Change Your Image
mburford-67984
Reviews
SurrealEstate (2021)
Enjoyable!
It's an enjoyable series that's a balance between not in your face and being slow. It's filmed in Canada and the location is a bit surprising (not to those who live there). I think they do a great job, they do a much better job of having a balanced show that many people just 'don't get'. I'm Australian myself, and like a wide range of different scifi and other genres. I just think Americans don't get the Canadian style, and many Canadians rightfully don't like the fact that it has to be made to be American to sell in the US market.
It's sci-fi, but it's the same genre as the X-Files, Supernatural, etc that is, Sci-drama. If you don't like other Sci-drama shows you possibly won't like this.
By the way, you're meant to switch off and relax watching it, which is usually the key thing that many people miss and then not like it and many other shows.
Mother and Son (2023)
A real missed opportunity.
This remake was a real missed opportunity. Unfortunately it seems it was more about box ticking instead of making an entertaining and endearing show. I like Arthur, and the actor who plays Maggie, but the other changes were a bit much. The original Maggie was more senile, the new Maggie is just more like a sour old lady who plays 'the victim'. It's not endearing.
I also disagree with changing Robbie to a female and being in a same sex relationship. That's purely a box ticking change rather than one that adds to the show's likeability. It seems they were more worried about being politically correct than making an endearing show like the original. It is perfectly fine of course having the family as multicultural, the actor who plays Arthur is perfect in the role. They could have simply evolved the story around this. Even having Robbie as a female is okay, even though her personality is off. If you're going to change or have certain elements in the show they need to add to the story, not just to tick boxes to be 'politically correct'.
This sadly makes it a drama about a son and daughters struggle with a sour about life mother whom they love, rather than a comedy.
The Ark (2023)
Actually really good if you throw away preconceptions
First and foremost, people are missing that fiction is a core element of the science fiction genre. If you go in with preconceived ideas of a show or movie then it will never meet your 'expectations'. I don't mean people not having expectations based on their preconceived ideas, i just mean you should start your viewing from a clean slate.
I've found the show enjoyable because I'm viewing it from the perspective of a science fiction fan. This show is based 100 years in the future, what we may see as something advanced they may see as not giving it a second thought. Trust me, there is a lot in your daily life that you don't think about that would amaze people 100 years ago. The writers know this.
Not everything has to be overly complex. It's enjoyable because of this. It's a great show to unwind to in the evening.
By the way, the characters may seem hodge-podge, because it's intentional. They were never meant to run the ship, all the crew who were to run the ship 'realistically' were killed. Those left are their junior subordinates (those now in command), and the rest who are colonists.
It also isn't stereotypical American, or made to seem that way like shows filmed in Canada but set in the US. It's European filmed in Serbia, so naturally it's going to have a different feel. They would have also had to be budget conscious regarding CGI etc. Even in the US it's a hard struggle to justify $5-10 million per episode.