I really rather enjoyed it. That's not to say that it isn't utterly batshit crazy, it is, but it is well done.
There's some nicely observed culture shock stuff: IC: That used to be a livery stable. Cop: Yeah and now it's a starbucks IC: But there's another one? Cop: Yeah IC: Are there no laws?
It is like a cross between National Treasure and late-season (well, mid-season, now, I suppose) Supernatural with just a smidge of the gleeful restraint I expect from first-season Spartacus: Blood and Sand!
And it was so obvious what was going to happen to the kindly, older, mentor figure.... that I honestly have to think they specifically cast him just for the funny.
Which means I'll be watching every demented episode of the program.
(Only thing that would have been better, would be if there had been a random spark of electricity from a broken wire... but it was a barn don't you know)
It is crazy dumb in many ways. But the pilot was also pretty damn fun. And the two leads are both pretty great and bounce well off each other. And I found the bit with the demon in the mirror near the end fairly creepy. Plus, from the preview clips at the end, later we'll get a Horseman in samurai armor...
Though sadly it needed more Clancy Brown than it got...
Why: Because the blades are nice but they only work up close, and people have a tendency to run away/shoot him. And he is annoyed by being shot and is stuck moving at walking speed on non-horse because monster movie.
I watched the first two episodes. 8^/ Not so hot, I was hoping for better. Seems like they're in a huge hurry to move the story forward. Did I get the date wrong? *Goes back to check* No! 1781. That was 232 years ago, _not_ 250, which they say over and over again. OK, magic preserves Ichabob, the bible and a bunch of stuff in jars, and keeps the pit from flooding, but what of the gunpowder and lamp oil in the underground passage that time forgot? And there are those mint-fresh tombstones, probably marble, perfectly legible despite 232 years of erosion, not to mention decades of acid rain. Ichabob accepts paper money as common currency in an affluent modern US. *eyeroll* A $1 bill? That's like what, a month's salary in 1781? On paper. Right. OK, what's her name calls-in a slain officer, and instead of going there, two cop cars pick up a vagrant in the middle of the street miles away. And accuse him of the murder that happened a minute before. Several miles away. Forensics find no sign of fire with which Headless would have heated his ax at the stables...They kinda missed that charred ax-chop in the door, eh wot. Ichabob leaves the cop-car (lunatic in the front seat, door not locked, makes sense) to go walkies in the graveyard, boss tells what's-her-name that she was supposed to drop him off at the loony bin, and both chat rather than chase after Ichabob. In episode two, it looks like the boss has put what's-her-name in charge of the police department (or at least they seem to be reporting to her), but she can't go into the archives on a whim. Overall, this has been so sloppy and cliché that I doubt I'll watch any more of it. Oh yeah, the four horsemen of the apocalypse... Death, War, Conquest?, and something else, probably Famine. But Conquest? Come on. Is Pestilence that hard a concept to grasp?
I'm not sure you understand. John Cho is a witch, and when they realised they'd killed him off in episode 1 but needed him in ep 2, rather than rewrite or reshoot they just had him un-die.
It's an *incredibly* stupid show, and it glories in that stupidity. You kind of have to walk into it expecting brain cells to die.
(And, "250 years" is totally a perfectly good number for "232 and rounding off")
Yes, I buy that John Cho is a witch and that he revives at the morgue, probably with some help from the minator-thing. Rounding off is OK, but they don't even try to get it right once in dialog. I was not expecting for brain cells to perish, I have so few left, my synapses are talking to themselves. I expect you to tell us when Death sneaks a blood transfusion from Ichabob and becomes a Daywalker.
Actually, as a horseman Conquest is Biblically legit, and Pestilence is not. I mean, maybe there's some variation in translation, but here's the relevant passage (Revelation 6:2), according to the pocket new testament that was given out every year in my elementary school:
"And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
It matches up to the version presented in the Skeptics Annotated Bible (http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/rev/6.html).
After Death is introduced, there's a comment on what the horseman are to do ("And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth"), and disease isn't mentioned.
I agree, Pestilence should be in there. I mean, killing with death? And it's pretty redundant to have both Conquest and War. And who's in charge of the beasts of the earth, anyway? But the Bible had a terrible editor.
OK, looks like Conquest on white, Strife on red, Judgement on black, and Death on pale. Their aim is to kill 25% of the world population and their tools are the (bow,) sword, hunger, death, and the beasts of the earth. The beasts of the earth, when unwanted, are pests. Thus Pestilence. The bow is in brackets since it isn't in the list of tools. Like the crown, it might just be part of Conquest's dress.
As you said, death by death is a little vague, like death by natural causes. Sounds like the other three Horsemen can just take a powder while Death goes out for a walk and radiates death in all directions. Especially Judgement. People literally dying from shame or embarrassment? Could take a while.
Disease is a new concept. Used to be death was caused by bad air, too much blood or humors in the body, and evil. That is assuming accidents, hunger and fighting didn't kill you first. I think Pestilence would mean vermin and maybe wild animals, like wolves, but not disease.
So, as you said, could use an editor, or rather, a good editor. It's a bit of a jumble trying to match up Conquest, Strife, Judgement and Death with sword, hunger, death and pests. It's like a committee got together and threw together a bunch of ideas, and as long as it goes with what the audience expects and prods all the right sacred cows, sense be damned, full speed ahead! A lot like Sleepy Hollow.
Oh well, a bloody mess. I withdraw my gripe about both Conquest and War being in the draw. My expectations were too high, it's the source material that's gibberish.
