4 ms·

Check out Andor. It's under the Disney Star Wars umbrella, but it's nothing like the rest of star wars. Made by the same people that worked on House of Cards, G

Check out Andor. It's under the Disney Star Wars umbrella, but it's nothing like the rest of star wars. Made by the same people that worked on House of Cards, Game of Thrones, the Bourne series, Nightcrawler, and others. It's smart and subtle and insanely entertaining, though it is a slow burn that focuses on character development rather than action. But it has action too... But no light sabers or Jedi. Yet...

poisonarena 4y ago
> It's smart and subtle and insanely entertaining I disagree, I feel like its the same as all the rest but the writers in the board meetings are like.. We need to make Star Wars for 25-40 year old men to feel like adults watching it. > slow burn planned that way not because it is a slow burn high pay off scenario. But because it is planned to drag on so you just keep watching it consistently. Most of these garbage shows in the last 5 years or so have embraced this 'pseudo-slowburn' style to make baby men feel more sophisticated while hooking them into consistently watching. I feel like the writers and decision makers saw all the funko pop marvel watching 30 year open mouth beard consumers and wanted to 'blow their minds' with 'slowburn' to remind them that consuming childrens movies are actually sophisticated and adult
- bookaway 4y ago
  >30 year open mouth beard consumers and wanted to 'blow their minds' with No one said anything about blowing minds. >But because it is planned to drag on Unfortunately all shows are infected with this garbage. You end up grading this stuff relatively on a spectrum (“don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good” etc) . This the “ads” of the streaming era. It is so ubiquitous people either build a tolerance, tune-out during the interval, or stop watching tv all together in protest. >to make baby men feel more sophisticated while hooking them into consistently watching A more sophisticated show with better writing and actors would indeed make people feel more sophisticated…yes. If, to take another example, somebody pitched me “Better Call Saul, but in space,” I’d probably watch that as well. Frankly, Dune is more a children’s movie than Andor, so you might as well say that 25-40 year olds have no business amusing themselves with science fantasy or sci-fi at all. The litmus test for this seems to be: Make the exact same scifi show (space etc) but without the Star Wars branding. Will it be considered a children’s move? My answer in this case, no. Will it still be decent? Yes it would. Mandalorian, Boba Fett, Obi-Wan are all magnitudes more juvenile than this attempt. A quasi-spoiler perhaps, but I personally find it hilarious that a subplot involves a workers revolt in what could be a Tesla gigafactory 20 years from now…in a tv show produced by Disney.
  - akho 4y ago
    > The litmus test for this seems to be: Make the exact same scifi show (space etc) but without the Star Wars branding. Will it be considered a children’s move? My answer in this case, no. Will it still be decent? Yes it would. The thing about Andor is that the Star Wars setting is entirely unnecessary. That series could be set anywhere; the setting is just a cash grab.
    - kranke155 4y ago
      What you call a cash grab an executive would call “target market”. You are not going to get funding to make a sci fi show (100+ million I assume) without integrating it into some kind of pre set market that will eat it up. In that sense it’s just product market fit.
      - akho 4y ago
