Bring me my good scifi.

[rogueslayer452]

++ Been making my way through all of Buzzfeed Unsolved, both their Supernatural and True Crime series, and it's made me laugh so many times, mostly with their banter which genuinely makes me happy. I also recently learned that Ryan and Shane both left Buzzfeed earlier this year to make their own company, which makes sense. Aside from everyone saying that they're too good for Buzzfeed anyway, their shows kind of outgrew that company anyway so departing and making their own company would be the next logical step. Puppet History, one of their shows on their new channel, has me cackling. It's so great.

++ It seems that Syfy has been having marathons/airings of Battlestar Galactica and Xena: Warrior Princess, and I have to say this is a perfect time to get introduced or reintroduced to BSG and have kind of a resurgence. So say we all!

++ There are now official releases of promotional stills from the upcoming 2020 version of Dune (which from what I've learned will be split into two movies, considering how dense the story is I'm not surprised). I still maintain my position that I approve with most of the casting except for Timothée Chalamet where I feel like he's miscast. Perhaps once a trailer drops it might be better in motion, otherwise I'm not convinced. With that being said, everyone else looks fantastic. I know everyone's been thirsting over Oscar Isaac's bearded look, but also Zendaya looks amazing as Chani, as I knew she would but I like that we're seeing her with blue eyes in the stills, so it makes me hope that the finished product will amplify the intensely unusual blue-on-blue eyes of the Fremen, something that every adaptation has had issues with but I hope that with today's technology they're able to pull it off well. I like the design of the stillsuits, and it seems that they genderswapped Liet-Kynes which should be interesting. These are just the first looks though, I'm anticipating any kind of teaser trailers to reveal to us the look and feel of the movie itself, along with the possibility of seeing how they do the sandworms. In general though, I'm just curious with how they're going to do certain things from the book. I know that the director claims that they're going to be as faithful as possible, I still don't want them to cut any corners, to not sugarcoat anything and let it be unabashedly weird.

Which brings me to my next point: people unfamiliar with Dune are not only going to be incredibly confused going in, but judging from the way outrage culture has been in recent years especially among the fandom community where purity policing has ruined many a good series/fandoms/fan interactions, I am absolutely certain that the morality police will be clutching their pearls and demanding that Dune be cancelled simply for the fact that this is not a completely wholesome. Furthermore, if this movie succeeds and they're able to adapt the rest of the books, oh boy, their heads are going to explode with how further fucked up and bizarre it all is. It's going to be simultaneously hilarious and exhausting to deal with the levels of "discourse" it will cause.

Comments

[tabaqui]

I think anything will be better than the mess of the 80's 'Dune' movie, so I'm cautiously optimistic. I genuinely have no clue how 95 percent of the cast is, but i'm pleased to see the genderswap (their reason for it made sense), and that they're going for some diversity.

I hope the sandworms are as epic as the book makes them.

I hope it does well, if only because we need all the good sci fi we can get.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I unabashedly love the 1984 version, though. Yes, it was far from perfect, it left things out while the extended version was an editing nightmare and it was majorly limited by the technology back then to convey everything that happens in the story properly, but it still has some iconic moments, some good casting, and Kyle MacLachlan will always be Paul Atreides to me, like nobody else can compare, imho. Plus, you had Sting involved and the soundtrack by Toto. Like, c'mon. Like, it was a mess, but it's a mess that I enjoy. However, I think an updated adaptation is rightfully due. Granted, I haven't seen the 2000 miniseres version, so I don't know how well that also did in comparison.

In general though, I'm also cautiously optimistic because I just want it to be good. I want to see what today's technology can do to bring the story to life on a grander scale. We only got a glimpse of some of cast in these first images, but I cannot wait to see the reveal of everything else, from the sets and locations to the final product of special effects to make the world come to life.

[tabaqui]

I read the book years before the movie, and I think i was just let down by how much was left out and how kind of....scenery-chewing a lot of it was.

I am excited to see what film CGI-type stuff can do, i just hope they don't overdo it. I loved how, for instance, Mad Max: Fury Road was mostly practical effects. And while obviously you can't have 'practical effect' sandworms the size of ocean liners, I just hope they don't make it all CGI all the time.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

That's fair. I had only just read the book, and had seen a good chunk of the movie beforehand multiple times. It's definitely different if you read the source material first before seeing an adaptation and feeling letdown by the end result. I acknowledge its flaws, but still find enjoyment in it nonetheless.

I'm with you re: the CGI in that I hope it's not overdone. While everything in media nowadays uses some CG to a certain degree, the more obvious times you notice it is when it's not seamlessly done with the practical sets. It would be magical to have something similar to that of Mad Max: Fury Road, a good film that blends the practical effects and CG perfectly in such a beautiful way. One can only hope that they'll be able to achieve that with the 2020 Dune, if nothing else than with the worms simply because they are the biggest spectacle, by sheer size and design. I don't want anything cartoonish. I want something that truly shows how gargantuan they are.

[tabaqui]

Yes! I just don't want some kind of horrible Transformers-type mess.

[omgpeyton.livejournal.com]

I didn't know they left! But I'm not surprised, considering the success of their series. I've definitely gotten myself into a true crime hole a few times with all of the time I've had on my hands.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was news to me too and caught me off guard as I just started getting into their series, but they're successful on their own without being attached strictly to BF, so it's understandable why they separated to do their own thing. It allows them to have more freedom creatively, too.

