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AlyssaTate71
Reviews
The Traitors (2023)
Fantastic Mystery Reality Competition
I really do love this show. I stumbled across it on Peacock one day while looking for something new to watch. The premise intrigued me and I thought, ''maybe this is like any murder mystery" and figured if all else fails, it should be entertaining. It was beyond that! The format is great, though the contestants may ham it up at times. I have binged both seasons and am eagerly awaiting S03.
I would love to see a spooky Halloween version of the show. Having the contestants run around a Halloween decorated castle, complete with ghostly noises and lights would be very interesting and create an edge of the seat type of viewing experience. I think this could really elevate the show even more.
The Shannara Chronicles (2016)
Complete miss on the look, feel and stories from the books
While many book-to-tv adaptations leave a little wiggle room for interpretation and allowance for translating written to visual mediums, this one completely misses the mark. I don't understand how Terry Brooks felt that this was faithful to his world, when it slashed and hacked different storylines and tried to merge them into a golem of something that was supposed to be watchable. As for the cast, I would have to say that Austin Butler did looked like I imagined Wil would like, or at least a close approximation and Manu Bennett was a great choice to play Allanon, he definitely looks like the character as described in the books. I would love to see someone faithfully adapt the Shannara stories, at least the original trilogy. But as for this one, don't watch, it's not worth the time.
Snake in the Grass: Survivor vs. Big Brother (2022)
Seriously flawed production/management of this episode
I just started watching this show and I have to say overall, I do enjoy it. It reminds of The Mole, and does have a great sense of suspense and mystery. That being said, this episode was very disappointing. I nearly gave up on this show after watching this one. What were the producers thinking???? With a show of this type, DON'T TELL US WHO THE "VILLAIN" IS!!!! It ruins the show and makes this episode pointless for the viewers. We all want the chance to try and figure out the "Snake", that's the main point of the whole show. Keep this in mind when moving forward with future episodes and I think this show will do better.
The Wheel of Time (2021)
EPIC FAIL, RAFE JUDKINS!!! **SPOILERS**
I wrote a review on the first 3 episodes and felt compelled to write a new one after watching the rest of the season. From the first 3 episodes, I thought this was a rather good series and had great potential. Boy, was I wrong!!!
Let me start by saying the actors, the graphics artists, set and costume designers did an AMAZING job at bringing the WOT world to life. This is why I am giving an overall 5 star rating. But, unfortunately, that's all I can say about this show that is good.
The writing is sloppy and lazy. Did the writers even READ the series??? It looks more like they just skimmed the books, took out some parts and completely rewrote many other aspects that truly made this fantasy world epic and awe-inspiring.
There are so many errors in the writing that this nearly makes the whole series something other than Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. There are way too many errors to list them all, so here are some of the ones that I spotted throughout the first 8 episodes.
1. Only 3 ta'veren left the Two Rivers(Mat, Perrin, Rand)
2. Perrin was never married to Laila(a minor character mentioned ONCE in 14 books)
3. The group didn't met up at Tar Valon after being separated in Shadar Logoth, they met up in Caemlyn(Perfect opportunity to follow the books, and at the same time, introduce three characters, Elayne Trakand and her brothers)
4. Moiraine and Siuan were NOT lovers, they were friends as novices and Accepted and became even closer(best friends and co-conspirators to finding the Dragon Reborn) when they overheard Gitara's Foretelling about the Dragon Reborn being born on the slopes of Dragonmount.
5. Rand and Egwene were NOT lovers, they were childhood friends who, until Moiraine and Lan showed up, believed they MIGHT one day be married.
6. The Waygates are NOT controlled by the One Power. The Ways were created with the One Power, but can be opened by anyone who knows how to use them.
7. Channeling is not possible inside a Waygate, the only way to escape Machin Shim is to exit the Waygate before it reaches and consumes you.
8. Mat was NOT left behind by the Waygate near Tar Valon. He went to Far Dara with the others and to The Eye of the World.
