Ash vs. Evil Dead

[AsparagusTrevor]

I got me laptop fixed and I'm using my very kind Sister's Netflix account now, but they don't have this. And I can only find crappy 480p streams online. :(

In the UK they buried it on Virgin's on demand service, making sure nobody would ever watch it.

A shame, since I'm sure it would've flourished on Netflix.

[Glebe]

In the UK they buried it on Virgin's on demand service, making sure nobody would ever watch it.

A shame, since I'm sure it would've flourished on Netflix.

Oh yeah, now that you mention it, I have seen it advertised on Virgin...

[St_Eddie]

A shame, since I'm sure it would've flourished on Netflix.

Seasons 1-3 are coming to Netflix either this year, or next.  The potentially decent ratings on Netflix are likely the only chance the show's got of getting renewed at this point.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Episode 7 is descent.  Following on from previous comments, regarding Bruce Campbell's phoned-in performance; he actually tries in this episode and for perhaps the first time since the show started, he became Ash again.  I think a lot of this has to do with the actress playing his daughter.  She's a step above everyone else in the cast and I think that she gives something for Campbell to play off of.  This episode was nicely directed too, so perhaps the director helped to coax a good performance out of the old Chin.

Overall, this was definitely one of the few consistently good episodes of the show.  The vast majority of the good episodes have been during this third season.  At this rate, I'm almost going to be sad to see the show go, once it's officially and inevitably cancelled.

I fucking loved that episode. As a gore hound it was top notch stuff, it felt like a season finale, and every time it looked like the plot was about to take a rubbish turn (Brandy trusts Ruby, no one realises the truth about Kelly, the good Ash gets framed) it swerved around and turned out to be an enormous amount of fun. I know I like this series a lot more in general than you St.Eddie, but I really think it's pretty incredible to see such brutally funny stuff on tv right now, and I wish there was more of it.

[St_Eddie]

I know I like this series a lot more in general than you St.Eddie, but I really think it's pretty incredible to see such brutally funny stuff on tv right now, and I wish there was more of it.

I like the show.  Sort of.  I certainly don't hate it like I hate, say, Love Island.  I just wish that it was better.  It's frustrating to me because I can see the potential within.

[phantom_power]

I have the opposite view to St_Eddie. I think this season has been the weakest one so far, but I agree that the latest episode was one of the best. I don't think Campbell has been phoning it in at all but he was more manic playing the Bad Ash.

[AsparagusTrevor]

I have the opposite view to St_Eddie. I think this season has been the weakest one so far, but I agree that the latest episode was one of the best. I don't think Campbell has been phoning it in at all but he was more manic playing the Bad Ash.

I pretty much agree with this, although one criticism I had about the last episode is it seemed to squander the demon-child plot pretty quickly. Lots of build up, then over in a flash.

[phantom_power]

I quite liked that though. It would have been annoying if they kept up the "two Ashes" deceit for too long

[NoSleep]

They seemed to be intentionally referencing both Silent Hill (the ashen fog) and Ico (the black holes with demon arms pulling everybody down into them) in the "high street of the dead" scenes. Were there any other games references in the episode or this season?

[Desirable Industrial Unit]

'Drag Me to Hell' was my first thought for a reference with the grabby arms, which would be more fitting.

Not slagging you off here, but Silent Hill fans see references everywhere.  I'm a fan too, but Silent Hill is a grab-bag of horror cliches, rip-offs and references, so when things float back up they're not always references to the game, rather references to where Silent Hill lifted them from in the first place.

That said, I think they saw the film and flat-out robbed the concept, so in conclusion I agree with the thing you weren't even having an argument about.

[Alberon]

Ash vs Evil Dead has been cancelled.

http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/ash-vs-evil-dead-canceled-starz-1202775341/

Looks like ratings, which had never been great, had slid.

Campbell was also an executive producer on the series, along with Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert from the original film franchise. The show had seen a steep fall off in its ratings during Season 3, averaging just a 0.08 rating in adults 18-49 and 177,000 viewers per episode with two episodes remaining in the season.

[Desirable Industrial Unit]

No surprise whatsoever, everyone's just been waiting for it to be official.  I did think when it started that 3 series sounded about right 'for this sort of thing', and they do tend to leave things semi-resolved rather than dangling at the end of a series, so let's hope it wraps up well.

[St_Eddie]

'Drag Me to Hell' was my first thought for a reference with the grabby arms, which would be more fitting.

Yes, I noticed that too.  I've always considered Drag Me to Hell as taking part within the Evil Dead universe.  I like to think that the "tortured soul" in Drag Me to Hell is Ash.  I half suspect that was Sam Raimi's intention.