        There’s nothing sci-fi in that story. It could have been set in Nazi Germany, Tsarist Russia, Qing China, or anywhere else. Except it would need to compete on a different field, and wouldn’t fare as well.
        kranke155 4y ago
        Lol yeah getting people to see it is part of the point, I guess?
    - colordrops 4y ago
      I thought this at first, but it's arguably that Rogue One and Andor are the only Disney properties that deeply tie in to the universe. They really set up the events for the original trilogy and make them feel more filled out and real. The tone is one of sacrifice and hope, and intentionally plays as a counterpoint to the powerful space wizards in the films. It feels like the creators respect the narrative.
      - mrguyorama 4y ago
- colordrops 4y ago
  Have you watched it?
  - poisonarena 4y ago
    1.5 episodes
    - sheepybloke 4y ago
      Definitely need to watch a bit more! It gets a lot better post episode 3, but your complaint still holds true in general with the series about the slow-burn. It's written well enough that you are engaged with each episode, excited about where the show is going. But then each episode ends, and for most of them, you do a recap of what happened during the hour you watched and the actual plot and character development is thin. It feels like it was written in 3 episode arcs, where small stuff happens for the first two episodes and then in the third episode the plot really advances.
bookaway 4y ago
Yes, Andor has been the most decent Star Wars throwaway yet for me, and that's including all the new movies and tv vehicles that came before. Understated, brooding, solid acting, and free of the stale plot and shoddy writing in the others that becomes apparent once the atmosphere wears off. Proof in this era that you can create something decent without giving the left and right cultural attaches too much to whine about (though I'm sure they'll find something).
kriro 4y ago
I was very positively surprised by Andor. I really like the way they show the empire side of things and how one (presumably) "advances" in such a system.
dnissley 4y ago
The thing that has most worn me out of all the star wars, marvel, etc. franchises is their simple moral framework pitting good vs. evil. There is basically as little moral ambivalence as possible. I find myself inhabiting a world full of moral ambivalence, and so these types of movies and shows just don't offer me anything to take away. Does Andor break that formula? Does it paint the empire / the rebels in a less cartoonish light than other star wars?
- colordrops 4y ago
  The main theme of Andor is moral grey areas, you'll love it.
- hotsauceror 4y ago
  I think we saw a little of this with The Mandalorian. In the episodes where we first meet Cara Dune, and she talks about being a "dropper" shock troop. It definitely gives you a much grittier, Machiavellian view of the rebellion, and it seems like the Imperials view droppers as savages whose conduct is beyond the pale. Also, in the episode where she and Mando are (kidnapped/stowaway whatever, can't quite remember) on the Imperial shuttle. The Imperial pilot makes it clear that his hatred of the rebellion is deep, personal, and 'moral'. "Do you have any idea how many millions of people were on that battle station?" Not that he has exactly seized the moral high ground, working for the Empire, but I definitely saw that as a "rebellion ~ al Qaeda" moment.
- dagw 4y ago
  Does Andor break that formula? Yes. One of the main themes of Andor is showing all the downright 'evil' stuff you have to do to successfully lead a 'good' rebellion.

