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Invasion S3 trailer hints the series is finally finding its stride
- Thread starter JournalBot
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I might give it a shot but finally getting good in season 3, that's a hell of an investment / ask.
With the sci-fi shows as they are I'm worried that taking forever to get to the events while they ominously hint at the obvious for ages ... ?
With the sci-fi shows as they are I'm worried that taking forever to get to the events while they ominously hint at the obvious for ages ... ?
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Haven't watched Invasion, so this is kinda OT, but I'm liking the latest season of Foundation quite a lot. Lee Pace as The Dude is pretty great. And after four episodes the season is getting pretty enjoyably dark.
Honestly I want Apple to pick up Wheel of Time since Amazon dropped it. They might give it the pacing it deserves and would expand their offerings a bit into classic fantasy.
Honestly I want Apple to pick up Wheel of Time since Amazon dropped it. They might give it the pacing it deserves and would expand their offerings a bit into classic fantasy.
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I've watched both seasons and look forward to the third. They do suffer a little from pacing but in general I've enjoyed them. Invasion isn't anything like Independence Day and its ilk despite being about an alien invasion. It's a bit more subtle and more thought provoking. A lot more character focused which is in my mind a good thing.
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I watched both seasons a few weeks ago. I will say what I liked about them. The first season being more about human survival and what lengths people will go to, lead up to a second season showing how far that will eventually lead to. I like that it focused more on the people than the aliens. It was a great take on the whole alien invasion trope.
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I couldn't finish S1, it was just waaay too slow. A rare misstep by AppleTV+, in my opinion. So of course it has apparently found enough of an audience to make it to a third season. I do agree with others that the focus on the humans makes it stand out a bit from the usual alien invasion fare, I just couldn't deal with the pacing.
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I'm one of those in a love/hate relationship with the show, but I'll check out season 3. A two year jump from the end of S2 is an interesting choice.
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I had totally forgotton about this show. I did enjoy it while watching, apparently not that memorable to me. I think I had thought it was not renewed. In anycase, I'm glad it's back and looking forward to season three.
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I love the show but I totally forgot it existed. I hope they provide a solid recap before they release the 3rd season.
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Mungus the Unhyphenated
Ars Tribunus Militum
Wife just resumed watching Invasion, apparently after forgetting she'd stopped a few episodes into S1 because it was so slow. After slogging through the first two or three episodes, I reminded her that I recall having seen them before, and that we'd stopped, probably because it was so damn slow.
I'm not sure if she's kept going this time or not... I keep falling asleep.
I'm not sure if she's kept going this time or not... I keep falling asleep.
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Apple keeps renewing the strangest things, but Mythic Quest had more story left to tell ;_;
This Wajo show was a pain. Even the director realized that closeups of Mitsuki were the best part of the show and made that half the second season.
This Wajo show was a pain. Even the director realized that closeups of Mitsuki were the best part of the show and made that half the second season.
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The main issues I had with the first season is that:
I ended up speeding up some parts because of pacing or watching it while doing something else so as not to get bored.
Now that I wrote this, maybe they need better editors.
- most characters are rather stupid
- way too much focus on obnoxious people (it's sci-fi, show some tech! give me more aliens!)
- pacing is way too slow (most episodes could be re-edited in half the run time and not lose anything)
I ended up speeding up some parts because of pacing or watching it while doing something else so as not to get bored.
Now that I wrote this, maybe they need better editors.
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Apple's SF shows have been pretty darn good (and yes, Hippie Lee Pace in Foundation this season is a hoot and a half), but for whatever reason they haven't seemed to be all that interested in investing in fantasy, so unfortunately I doubt WoT would be on their radar. It's a pity; the third season there did finally seem to be hitting its stride.
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"Invasion" is a generic premise that tries to hide its uninspired tropes with glacial, this must be significant pacing, built around characters that are unengaging, so they must be significant and complex? It is not good. It is also not bad enough to be cult. It is just bad. It's "The English Patient" of science fiction.
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Wheel of Prime never hit its stride for me, and they wasted everything on that Rings of Power show that never stuck the landing for me due to abysmal pacing. Fantasy is a harder sell for me, Vox Machina is more successful on part of being a comedy.
This is called "mystery box writing" and at the end of the day, the box is empty. We've learned nothing from Babylon 5.
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I've tried to watch it multiple times with my partner, and we're suckers for scifi/alien stuff. At best I can argue it's an interesting concept with good production value and aesthetic completely undercut by baffling choices in pacing, writing, and characters. Anything that takes three seasons to get good...might just not be good.
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What did you think of Foundation season 2? I really liked the first season but I struggled through the second. It seemed like there were some threads the writers didn't know what to do with so the season wrapped up very messily imo, and I felt the first season was more grounded in the reality of the universe they are in. Season 3 has been better so far imo, though honestly the Foundation storyline is the least interesting to me at this point and I'd kinda just like an Empire show.
On topic, I liked both seasons of Invasion and I'm glad they're making more. Season 1 was a slow burn but I liked that it wasn't all about the aliens, and the way the invasion unfolded was interesting.
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This show is my litmus test for "do you ACTUALLY want slow pacing and character development?"
So far, I think the series is worth the investment, but there's no doubt it start pretty slow for a modern sci-fi show. Silo and Foundation are both much better, IMO, but that doesn't mean Invasion shouldn't be on your list, too.
So far, I think the series is worth the investment, but there's no doubt it start pretty slow for a modern sci-fi show. Silo and Foundation are both much better, IMO, but that doesn't mean Invasion shouldn't be on your list, too.
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I had the opposite experience: I had a tough time making it through Foundation S1 (I loved the Cleons, and didn't enjoy the rest), and by the end of the season I felt done with the show. Then when S3 was on the verge of release I decided to give S2 a try, and I found it much more consistent than S1.