Not slagging you off here, but Silent Hill fans see references everywhere.  I'm a fan too, but Silent Hill is a grab-bag of horror cliches, rip-offs and references, so when things float back up they're not always references to the game, rather references to where Silent Hill lifted them from in the first place.

That said, I think they saw the film and flat-out robbed the concept, so in conclusion I agree with the thing you weren't even having an argument about.

Apparently the purgatory world in Ash Vs Evil Dead is nicked straight out of Stranger Things, in a desperate bid to ape that show's success.  I say 'apparently' because I've not watched Stranger Things, mostly because I loathe 'member berry nostalgia baiting bollocks but that's what I've heard.

Ash vs Evil Dead has been cancelled.

http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/ash-vs-evil-dead-canceled-starz-1202775341/

Looks like ratings, which had never been great, had slid.

Called it.

Ooohh, hawk at me.  I think I'm David Essex.

...let's hope it wraps up well.

SPOILER: It does.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Yes, I noticed that too.  I've always considered Drag Me to Hell as taking part within the Evil Dead universe.  I like to think that the "tortured soul" in Drag Me to Hell is Ash.  I half suspect that was Sam Raimi's intention.

Apparently the purgatory world in Ash Vs Evil Dead is nicked straight out of Stranger Things, in a desperate bid to ape that show's success.  I say 'apparently' because I've not watched Stranger Things, mostly because I loathe 'member berry nostalgia baiting bollocks but that's what I've heard.

When I saw that scene I was shocked by how blatant it was. Too little too late, as well.

[phantom_power]

I have enjoyed watching this show but I won't be too gutted about it finishing. It was a fun ride but I was never eagerly awaiting the next episode like I do with shows I love

[NoSleep]

I think Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell & Rob Tapert have low expectations of TV, especially considering their own previous ventures into the field; Hercules, Xena, Brisco County Jr, Jack of All Trades. You might not have contracted a production company that came up with shows like them to turn Evil Dead into a TV series. It's almost as if they hadn't noticed that TV has become the more important medium (at least in comparison to Hollywood).

[Phil_A]

I think Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell & Rob Tapert have low expectations of TV, especially considering their own previous ventures into the field; Hercules, Xena, Brisco County Jr, Jack of All Trades. You might not have contracted a production company that came up with shows like them to turn Evil Dead into a TV series. It's almost as if they hadn't noticed that TV has become the more important medium (at least in comparison to Hollywood).

That's a weird argument. Shows like Xena and Hercules weren't made for ED fans, they were campy action-adventure shows aimed at much more general audience. Are you saying people would think Raimi, Tapert and Campbell couldn't produce an Evil Dead TV show just because they'd done a couple of series that weren't anything like it?

They also produced American Gothic, one of the darkest shows of that era(to the point where it fell foul of network censors), which surely would've silenced any doubt that they couldn't have brought Evil Dead to TV.

[NoSleep]

I've never seen, nor did I know that they had produced, American Gothic, but my point was that they seemed to have underestimated the importance of TV these days. A little more Sam Raimi direction (as the premiere attests) and higher production values (including the writing) and this might have been up there with the films. It has been reasonable fun but it could have been great (but they seem to have been willing from the start for it to be a bit naff, Hercules-style). "This is what they want!"

[St_Eddie]

I've never seen, nor did I know that they had produced, American Gothic, but my point was that they seemed to have underestimated the importance of TV these days. A little more Sam Raimi direction (as the premiere attests) and higher production values (including the writing) and this might have been up there with the films. It has been reasonable fun but it could have been great (but they seem to have been willing from the start for it to be a bit naff, Hercules-style). "This is what they want!"

I fully agree.

[phantom_power]

I think part of what makes the film so great is the manic energy and crazy set pieces. That is fine over a 90 minute film but that isn't sustainable over a series. Saying higher production values would make it more like the films seems to miss the point. The writing and budget were never what made the films as good as they are, and indeed the film with the higher production budget and more "writing" is comfortably the worst of the lot.

[NoSleep]

By higher production values I mean more care and a good script, more than anything else. I think they went the wrong way trying to maintain the action and energy of the films in every single (and rather short) episode. A decent story would have led the way and the occasional episode where everything went full on movie-style madness. I always thought there was something odd about the way the first season unfolded, as it seemed that the cop was marked out for a more important role when filming began and then something happened to change that (maybe she decided to leave or got a better offer). Likewise Ruby's role seemed to be stretched beyond its original purpose.

[St_Eddie]

Bruce Campbell is done with Ash.

Looks like Josh Becker was on the money...

Take my word for it. Ash is dead forever.  The series is really and truly dead.  Bruce will never play Ash again, and is goddamn glad about it, too.

Here's an official statement from Campbell...

"Good people, Evil Dead fans everywhere, I bid you a heartfelt farewell playing Ash – the character I took acting lessons with for 39 years. I am hereby retiring from that portrayal. It's time. I followed Ash from his formative years thru his mid-life crisis and decline. What a thrill! What a privilege!