poisonarena 4y ago

> It's smart and subtle and insanely entertaining I disagree, I feel like its the same as all the rest but the writers in the board meetings are like.. We need to make Star Wars for 25-40 year old men to feel like adults watching it. > slow burn planned that way not because it is a slow burn high pay off scenario. But because it is planned to drag on so you just keep watching it consistently. Most of these garbage shows in the last 5 years or so have embraced this 'pseudo-slowburn' style to make baby men feel more sophisticated while hooking them into consistently watching. I feel like the writers and decision makers saw all the funko pop marvel watching 30 year open mouth beard consumers and wanted to 'blow their minds' with 'slowburn' to remind them that consuming childrens movies are actually sophisticated and adult

bookaway 4y ago
>30 year open mouth beard consumers and wanted to 'blow their minds' with No one said anything about blowing minds. >But because it is planned to drag on Unfortunately all shows are infected with this garbage. You end up grading this stuff relatively on a spectrum (“don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good” etc) . This the “ads” of the streaming era. It is so ubiquitous people either build a tolerance, tune-out during the interval, or stop watching tv all together in protest. >to make baby men feel more sophisticated while hooking them into consistently watching A more sophisticated show with better writing and actors would indeed make people feel more sophisticated…yes. If, to take another example, somebody pitched me “Better Call Saul, but in space,” I’d probably watch that as well. Frankly, Dune is more a children’s movie than Andor, so you might as well say that 25-40 year olds have no business amusing themselves with science fantasy or sci-fi at all. The litmus test for this seems to be: Make the exact same scifi show (space etc) but without the Star Wars branding. Will it be considered a children’s move? My answer in this case, no. Will it still be decent? Yes it would. Mandalorian, Boba Fett, Obi-Wan are all magnitudes more juvenile than this attempt. A quasi-spoiler perhaps, but I personally find it hilarious that a subplot involves a workers revolt in what could be a Tesla gigafactory 20 years from now…in a tv show produced by Disney.
- akho 4y ago
  > The litmus test for this seems to be: Make the exact same scifi show (space etc) but without the Star Wars branding. Will it be considered a children’s move? My answer in this case, no. Will it still be decent? Yes it would. The thing about Andor is that the Star Wars setting is entirely unnecessary. That series could be set anywhere; the setting is just a cash grab.
  - kranke155 4y ago
    What you call a cash grab an executive would call “target market”. You are not going to get funding to make a sci fi show (100+ million I assume) without integrating it into some kind of pre set market that will eat it up. In that sense it’s just product market fit.
    - akho 4y ago
      There’s nothing sci-fi in that story. It could have been set in Nazi Germany, Tsarist Russia, Qing China, or anywhere else. Except it would need to compete on a different field, and wouldn’t fare as well.
      - kranke155 4y ago
        Lol yeah getting people to see it is part of the point, I guess?
  - colordrops 4y ago
    I thought this at first, but it's arguably that Rogue One and Andor are the only Disney properties that deeply tie in to the universe. They really set up the events for the original trilogy and make them feel more filled out and real. The tone is one of sacrifice and hope, and intentionally plays as a counterpoint to the powerful space wizards in the films. It feels like the creators respect the narrative.
    - mrguyorama 4y ago
colordrops 4y ago
Have you watched it?
- poisonarena 4y ago
  1.5 episodes
  - sheepybloke 4y ago
    Definitely need to watch a bit more! It gets a lot better post episode 3, but your complaint still holds true in general with the series about the slow-burn. It's written well enough that you are engaged with each episode, excited about where the show is going. But then each episode ends, and for most of them, you do a recap of what happened during the hour you watched and the actual plot and character development is thin. It feels like it was written in 3 episode arcs, where small stuff happens for the first two episodes and then in the third episode the plot really advances.

bookaway 4y ago

Yes, Andor has been the most decent Star Wars throwaway yet for me, and that's including all the new movies and tv vehicles that came before. Understated, brooding, solid acting, and free of the stale plot and shoddy writing in the others that becomes apparent once the atmosphere wears off. Proof in this era that you can create something decent without giving the left and right cultural attaches too much to whine about (though I'm sure they'll find something).

kriro 4y ago

I was very positively surprised by Andor. I really like the way they show the empire side of things and how one (presumably) "advances" in such a system.

dnissley 4y ago

The thing that has most worn me out of all the star wars, marvel, etc. franchises is their simple moral framework pitting good vs. evil. There is basically as little moral ambivalence as possible. I find myself inhabiting a world full of moral ambivalence, and so these types of movies and shows just don't offer me anything to take away. Does Andor break that formula? Does it paint the empire / the rebels in a less cartoonish light than other star wars?

colordrops 4y ago
The main theme of Andor is moral grey areas, you'll love it.
hotsauceror 4y ago
I think we saw a little of this with The Mandalorian. In the episodes where we first meet Cara Dune, and she talks about being a "dropper" shock troop. It definitely gives you a much grittier, Machiavellian view of the rebellion, and it seems like the Imperials view droppers as savages whose conduct is beyond the pale. Also, in the episode where she and Mando are (kidnapped/stowaway whatever, can't quite remember) on the Imperial shuttle. The Imperial pilot makes it clear that his hatred of the rebellion is deep, personal, and 'moral'. "Do you have any idea how many millions of people were on that battle station?" Not that he has exactly seized the moral high ground, working for the Empire, but I definitely saw that as a "rebellion ~ al Qaeda" moment.
dagw 4y ago
Does Andor break that formula? Yes. One of the main themes of Andor is showing all the downright 'evil' stuff you have to do to successfully lead a 'good' rebellion.