Fair point about the disease. When I think Pestilence, I think plague and/or infections brewed in all the dead bodies lying about. But you're right, that doesn't really match up with how little people knew about sickness back then.
I think the dude with the black horse and the scales is supposed to cause the hunger, because after he's introduced there's the bit about a measure of wheat for a penny, and there's nothing else mentioned that needs weighing. But who knows. Nothing in the Bible holds together all that well, and Revelation in particular was just a guy who was totally pissed at his government cloaking his rant in allegories to keep himself out of prison.
*shrug*
The show writers must not have found what they wanted in the Bible, either, because Crane quotes passages from Washington's Bible that I'm, like, 85% sure don't actually appear in the King James.
I grant that the entity with the scales is Hunger, what with the penny for a measure of wheat business. I jumped to conclusions, scales being so often associated with justice and the weighing of the soul. Hunger is deadlier than a wagging finger. 8^)
Well, I have to correct myself. I looked up Revelation 11 for the business about the two witnesses, and sure enough, it is in there. I can scarcely wait until our heroes start breathing fire on people who hurt them. It'll be kind of a shame when the beast kills them, and people party around their bodies in the streets for three and a half days because the heroes were such a pain in the ass, but, in for a penny in for a...measure of wheat, I guess?
So. Now the show has declared that Conquest is the Horseman of Pestilence. Who brings disease, rather than rats and whatnot. (Which is too bad, really, because that would be a hell of a visual.)
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(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-18 05:51 pm (UTC)There's some nicely observed culture shock stuff:
IC: That used to be a livery stable.
Cop: Yeah and now it's a starbucks
IC: But there's another one?
Cop: Yeah
IC: Are there no laws?
And much more....
(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-18 08:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-20 10:57 pm (UTC)Although, somehow, that didn't make me enjoy it any less.
It's also super-pretentious with the whole "OMG!Apocalypse!" plot, but again, somehow that didn't make me enjoy it any less.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-20 11:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-20 11:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-21 02:07 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-18 05:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-20 12:51 pm (UTC)I was engaged.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-18 08:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-20 12:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-20 01:34 pm (UTC)And it was so obvious what was going to happen to the kindly, older, mentor figure.... that I honestly have to think they specifically cast him just for the funny.
Which means I'll be watching every demented episode of the program.
(Only thing that would have been better, would be if there had been a random spark of electricity from a broken wire... but it was a barn don't you know)
(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-18 08:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-19 03:04 am (UTC)Though sadly it needed more Clancy Brown than it got...
I recorded this earlier this week
Date: 2013-09-19 11:56 am (UTC)Yay DVR.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-19 11:11 pm (UTC)My only question was why and how the Horseman acquired an arsenal of firearms, when his Blades of +5 Cautery seemed to be doing the trick.
Also, how'd the priest get there/get involved? (I presume we'll find this out later on.)
(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-19 11:34 pm (UTC)Why: Because the blades are nice but they only work up close, and people have a tendency to run away/shoot him. And he is annoyed by being shot and is stuck moving at walking speed on non-horse because monster movie.
Priest: Is a witch.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-19 11:37 pm (UTC)Priest: So, intrinsically knows situation, or has been alive the whole time?
(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-20 12:41 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-20 12:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-30 10:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-30 10:39 pm (UTC)It's an *incredibly* stupid show, and it glories in that stupidity. You kind of have to walk into it expecting brain cells to die.
(And, "250 years" is totally a perfectly good number for "232 and rounding off")
(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-30 11:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-10-08 06:10 pm (UTC)"And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
It matches up to the version presented in the Skeptics Annotated Bible (http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/rev/6.html).
After Death is introduced, there's a comment on what the horseman are to do ("And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth"), and disease isn't mentioned.
I agree, Pestilence should be in there. I mean, killing with death? And it's pretty redundant to have both Conquest and War. And who's in charge of the beasts of the earth, anyway? But the Bible had a terrible editor.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-10-08 07:36 pm (UTC)As you said, death by death is a little vague, like death by natural causes. Sounds like the other three Horsemen can just take a powder while Death goes out for a walk and radiates death in all directions. Especially Judgement. People literally dying from shame or embarrassment? Could take a while.
Disease is a new concept. Used to be death was caused by bad air, too much blood or humors in the body, and evil. That is assuming accidents, hunger and fighting didn't kill you first. I think Pestilence would mean vermin and maybe wild animals, like wolves, but not disease.
So, as you said, could use an editor, or rather, a good editor. It's a bit of a jumble trying to match up Conquest, Strife, Judgement and Death with sword, hunger, death and pests. It's like a committee got together and threw together a bunch of ideas, and as long as it goes with what the audience expects and prods all the right sacred cows, sense be damned, full speed ahead! A lot like Sleepy Hollow.
Oh well, a bloody mess. I withdraw my gripe about both Conquest and War being in the draw. My expectations were too high, it's the source material that's gibberish.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-10-08 11:56 pm (UTC)I think the dude with the black horse and the scales is supposed to cause the hunger, because after he's introduced there's the bit about a measure of wheat for a penny, and there's nothing else mentioned that needs weighing. But who knows. Nothing in the Bible holds together all that well, and Revelation in particular was just a guy who was totally pissed at his government cloaking his rant in allegories to keep himself out of prison.
*shrug*
The show writers must not have found what they wanted in the Bible, either, because Crane quotes passages from Washington's Bible that I'm, like, 85% sure don't actually appear in the King James.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-10-10 12:00 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-10-10 06:38 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-10-10 11:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-10-11 06:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-10-18 05:05 pm (UTC)Better? ;)