9. The Eye of the World is NOT the Dark One's prison. Shayol Ghul is where the Dark One is imprisoned.
10. Moiraine doesn't simply hand over a sa'angreal to Rand.
11. The Blight isn't a forest of creepy vine-like structures, it is more like a desert encroaching on fertile farmland with all sorts of nasty and deadly creatures in it.
12. The only way to reach the Eye of the World is by finding the Green Man who is the Guardian of the Eye.
13. Eamon Valda was not the Whitecloak that Perrin ran into, it was Geofram Bornhald and when Bornhald was killed, his son believed Perrin was responsible.
14. Perrin DID NOT have a crush on Egwene. The four of them, Mat, Perrin, Rand and Eqwene were all friends growing up.
15. Perrin, Egwene, Mat, Rand, Nynaeve, Moiraine, Lan and Loial ALL went to the Eye of the World together.
16. "May the last embrace of the Mother Welcome you home" was a customary benediction for the warriors of the Borderlands who fell in battle. It was not used by the Aes Sedai, unless the Aes Sedai was from one of the Borderland nations.
17. Lord Agelmar's sister was not able to channel and he didn't die at the Battle of Tarwin's Gap.
18. Moiraine wasn't stilled at the Eye of the World.
19. Rand did not go off on his own after the confrontation with Ba'alzamon at the Eye of the World.
20. Nynaeve and Egwene didn't use the One Power at Fal Dara to stop the Trollocs, the Trollocs retreated after Ba'alzamon's confrontation with Rand at the Eye of the World.
21. Nynaeve wasn't burned out/killed and it is not possible to Heal someone back from the dead.(Something that is mentioned in nearly every single volume of the book series)
22. The Horn of Valere wasn't in Fal Dara, it was concealed, along with the Dragon Banner in the Eye of the World.
23. Padan Fain and the Fades did not kill the Shienarans(Uno, Ingtar, Loial(THEY FREAKING KILLED LOIAL!!!) and the others). Only Fain entered Fal Dara and this was after the Battle of Tarwin's Gap, not during. He was captured and later escaped with help from some Darkfriends. During his escape, he stole the Horn of Valere.
These were just some of the more GLARING wrongs that were allowed in this series. Even Peter Jackson's adaptation of the LoTR and The Hobbit, and. David Benioff and D. B. Weiss' adapation of GoT never strayed this far from the source material.
I understand that translating a book into a visual medium like television and movies is difficult. It is not impossible to do this though and be true to the source material, something that Mr. Judkins and his writing team COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY FAILED WITH!!! This is the reason why so many fans of the WoT are crying foul over this adaptation. Robert Jordan is rolling over in his grave at this butchery.
I don't know how Brandon Sanderson and Harriet McDougal could have allowed this butchered version to even be made. FIX THIS or this show will not last the planned 8 seasons.
Wentworth: Seeing Red (2016)
Excellent series and a bombshell ending for Season 4
I stumbled across this series during a lull in my usual streaming watchlist. I was skeptical, after watching several seasons of Orange is the New Black, about how another women in prison series would fare. Being severely disappointed in the rather lazy writing and sub-standard plots from the last few seasons of OitNB, I wasn't sure this show would be deserving of watching. I just finished season 4 and all I can say is wow. The writing is superb, the storylines are excellent and the acting is top notch. The characters are so well written and portrayed by the actors, that I am now heavily emotionally invested in this series, again, unlike OitNB. This season finale was heart-wrenching and the ending had a complete twist to it that I didn't see coming.(ie the last few seconds)
The Outpost (2018)
Disappointing effort from the CW
I just got done watching the first 15 mins of the second episode. I normally give a show 2-3 episodes to prove it's worthwhile watching, but this one really flopped big time for me. The acting is wooden, the script is horrible, the props are worse. I am very disappointed with this effort from the CW. This network has long been a favorite of mine, with great shows like, Supernatural, Smallville, Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl. I honestly had serious trouble even following this story arc and even more trouble trying to relate to ANY of the characters. Scrap this now CW and get something with more teeth to it.