[awakenyourfaith.livejournal.com]

Having only scant knowledge of the 80s Dune movie, I'm interested to see what happens if this movie succeeds.

[violateraindrop]

I haven't read Dune, but I am pretty excited about the movie. I love Denis Villeneuve, the cast list sounds impressive, and I really like the look of these first stills. I'm definitely not worried about your second paragraph for me personally. The internet is so fickle nowadays...

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I'm definitely not worried about your second paragraph for me personally. The internet is so fickle nowadays...

Yeah, I'm not entirely worried myself, but being in fannish spaces there's almost always some wank happening about something, and with the added faux progressiveness some have adopted in recent years I just don't have any energy for it. Although it'll be grab-the-popcorn hilarious watching some doing mental gymnastics trying to cancel something that doesn't fit their black-and-white way of thinking, lol.

Either way, I'm cautiously optimistic with this new adaptation. I don't know much about the director himself, so I do hope that he means what he says about remaining as close as possible to the book.

[impala-chick.livejournal.com]

Hooray for Shane and Ryan! Puppet history is my favorite show on their new channel. I always loved their banter and their sense of humor, but now they also are proving their ambition and business smarts and that makes me super proud. I'm glad they are still able to make content during this stressful time.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

When an episode of Puppet History popped up in my recommended, I was curious and I was cracking up the entire time. It's educational, informative, and hysterical, I love how much fun it seems to be. I'm happy that they're able to do their own content, and that they're still doing stuff despite the quarantine happening. And knowing that they're playing D&D makes it even better! I'm so happy. :D Seriously, I just discovered Ryan and Shane very recently and it boggles my mind that I didn't get into them before, especially since everyone always talked about them over the years. This is exactly the content I want. :)

[impala-chick.livejournal.com]

They have the best vibes! I've definitely been binging some older seasons just because they never fail to make me smile.

[azewewish.livejournal.com]

Can you IMAGINE the pearl clutching if and when they get to God Emperor of Dune???? :DDD

That being said, I am stupidly excited for the new version, especially that they're giving it space to breathe by splitting the first book into 2 films and getting more into Jessica's backstory.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I know, right?? Most people unaware aren't even remotely prepared for any of what's to come, lol.

I know that people have said that Dune is one of those books that cannot ever be adapted properly because of how dense it is, but I think splitting it into two movies might actually work in its favor by letting it breathe and allowing the audience to digest the world-building and the story better, for it to be more cohesive instead of cutting out things that are essential to understanding what's happening.

[valeria-sg-1.livejournal.com]

It's been long enough since I last read Dune that it's very likely I won't even notice the discrepancies, lol.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I just read the book, so it's still fresh in my mind. And I plan on working my way through the rest of the series, as well. It'll be interesting to see the world in this updated adaptation.

[blakmagjick]

"I know everyone's been thirsting over Oscar Isaac's bearded look" *raises hand* It me.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I mean, me too because, obviously. ;)

[lighthope.livejournal.com]

I want to get into BSG so very badly but I have tried watching the show 3 different times at different points in my adulthood and I can't make it past the pilot. It has all the elements of something I would really want to watch (which reminds me, I GOTTA catch up on The Expanse). I think it just moved a little too slowly for me? I wanna love it because it just looks so good.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

That would be the miniseries, which served as the pilot, right? It's purposefully meant to be slow, as it's a build-up for what's to come, setting the foundation if you will, which things do speed up a bit during the first episode of the first season, "33", where it directly picks up where the miniseries left off.

I can understand not feeling things when they start off too slow, but I find that most shows tend to start off slowly at first before gaining momentum. I know that with some of the things I've watched, the first few episodes can be a bit slow before finding its footing and getting into their own rhythm. With BSG, since the miniseries served as the pilot for the show it is a bit longer and so I can understand not getting into it at first, but it's definitely worth it. So definitely give it another chance, if you can.

(Also, I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but I also find that sometimes I'm not in the right place to properly watch a show; like there have been some shows, and even books and movies, that I've tried getting into but just couldn't until some time later when I finally ended up doing so. Sometimes you're not really in the right "mode" to consume something even if you think you might like it. If that makes any sense.)

[lighthope.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the clarification! That makes sense and now I understand better how it all fits together. Being on the fringe of the BSG fandom I wasn't sure where everything fit together.

And totally right re: being in the right mood. I think now is the time I really wanna sink myself into something so I'll give BSG another shot! I swear one of these days I'll be in the mood to finally watch something like Buffy or The Sopranos. Shows that I wanna watch but again, gotta be in the right mood.

Thanks for giving me the push and help to try it again!

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! Happy to help. :)

[batmarg.livejournal.com]

Where can you watch Buzzfeed Unsolved?

I haven't been able to binge BSG because they've played it on the limited days I'm at the office. I did luck into a used copy of season 1 right before the quarantining became more strict, so I'll be rewatching season 1 soon...and hopefully discovering the rest are on dvd netflix.

I've been having a blast with the Xena marathon though.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Buzzfeed Unsolved is all on YouTube, since it is a webshow. :)

I have all the seasons of BSG on DVD so I can just have my own marathon, but it's still nice that they're showing it on television for anyone who doesn't or want to get into it.

[batmarg.livejournal.com]

Oh nice. And at least the early episodes are short, so something i can actually easily watch over data (too rural for home internet). Thanks for the rec