[QuickTidal]

worry, on 18 May 2021 - 03:47 AM, said:

In fact I agree with QT pretty much down the line, except I didn't actively dislike Snow,

Who are you and what have you done with my friend worry who has significantly better tastes than mine?!

[Abyss]

Started this... Customer Service (the Vacuum... i disliked the style of animation but even so it was amusing.
Ice... i enjoyed this. It was predictable but the setting was nicely Aliens/Blade Runner'esque, animation was very watchable, and last sequence from drugs to impact to the whales was very well done. The relationship between the brothers was well placed at the center of the story.

[QuickTidal]

DUDE!

[Tiste Simeon]

I hope it's better than the second installment but I'll be watching regardless.

[QuickTidal]

WOW.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 09 May 2022 - 04:20 PM

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 09 May 2022 - 04:19 PM, said:

WOW.

O
M
G

[Tiste Simeon]

Yes.

[worry]

Another ultimately inconsistent season with visuals that surpassed most of the writing. Unfortunately, the one with the bear is maybe the worst entry in the entire show, collecting every bad impulse in one go. I think maybe the last two episodes were the best though, with 1, 2, and 6 being pretty good too.

[QuickTidal]

worry, on 27 May 2022 - 07:05 AM, said:

Another ultimately inconsistent season with visuals that surpassed most of the writing. Unfortunately, the one with the bear is maybe the worst entry in the entire show, collecting every bad impulse in one go. I think maybe the last two episodes were the best though, with 1, 2, and 6 being pretty good too.

If Worry don't like it, I'm bound to!

LOL

[worry]

I'd be surprised if I'm an outlier on that one episode at least.

[Tsundoku]

worry, on 27 May 2022 - 07:05 AM, said:

Another ultimately inconsistent season with visuals that surpassed most of the writing. Unfortunately, the one with the bear is maybe the worst entry in the entire show, collecting every bad impulse in one go. I think maybe the last two episodes were the best though, with 1, 2, and 6 being pretty good too.

I disagree. Fuck you, Honey Badger!

[worry]

Lol okay maybe I am an outlier, but I still don't like it.

[Tiste Simeon]

So far I'm kind of enjoying it but it still doesn't wow me like season 1 did. Not finished yet but loved the mini zombie apocalypse one that was silly!

[Abyss]

Watched S3. Enjoyed it all. Less 'HOLY FNCK DID I JUST WATCH THAT?!??!!?' than S1 or 2, but still fun. I did a selective S1 and S2 rewatch before S3 which may have affected my take somewhat.

Got a kick out of trying to guess who the authors of the short stories behind the scripts were ( I got 1.5, Asher for Bad Travelling because the Thanopod was just so very him, and Sterling as a possibility for Swarm because it reminded me of one of his short stories i read a lifetime or two ago but still remembered).


Favorite overall was Swarm for concept, animation, and execution, clever sf executed just right with nice touched of novelty, horror, character.
Mason's Rats was a close second with a really dark humour to it.
Bad Travelling was excellent animation but great but needed to tell me just a little more about the protag for it to work.

In the middle zone 3 Robots was fun to see these characters again, and the biting social commentary is nicely done. Night of the Mini-Dead had some good laughs.
Kill Team Kill and Vaulted Halls were by the numbers commandos face impossible foe stories, Halls with an even more by the numbers Cthulhu angle. Fun but predictable.

At the bottom, Pulse of the Machine tried to do something extremely clever and just didn't quite get there for me.
Jibaro, no faulting their ambition, and the audio shifts between the deaf character and the shrieking antagonist were really well done, but the jittery animation and 'abstract' moments really muddled the story they were trying to tell. I wish they had just relied on the audio. And storywise when the river could do all that it made the witch/robot/popper seem unnecessary.

Great show, if they do S4 i am there for it.

[QuickTidal]

The Scuttle on reddit is that S4 of this is on schedule to likely drop in the spring.

Huzzah! I'd like to know what authors they used this time and what stories they are telling.

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 31 May 2022 - 03:42 PM, said:

Watched S3.

At the bottom,
Jibaro, no faulting their ambition, and the audio shifts between the deaf character and the shrieking antagonist were really well done, but the jittery animation and 'abstract' moments really muddled the story they were trying to tell. I wish they had just relied on the audio. And storywise when the river could do all that it made the witch/robot/popper seem unnecessary.

Just re-watched S3 myself and this one STILL stands out as the absolute nadir of execution in all three seasons for me. There story is there, and even the clear social commentary on the Spanish conquistadors raping South America is there...but man the animation jitteriness, the flashes, the almost missing frame rate shit, and everything speeds by without pausing or slowing down much. It made for an obnoxious watch and the good of the episode drops to nil when the animation and execution was that off kilter.

Comparing and contrasting with Mieglo's S1 effort THE WITNESS is a million times better because it has all the style and substance of uncomfortableness of JIBARO, but none of the execution flaws that made it nigh unwatchable for me.

Adding in lastly that Mieglo is a fucking clown who puts QR codes that link to NFTs into his episodes..so fuck him for that.

Best eps of the season for me were THREE ROBOTS:ES (LOVE Scalzi's input into these seasons) and SWARM which as Abyss mentioned feels oh so very Bruce Sterling.

What I'm hoping for from S4?

I'd love to see more cyberpunk-type fare....something by Gibson from BURNING CHROME would be dope (ewepscially since they already did Swanwick and Sterling; both of whom are in that collection as co-authors with Gibson), but for my money the author I think they should do something from George Alec Effinger's Budayeen Nights...that whole series is ripe for cool, but different cyberpunk.

[QuickTidal]

Bickety BAM! LETS GO!

