do for it. Which Reacher would have anyway. It was nothing to boast about. The Balkans, some police work, a search for two local men with wartime secrets to keep, both soon identified, and located, and visited, and shot in the head. All part of the peace process. Interests were served, and the region calmed down a little. Two weeks of his life. Four rounds expended. No big deal. He does not like running, and is a bad driver. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/99 "2022-02-09T13:39:44Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > Trust me, it’s been working for decades. Spidey has designated drop off points for criminals. Police drive by every hour or so to pick up the webbed up criminals and haul them to superhero court. It’s even easier now in the digital age- he just sends a digital photo of the webbed-up bad guys to the cops along with a GPS marker on a map. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978/100 "2022-02-09T13:58:08Z")
The Venture Brothers on superheroes and due process- [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2rs7VVjz5A8/hqdefault.jpg "Recuperating from Captain Sunshine | The Venture Bros. | Adult Swim") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rs7VVjz5A8) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reacher-the-full-sized-version-is-a-vast-improvement-season-2-1st-3-episodes-available-2023-12-15/958978.md?page=6)