We had a great resurgence with the help of Starz (kudos not jeers, folks). They made it possible for 15 more hours of Evil Dead-ness in your life – the equivalent of 10 more features!

Is Ash dead? Never. Ash is as much a concept as a person. Where there is evil in this world, there must be one to counter – man or woman, it matters not.

Thanks for watching.

Love, Bruce."

[NoSleep]

It didn't feel like 10 more features.

[AsparagusTrevor]

I for one will miss the show. It wasn't winning any awards but it was something reliable I knew I could stick on and be entertained for half an hour each week (not including that bollocks season 2 finale). I enjoyed it much more than the last few seasons of Walking Dead, that's for damn sure.

Looks like Josh Becker was on the money...

Take my word for it. Ash is dead forever.  The series is really and truly dead.  Bruce will never play Ash again, and is goddamn glad about it, too.

I'm sure Burce Campbell is gleefully ecstatic about losing a regular pay cheque. If he hated playing Ash so much, he could've, y'know, not played him. He could've avoided going to conventions to interact with fans of the character. He could've refrained from stoking the fires regarding potential ED sequels over the years.

[NoSleep]

I think that he may have retired Ash, not on his own account, but because Sam Raimi wasn't 100% onboard for the series (I'm guessing); it would have worked better if he had been. Not really heard much about Sam Raimi's hands-on contributions to the series aside from the first episode. A bit like Game Of Thrones (minus the budget) after GRRM's material ran out.

[St_Eddie]

I'm sure Burce Campbell is gleefully ecstatic about losing a regular pay cheque. If he hated playing Ash so much, he could've, y'know, not played him. He could've avoided going to conventions to interact with fans of the character. He could've refrained from stoking the fires regarding potential ED sequels over the years.

I don't doubt that Bruce Campbell would have continued to play the role, as long as Starz were renewing the show (possibly out of a sense of loyalty to his fans.  Can you imagine the wrath he would suffer, had he been the one to pull the plug?).  However, based upon Josh Becker's comment and then Campbell's announcement of retiring the character, now that the show is cancelled; I'm inclined to suspect that Campbell is indeed glad to have the albatross removed from around his neck.

Why do you think that he told fans not to ask Netflix to pick up the show and then went the extra mile, by publicly retiring the character, as a means of getting the fans off his back?  Those are the actions of a man who is entirely disinterested in continuing with that particular role.

I think that he may have retired Ash, not on his own account, but because Sam Raimi wasn't 100% onboard for the series (I'm guessing); it would have worked better if he had been. Not really heard much about Sam Raimi's hands-on contributions to the series aside from the first episode.

That's an interesting theory.  I'm fairly certain that Sam Raimi had no input whatsoever, after filming the pilot episode.  The show definitely sorely lacked his spark.

[AsparagusTrevor]

As much as I enjoy the show already, I would've liked to see Sam Raimi involved beyond the pilot.

[Desirable Industrial Unit]

I really don't think Raimi is all that arsed about Evil Dead as a thing, and I'm not sure he can be blamed for that.  He's run a bit hot and cold on it through the years, which is understandable given that he was being constantly asked about potential plans for a continuation of a film he made when he was about 20.  I do think he recognises and appreciates that there's a fanbase and kind of felt an obligation to at least do something at some point, even if it was just setting something in motion and then being able to walk away.  The remake was supposed to be that, but it didn't hit the spot, so launching the series may have felt like he'd fulfilled his 'duty'.

This is why I suspect that Campbell announcing that he was done with the character was announced so quickly, after he'd previously been pretty clear that a final film would be the next stop if and when the series came to an end.  It would have to be with Raimi, and they'll have had that conversation.

[Shaky]

I get the sense Campbell is retiring to avoid going through more years of dealing with studios, money issues and having to give vague responses about Ash's return for the rest of his life. Guy must have had his hopes dashed so many times over the decades before the character finally returned to TV in pretty successful form. Now that avenue has been closed why cling to the increasingly unlikely chance it'll come back? Easier just to take the higher road sometimes and move on.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Finale Spoilers below.

I watched the last three back to back in the hopes of making it seem like one final Evil Dead movie but it didn't really work, mainly because episode 8 felt like filler and didn't even have a decent set piece. I'm not fond of Brandy either which has been problematic during the whole season, I wish they'd gone with Kelly being the daughter but eh, what can you do. At least the ninth was better but I still had concerns the finale wouldn't work (and Ruby's ultimate demise was disappointing) but I thankfully loved the last ever episode. Everything came together nicely, there was lots of blood and gore, an enormous funny looking demon stomping all over the place and then a very silly set final twist which made me grin a great deal.