But I do agree that Empire remains the most interesting part of the show.
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After watching the plodding storylines in Season 1, I was genuinely surprised that it was renewed for a second season, which I skipped entirely. Sounds from this review it found its footing. Maybe I'll go back and give it a second chance.
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It's been so long I forgot what happened in S2. I might have to rewatch a few episodes.
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Cap'nAwesome
Ars Centurion
I really enjoyed the first two seasons so looking forward to this. It really was a slow start but they spent a lot of time introducing the characters and the world-building in S1, which I think paid off when things picked up a bit in S2. Honestly I just hope that the showrunners know what to expect as far as potential future seasons and are able to plan accordingly. Nothing turns me off from an entire network faster than cancelling a show I'm into after a cliffhanger season finale.
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I watched the first season and it has to be the worst show I have watched in years. I get that they were trying to focus on the issues of the everyday people during the invasion, but in my opinion they failed miserably. Never in a show have I disliked every single character as much as in Invasion, and the writers couldn’t manage to make me give even a single miserable shit about any of them. Terrible show.
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My favourite part of the show is how one should approach a divorce while the planet is being invaded.
Waju right?
Waju right?
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Invasion went dead boring the moment the aliens were revealed as malevolent. Is there anything duller than a villain which does evil because evil is villaneous? Circular characterization is the bane of all fiction, and science fiction suffers from it far more than most. "Bwah ah ah!" is the the least original possible dialog, and the last refuge of lazy writers and hacks.
Various franchises have long since destroyed any potential science fiction had to make an original statement about anything at all. Its tropes are senseless, tedious, and repetitious as any religion's. Worse, since it became impossible to imagine a human future consisting of anything beyond rage and shame at our own self-inflicted demise, it's all quite depressing.
Various franchises have long since destroyed any potential science fiction had to make an original statement about anything at all. Its tropes are senseless, tedious, and repetitious as any religion's. Worse, since it became impossible to imagine a human future consisting of anything beyond rage and shame at our own self-inflicted demise, it's all quite depressing.
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The show did improve towards the end of S1, but really thats only because something happened. That first season was torture. It looked pretty, the aliens where spooky as hell, and there was at least an ominous vibe. But the pace, dear lord, how did that get approved? Episodes just seemed to have a synopsis of "Soldier man is very sad" or "Mother is very sad" and not have a single damn thing push the plot forward. Season 2 had a significantly improved pace, and I did kind of enjoy it, because at least things where happening. I'll watch S3, but the leash is tight on this one, if this thing frusturates me again, its over.
I can accept shows can take a bit to find their feet. Even the, frankly triumphant, Expanse, imho the best sci-fi series ever made, took a few episodes to find its feet. But if you waste my time for a whole season, thats where I'm thinking "Ok, you just wasted 5 hours of my life, you owe me half a days wages...."
I can accept shows can take a bit to find their feet. Even the, frankly triumphant, Expanse, imho the best sci-fi series ever made, took a few episodes to find its feet. But if you waste my time for a whole season, thats where I'm thinking "Ok, you just wasted 5 hours of my life, you owe me half a days wages...."
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Are they really, though? There’s been some hints that their malevolence may not be what it seems.
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I seem to be in the minority here. While I agree there are overall pacing issues, my issue was not with S1 being slow - I absolutely loved the slow shots, the buildup, the cinematography, not to mention the music and soundscaping has been incredible. The aliens themselves are also really unique visually, especially the ones before they evolved - the way their legs pulled in and out from their bodies.
My issue was with all the action in the first few episodes of S2. We went suddenly from a slow burn take your time with the shots show to an action packed series of episodes. That dramatic and quick shift was really jarring. Plus, Shane Zaza’s character is just awful, so tropey and instantly unlikable and not in a fun way.
Overall though, I feel it did hit a stride at the end of S2. Everything felt more balanced overall and again, that fuckin soundscaping man is incredible, the way it blends in and out of the music especially in the last episode, it’s brilliant.
I’m very much looking forward to S3!
My issue was with all the action in the first few episodes of S2. We went suddenly from a slow burn take your time with the shots show to an action packed series of episodes. That dramatic and quick shift was really jarring. Plus, Shane Zaza’s character is just awful, so tropey and instantly unlikable and not in a fun way.
Overall though, I feel it did hit a stride at the end of S2. Everything felt more balanced overall and again, that fuckin soundscaping man is incredible, the way it blends in and out of the music especially in the last episode, it’s brilliant.
I’m very much looking forward to S3!
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Oh yes.
Can't stand it for the same reason I cannot stand ST Discovery: SF is my escapism vent for real-world human stupidity, a faint hope that we will one day overcome being the emotional train wrecks that we are: so no, a Telenovela or coming-of-age drama against the background of an alien invasion is not something I'm interested in.
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When starting a new series, unless I really hate it right off the bat, I tend to try and make it through at least the first 3 episodes before I make a decision on whether to ditch it or not.
That usually gets you past the first redious aspects of introducing the main cast, setting the scene, introducing the plot points and whatnot, and ofen awkward acting/dialogue that comes with a new actors doing new parts (especailly in lower-budget stuff that isn't using veteran A-listers right off the bat) until they get into the swing of things.
However, 3 seasons seems rather excessive to get under way lol.
But thanks, I'll give this a look.
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The pacing issue that killed me was when the Navy SEAL, after many scenes showing him crossing barren deserts at length, finally reaches a phone booth and calls his wife's number and starts leaving a voicemail. After a minute or two, I got the point, so I skipped forward -- only to find he was still talking...
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williamlondon
Ars Scholae Palatinae
Totally agree on the "watch 3 episodes before deciding yes/no to continue" attitude, it works a treat, not perfect, but a very good policy regarding watching new series.
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