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Reviews
Bel-Air (2022)
As much as you can expect from such a conversion
I really wanted to like this as I loved watching Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as a kid. Unfortunately it is such a drastic transition that I wish I hadn't made the attempt in the first place. If you are expecting anything like the original show stop there, it is not like it nor does it really pretend to be. This isn't a spinoff or remake, this is just something different with similar elements.
On it's own it is just an ok drama. You have a protagonist who comes and saves the day for a successful family time and time again which is boring to me, but if you like that sort of thing you will like this. The characters are ultimately unrelatable as is their situations. Perhaps some people have situations like that, but their situations and struggles are so far out there that you are just left scratching your head trying to relate.
Joe vs Carole (2022)
Did Carole secretly produce this or something?
This was advertised as telling the other half of the story, but there is almost no new information. What there is is omission of most of the compelling information surrounding the disappearance of Don Lewis and how Carol was as big into the big cat exploitation as anyone. Where is the talk about her and Don and Wildlife on Easy street or the how to videos on taking cubs away from their mothers early to make them good pets? Where is the talk about the power of attorney that specifically mentions "disappearance" as one of the things that triggers it. No instead we get an almost certainly fictitious account of how she just was a savant when it came to real estate.
If you haven't seen the Netflix documentary, watch that instead. That documentary will just lay everything out and let you make your own determination over who the "good guy" is. Spoilers, there aren't any people who are right in this story despite how Joe vs Carole wants to portray it.
The Wheel of Time (2021)
Why even call this the Wheel of Time?
I really wanted a show that like Game of Thrones would propel one of my favorite fantasy series to the mainstream, but this show is more akin to Legend of the Seeker than it is to Game of Thrones. Did the people who wrote the script and oversaw production even read the series? It really doesn't seem like it, it seems like they read a synopsis or the crib notes version.
Now don't get me wrong, everyone knew and expected there would be differences. While I am a purist, I am not giving it one star because it isn't exactly like the series. I am giving it one star because it is so different from the series that there is no good reason for it to even be called the Wheel of Time.
So Moraine is not on a secret mission, she makes her presence and her identity known wherever she goes because the Dragon Reborn will save the world. This was the biggest "WTF" moment for me as if the Dragon Reborn will save the world (something no one argues with her on indicating it is not an uncommon belief) a major portion of the premise just falls apart as who would have an issue with being the savior of the world? There is no mention of the flip side of this that made everyone fear the Dragon being reborn - that he will also break the world again.
The list goes on, not of things that probably had to be changed to make the series more enjoyable to the general public but changes that so fundamentally alter the characters and the story that calling it by the same name is ludicrous. Would you call a series Lord of the Rings if the ring didn't corrupt it's user and elves were all over the place?
So why didn't I rate it on it's own merit rather than based on a series it so poorly represents? Because even on it's own merits it still is not very good. These changes they have made do more than just take it away from it's source, they leave MASSIVE plot holes all over the place and allude to concepts that a regular viewer would not be able to connect to. If the Dragon being reborn is a good thing, why is Moraine traveling with just her warder? It can't be a secret because she tells everyone who she is and is pretty open about her purpose. Whitecloaks openly kill Aes Sedai but at the same time sort of recommend people seek them out for healing? How are they able to do this and if they have such a dislike for them why would they recommend anyone seek them out? These are not plot holes that only appear if you know the books, these are all pretty obvious lines of thought.