Explaining Dragons: Poldark

Showing posts with label Poldark. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Poldark Season 1 Episode 3

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Well.... This took an unsuspecting turn... Nothing exceptionally weird, but I sense I won't be continuing my viewership. As I've mentioned previously I'm quite a fan of period pieces. What I'm not a fan of are dramas... Perhaps I should have listened to the end of this trailer. I'm not saying I don't enjoy the occasional drama, however, it has become quite apparent that this show is a drama, first and foremost, and pretty much nothing else.

It follows a somewhat similar structure to that of Merlin and Robin Hood, but strays from the comedy that they presented. Where Merlin and Robin Hood sought to retell these famous legends, Poldark looks more at relationships. Not saying they aren't interesting, but I don't enjoy shows where that is the main idea. If there is nothing besides romance present, I find myself losing interest. Merlin was more focused on the development of King Arthur, and his (platonic) relationship with Merlin. His (non-platonic) relationship with Guinevere does not take main stage. This is not the case with Poldark. It is a decent show, set in an interesting period of history, but I'm afraid it is not my genre. I gave it a try because it was BBC, and I've quite enjoyed their past shows, however, this is not quite my cup of tea.

I might still yet watch a couple episodes if I'm having a particularly lazy day, but I wouldn't look for any more reviews from me.
Sorry guys. All the best Poldark.

One more comment... The show also seems very rushed. Even if (pure) dramas were something I enjoyed, I would be annoyed at the pace the story unfolds. What about some character development? Not even that, what about developing the familiarity between different characters? Anyway, that's all for today.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Shark Tank

5 Shows You Should Consider Watching

Anonymous 7:31 PM

Although I follow a number of the more well-known tv shows, I also follow my fair share of other shows, without as much of a cult following. Some of you may have heard of of these series before, and if you're watching them, great! If not you might want to check them out.

Merlin

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First and foremost, this brilliant piece of cinematography.

It's a period piece, which I generally enjoy
It's a medieval history piece, which is even better
It's BBC, they have a pretty good track record in my opinion
Brilliant, brilliant chemistry between the two leads, the comedic timing for both of them is spot on
It's literally about Merlin. You know the wizard whose destiny it is to protect King Arthur. What more could you want?
"In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young boy- his name Merlin." - I accidently memorized this...

Unfortunately, this show was cancelled a few years ago, so don't be looking for any new episodes. Nonetheless, this three season epic is certainly worth watching.

Robin Hood

flickr labeled for Another BBC production, and just as good as all the others

Another medieval piece, and again a well-known legend (Robin Hood, I hope that's obvious to you)
I can't actually remember if I ever finished watching this show, but from what I remember it was fantastic
Again the two main characters have great chemistry, and play off each other very well.
Like with Merlin comedic timing is gold. Well maybe silver...
Again, there seems to be a trend starting here, the show was cancelled. So that's definitely annoying.

Poldark

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I've already briefly written about this show a couple days ago. Since there are only 2 episodes thus far, all I can say is so far so good.
And you guessed it, it's another BBC show. And yes. It is another period piece.Just look at it like this, if you like one of the above three, you'll probably like all of them. Incidentally, I tried watching BBC's musketeers, which came out to replace the cancelled Merlin ;(, but that one I did not enjoy. I don't even think I made it through the first episode. If you'd like you could give it a try, but personally, I didn't find it particularly riveting.

Gotham

Deviantart Hugh Jazz

This show I'd be surprised if some of you hadn't heard of it before. It's one of the many DC shows, that have been coming out recently. I, of course, also watch the Flash and Arrow, and I only left them off this list, because I figured the majority of people already know about them. And those that don't, probably don't want to watch them... Anyway, I feel like this show might not have quite as many followers, but I've got to say it's a fantastic show. Utterly captivating, and twistingly dark, it is certainly an attention grabber. It has a similar dark theme to the one Nolan introduced, although decidedly different. Following the rise of James Gordon and the beginnings of Batman, it takes an interesting new route. The only issue I've had with it thus far is their missed opportunities. For once it wasn't necessary to kill Bruce's parents off from the beginning, but lo and behold, they are shot in episode one. (Sorry, spoiler alert).
Highly recommend it. Although, if you are more of a fan of the Flash, this show is very different. There are no meta-humans, and the tone is much darker. If you are more familiar with Arrow, it is slightly more among those lines, although, I'd argue more twisted. Only because of the state of Gotham. You'll get what I mean if you watch it.

Shark Tank

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Surprise! Not BBC or superhero tv shows. A reality tv-show. Although, I'm not really sure if this constitutes as reality TV... I feel like some of you may be familiar with shark tank, and others not so much... The main reason why I watch this show is because I have a general interest in economics, I feel a basic understanding of the subject is vital when dealing with animal conservation. So yeah. This particular show has a lot more to do with an area of economics called "Theory of the Firm", the people going on the show are seeking investments from the "sharks", as they are all stuck in the short term plant period. So in order to expand, or meet demand they are looking for investors to increase their capital thus reaping the benefits of economies of scale. So that's why I find it interesting, in itself it can be quite enjoyable to watch, some of the product ideas people have can be quite innovative, and other times completely ridiculous.

So if you're looking for a new show, there you have it. Happy watching.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Poldark

Poldark: A ramble

Anonymous 8:40 AM

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I've got to say BBC has been on a roll. At the time I wasn't paying attention to exactly which broadcasters I was watching, but in hindsight (great series btw) many of my favorite shows have come from the likes of BBC.

First and foremost: Sherlock. But even before then I was an avid follower of Merlin and Robin Hood.

"In a land of myth, and a time of magic. The destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young boy (man). Merlin."

Disclaimer: the above is what I remember it being from memory, so if it's wrong, well, look it up.

Anyway, I was watching something else on BBC (I can't remember what), and I saw the ad for Poldark. If I'm being honest, it mainly grabbed my attention because there was a horse in it... Also I quite like period dramas (I think that's what you call them..). I mean I certainly prefer series such as Merlin and Robin Hood, which are at least partially based off history. Nonetheless, Poldark has thus far been captivating enough to keep me watching.

I keep on visualizing Kili though... Who incidentally was the most memorable dwarf in the book (along with Fili, oh and excluding Thorin...). In the movies though, although memorable I did not like his story arc, as it deviated so thoroughly from the books. My I digress, this topic is for a different post.

Poldark is not at all similar to any series I am currently following, so let's see how it turns out. I have faith in you BBC.