The Twilight Zone Reboot

[Greg]

Okay, I'm kind of curious and kind of envy DM that he has CBS streaming, more so than ST: Disco

[cranefly]

You mean it won't be on Netflix streaming?
Grrr.

I just checked on Black Mirror season 5, which I'm looking forward to.  Yes, it will be up on Netflix streaming sometime in 2019, but so far no release date.
Grrr.

[Drunk Monk]

I keep thinking I should see some of Peele's work to prep.  

But yeah, this is the other reason to keep CBS Access.  I'll let you know how it goes, if I can ever get home to watch it.

[Greg]

Turns out if you place the colon right next to the capital 'D' the forum gives you the emoji rather than the actual spelling.

[Drunk Monk]

Turns out if you place the colon right next to the capital 'D' the forum gives you the emoji rather than the actual spelling.

Like Star Trekisco?

I've noticed.

Unfortunately I won't be back home for another week, so my TZ review will have to wait... 

[Drunk Monk]

Watched ep 1 - The Comedian.  It was okay.  A bit predictable.  Kumail Najini was alright - I don't really know him so that only sorta worked for me.  Tracy Morgan was good - I've enjoyed him since 'who dat ninja?' - he was very good.

This TZ reboot reminds me of the last TZ reboot, nowhere near as good as the original but not to be discounted.  I enjoyed the previous reboot for the Jerry Garcia soundtrack.  This new reboot has yet to shine.  Peele's narration lacks the gravitas of Serling, but that's to be expected. There's just no one like Rod - that voice, that presence. Plus I'll always argue that the masterful use of B&W really made the original TZ work. 

Ep 2 goes with a redux of the classic Nightmare at 20000 feet, redoing it as Terror at 30000 feet.  It'll be hard to match Shatner or Lithgow, but I plan to watch it later today.  I noticed in the trailer showed the clown head from Nick of Time, also a Shatner ep.  Those Shatner eps were the best.

[Drunk Monk]

T@30K ft wasn’t bad. Not bad at all. It came from a completely different direction, a new tale with a similar essence and some modern updated twists, with a perfect little shout out to the original. I predicted the outcome however and there was no jump scare like in the other versions when the cabin window was opened. It still pales in comparison to Shatner’s or even Lithgow’s, but it was engaging. 

Next week’s ep had the devil head from the fortune telling machine in NoT. 

I’m not as hooked to this yet as I am to STisco, but I’ll keep watching, mostly in honor of my loyalty to the original.

[Drunk Monk]

Replay was very BLM, a theme I associate with Peele even though I haven't seen any of his work beyond this.  Is that prejudice?  Prolly.  It was another 'careful what you wish for' tale, with shades of 'can't escape your fate'.  The nod to Nick of Time was totally random, and didn't work for me. I'm told that's a major style element of Peele's work.  So no, this reboot has yet to really win me over.  But it's the new Thursday night show for CBS Access so when ST: Disco is done (season finale next week) I guess I watch this.

[Drunk Monk]

A Traveler was meh.  I actually fell asleep several times while watching it so the episode took me like 3-4 nights to finish.  Peelight Zone has a formula.  There's always an undertone of race, some more blatant that others.  There's always easter eggs from the original. In this one, the wrapping paper featured the ventriloquist's doll and again, we see the doll of the demon from N@20K (they must be looking to market those dolls, and I'd be sorely tempted to get one).  I am minimally invested in the series - just because it's weekly, not something I feel the need to binge, and that I luv the original so.

[El Dingo]

I really liked "Replay".

Maybe it's my left-wing, liberal persona but the idea of a black parent trying to protect their child against a racist police environment was really powerful. The fact that black parents have to have "the talk" about police encounters terrifies me.

I have been pulled over a few times and KNOW I got off because I was white and polite.

I also know that police are freakin' scared for their lives when confronting people because everyone has a gun.

I don't know what the answer is but this episode addressed the racism element.

[Drunk Monk]

Now that we have CBS Access again, I'm picking up with these.  There's a new offering which gives B&W versions of the eps.  I watched 6 degrees, which I got halfway through before and then gave up.  It was a little better in B&W, but as I often say, today's directors can't hold a candle to the old B&W directors, especially with the Zone.  

I fell asleep in 6 degrees and when I woke, the ending didn't make sense.  So I rewound it a bit and it still didn't quite make sense.  Maybe I was still sleepy.  It wasn't that impressive in the end tho.

[Drunk Monk]

rewatched the end of e6. it was just kind of an unimpressive mcguffin. i'm gonna say 'meh' to that one.

e7 'not all men' was more of a hackeyed present-day horror tale and not even in a good way. after a meteorite shower all the mend get infected with testosterone boasting radiation so everyone gets all agro. a really disappointed ep that totally misses the essence of the zone. it tries to make up for it with the mcguffin, but it's kinda 'mudd's women' and falls flat. even more unimpressive - perhaps the worst ep of the season.

e8 is the first season finale. i'll watch that soon even out of loyalty to he franchise, though i find this reboot mostly unsatisfying.

[Drunk Monk]

Season finale almost worked but then it didn't. A thin metaphor to immigration issues but no substance.  This series is underwhelming and not worthy of the franchise title. I think I need to watch an original episode next, just to cleanse my palette.

Not DOOM recommended.

[Greg]

Is it odd that my first and best introduction to the series was a book? Granted, a lot of those stories where written by Richard Matheson. The Monster are due on Maple St still rules, especially now.

[Drunk Monk]

Is it odd?

Odd? It's the Twilight Zone.