[sigpig]

QuickTidal, on 08 April 2025 - 05:37 PM, said:

Bickety BAM! LETS GO!

Cool, this comes out the day before my birthday...

[QuickTidal]

Ep list and synopsis:

CAN’T STOP
Synopsis: A unique take on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ legendary 2003 performance at Slane Castle, Ireland, with band members Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith, and John Frusciante recreated as string-puppets. Directed by David Fincher, who originally made his name with music videos in the 1980s and early ’90s, before segueing into unforgettable feature films.
Director: David Fincher
Music, Lyrics and Performance: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Animation Studio: Blur Studio.
Voice Cast: Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante, Chad Smith

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE MINI KIND
Synopsis: Tiny terror is unleashed in this mini alien apocalypse as directors Robert Bisi and Andy Lyon pay loving tribute to classic sci-fi stories of alien invasion and human stupidity using tilt-shift techniques that make the end of the world look almost cute.
Director: Robert Bisi & Andy Lyon
Writer: Robert Bisi & Andy Lyon
Animation Studio: BUCK

SPIDER ROSE
Synopsis: A return to the fantastic cyberpunk universe of “Swarm” (Vol. 3), created by visionary sci-fi author Bruce Sterling and directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson. On a remote asteroid mining operation, a grieving Mechanist gets a new companion and has a chance to avenge herself against the Shaper assassin who killed her husband.
Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Writer: Joe Abercrombie, based on the short story by Bruce Sterling
Animation Studio: Blur Studio
Voice Cast: Emily O’Brien, Feodor Chin, Piotr Michael & Sumalee Montano

400 BOYS
Synopsis: In a post-apocalyptic city where warring gangs follow a bushido-like code of honor, a new gang, the 400 Boys, forces them to unite. A blend of beauty and brutality from Canadian director Robert Valley, whose LDR episode “Ice” won the Emmy for Outstanding Short Form Animation.
Director: Robert Valley
Writer: Tim Miller, based on the short story by Marc Laidlaw Animation Studio: Passion Animation, a Division of Passion Pictures Voice Cast: John Boyega, Ed Skrein, Sienna King, Dwane Walcott, Rahul Kohli, Pamela Nomvete & Amar Chadha-Patel

THE OTHER LARGE THING
Synopsis: From the mind of prolific writer John Scalzi comes the story of a cat who plans world domination. Sanchez, as his puny human “pets” know him, is helped by a new robotic butler (voiced by Last Week Tonight host John Oliver) who can hack into the World Wide Web and is eager to help his new master.
Director: Patrick Osborne
Writer: John Scalzi
Animation Studio: AGBO
Voice Cast: Chris Parnell, John Oliver, Fred Tatasciore & Rachel Kimsey

GOLGOTHA
Synopsis: In a rare live-action entry in Love, Death + Robots, a conscientious vicar – played by Rhys Darby, (What We Do In The Shadows) – plays host to an emissary of an alien race who believes their messiah has been reborn on earth… as a dolphin. So, uh… yeah, Dolphin-Jesus. Directed by Tim Miller.
Director: Tim Miller
Writer: Joe Abercrombie, based on the short story by Dave Hutchinson
Animation Studio: Luma Pictures (VFX)
Voice Cast: Rhys Darby, Moe Daniels, Graham McTavish, Phil Morris, Michelle Lukes & Matthew Waterson

THE SCREAMING OF THE TYRANNOSAUR
Synopsis: On a space station orbiting Jupiter, decadent aristocrats gather to witness a brutal contest of genetically modified gladiators — fierce combatants riding deadly, engineered dinosaurs. A tale of visceral violence and unlikely emotion, directed by Tim Miller, based on a short story by Stant Litore.
Director: Tim Miller
Writer: Tim Miller, based on the short story by Stant Litore Animation Studio: Blur Studio
Voice Cast: MrBeast & Bai Ling

HOW ZEKE GOT RELIGION
Synopsis: B-17 Flying Fortress Liberty Belle has the oddest mission of World War Two: a journey into occupied France to bomb a church before the Nazis can raise an ancient evil. John McNichol’s short story of blood, fallen archangels, occult magic, and ultraviolence is directed by Diego Porral (lead animator on previous LDR classic “Kill Team Kill”).
Director: Diego Porral
Writer: J.T. Petty, based on the short story by John McNichol
Animation Studio: Titmouse
Voice Cast: Keston John, Braden Lynch, Roger Craig Smith, Gary Furlong, Bruce Thomas, Andrew Morgado & Scott Whyte

SMART APPLIANCES, STUPID OWNERS
Synopsis: From an angry toothbrush to an overworked smart showerhead and an intelligent toilet, various household appliances divulge tales of bemusement, scorn, and wonder about their human owners. Directed by Patrick Osborne, of Vol. 3 favorite “Three Robots: Exit Strategies.”
Director: Patrick Osborne
Writer: John Scalzi
Animation Studio: Aaron Sims Creative
Voice Cast: Melissa Villaseñor, Ronny Chieng, Amy Sedaris, Kevin Hart, Josh Brener, Nat Faxon, Niecy Nash-Betts & Brett Goldstein

FOR HE CAN CREEP
Synopsis: London, 1757. A poet confined to an insane asylum believes Satan wants him to write a verse that will end the world. And the only thing standing between him and the Prince of Darkness (voiced by Dan Stevens) is his cat, Jeoffry. Emily Dean directs this wildly inventive period adaptation of Siobhan Carroll’s short story.
Director: Emily Dean
Writer: Tamsyn Muir, based on the short story by Siobhan Carroll
Animation Studio: Polygon Pictures Inc.
Voice Cast: Dan Stevens, JB Blanc, Jim Broadbent, Nika Futterman, Jane Leeves & Dave B. Mitchell