Good TV (aka, the TV series spamthread), the second series

[Wrathbone]

I might jump into campaign 2 in that case, after watching that episode of course

The episode is toe-curling at times, but there's one moment where he pushes Mercer too far with his insane powergaming attempts and gets shot down in hilarious, brutal humiliation.

[Raid]

I'll be sure to enjoy that when I get to it in... April or May.

[Mantis]

Watching the Vox Machina show. It's not too bad actually. The only thing I'm not keen on is some of the ropey animation, the use of 3D for certain scenes really sticks out in a poor way because of how iffy the 3D is. A little disappointing given how much money they raised to make this show, and I've really been spoiled recently watching some absolutely top notch anime.

The writing and performance of the main cast is pretty on point though. A bit iffy in places but then it is really early doors for the show and I think the overall characterisations are good.

Overall I think you'll quite enjoy it if you've seen Critical Role and maybe even if you haven't too.

[Sly Boots]

Yeah, have watched the 3 available episodes now, and they're good fun. Nice to see that Scanlan and Grog are still the best things in it, and is "pull on my motherfuckin' beads" CR's 'Toss a coin to your witcher'?

[Raid]

I've also watched the first 3 and I'm having a much more negative experience with it unfortunately. My problem is the script; it feels like it was a kids show that they've shoehorned a bunch of adult themes into. Sadly the dialogue just isn't very interesting, it's all a bit obvious. I'm tempted to leave it, and come back to it after I've seen the Briarwood arc in Critical Role, see if the references that I'm probably missing make it more enjoyable. It just feels very bland to me at the moment.

It's not terrible exactly, and I personally don't mind the use of 3D mixed with 2D (although I'd prefer it if it were just the latter), I just think I've seen a lot of much better animated shows recently.

[Wrathbone]

They're very much going for the 80s Saturday morning cartoon vibe, so I get where you're coming from but it 100% works for me. It's exactly as I hoped it would be.

[Raid]

They're very much going for the 80s Saturday morning cartoon vibe, so I get where you're coming from but it 100% works for me. It's exactly as I hoped it would be.

If indeed that's what they were going for then they've nailed it. Unfortunately most 80s cartoons without a personal connection or the benefit of nostalgia were almost uniformly terrible (although this is much better than them). At the moment it feels like a bit of a vanity project, which is fine, but I'm not sure how well it'll go down with a new audience.

[Wrathbone]

Unfortunately most 80s cartoons without a personal connection or the benefit of nostalgia were almost uniformly terrible

Not sure I entirely agree with that, but I expect their intent was to create something for adults that evokes those rose-tinted childhood memories of how great 80s cartoons were, rather than simply replicating what they were actually like.

It'll be interesting to see how people unaware of CR take to it, because I'm undoubtedly their target audience (and a Kickstarter backer) and so my opinions on it are naturally biased.

[Sly Boots]

Unfortunately most 80s cartoons without a personal connection or the benefit of nostalgia were almost uniformly terrible

Not sure I entirely agree with that, but I expect their intent was to create something for adults that evokes those rose-tinted childhood memories of how great 80s cartoons were, rather than simply replicating what they were actually like.

It'll be interesting to see how people unaware of CR take to it, because I'm undoubtedly their target audience (and a Kickstarter backer) and so my opinions on it are naturally biased.

Reading the IMDB reviews, it seems like newcomers' reactions have been largely 'WTF is this?'

[Mantis]

On reflection I think that makes sense. A lot of the bits I enjoyed with the writing were the little nods to future events and references to other things in the campaign. Some of which I think were pretty subtle. Beyond that the writing was pretty basic Saturday morning cartoon stuff, only far ruder. I can see how some people might just be confused by it.

[Raid]

Reading the IMDB reviews, it seems like newcomers' reactions have been largely 'WTF is this?'

Yeah, that's why it feels like a vanity project to me - there's not a lot to introduce a new audience. It feels like the kind of series that should have been placed on their Youtube channel rather than being surprisingly well advertised on a massive platform like Amazon (but I'm guessing they needed more than the impressive twelve million they raised through kickstarter).

[Animalmother]

WTF are you guys talking about?

Finished the last episode of All of Us Are Dead last night. Very enjoyable and well made as most new South Korean shows seem to be these days. A group of teens are trapped in their high school after a zombie virus breaks out there and rapidly spreads to the nearby area. Shit goes off the chain once the zombies start (literally) piling up and top marks to the scenes of panic and murder that ensue. The zombies are a mixture of the 28 Days Later and Train to Busan type so mindless flinging of bodies into windows and solid objects is the norm. It can get bogged down in places and the whole teenage drama element is frustrating to watch at times (I did fast forward bits I admit). But overall it's a good tense watch with a likeable cast of characters. I watched 12 episodes over 3 days so that tells you something

[Raid]

WTF are you guys talking about?

The Legend of Vox Machina (Amazon Prime)

It's an animated show based on a long-running D&D web series.

[Wrathbone]

It feels like the kind of series that should have been placed on their Youtube channel rather than being surprisingly well advertised on a massive platform like Amazon (but I'm guessing they needed more than the impressive twelve million they raised through kickstarter).

Their original plan was along those lines, aiming to raise $750,000 to fund three episodes. Then they raised the $12m which allowed them to do 10 episodes. It was a few weeks afterwards that Amazon offered them a deal to air it along with an immediate renewal for a second series, so it must have been a fairly easy choice to make (particularly since Amazon guaranteed them creative freedom). Without Amazon it likely would only have aired on their Youtube channel and only reached their existing audience, and I guess in that regard you could argue it's something of a vanity project. I don't think that does justice to what they set out to do, though - they're a bunch of voice actors who saw an opportunity to take their love of D&D and apply it to their professional work, finally having the freedom to create and voice an animated show on their own terms. If that's vanity then I'm not sure what separates vanity from success.

[Raid]

I'm probably being a little unfair when I say vanity project; I'm not meaning to criticise them for it, I don't think there's anything wrong in delivering something the fans are clamouring for (and based on the other reactions here, enjoying), it just feels a little oddly placed because I don't think it has mass appeal. If the idea is to draw in new fans, then it can't just rely on referencing material they're not familiar with, and I don't think it has anything else unique to it to grab attention. Arcane was a damn-near perfect way of bringing new fans to an existing property, although I appreciate that had to be one of the most expensive ways to do it. With Vox Machina, I already have an existing interest in the source material, but even with that it's just not grabbing me.

I just feel like it's a bit of a confused proposition. If the writing improves, I'll probably love it, but it just hasn't made the best first impression. That's the kind of thing that can kill a series before it gets going.