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March 28, 2024, 01:15:40 PM

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Halo (gameshow)

Started by Dex Sawash, May 06, 2022, 12:54:43 AM

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Dex Sawash


Have watched first episode of Halo tv series, it seemed okayish. Have never played Halo (computer game) so no idea how angry this makes Halo the game fans. Have you watched or played Halo?

Dex Sawash


Sorry, watched e2 and it is not good.

Sherman Krank

I disagree though I've mostly been watching it after Picard so I may well have a false sense of how good it is but I'm enjoying it so far.
It looks great, the acting is at least competent and the dialogue and plotting seems Sopranos level compared to Paramounts usual output.

The main bone of contention with fans of the game seems to be that Master Chief takes his helmet off (which he apparently never does in the game).
They don't seem to understand that in the game (at least the original one) Master Chief was just a hollow avatar for the player to inhabit and that this doesn't work in the context of a TV show as viewers don't control the actors.

Inspector Norse

Quote from: Sherman Krank on May 06, 2022, 12:34:04 PMMaster Chief takes his helmet off

I bet he does the di

I saw that this got made, I have fond memories of playing the original Halo trilogy though I lost track of all the sequels over the last 15 years. They were great games with a great setting and the first one had a killer twist which might make for good TV
Spoiler alert
(I'm talking about the moment halfway through when, in the midst of the galactic war, you unwittingly unleash a far greater horror)
[close]
.
Also, Pablo Schreiber is in the lead which can only be a good thing. Like with Pedro Pascal in The Mandalorian, you probably want him taking his helmet off as much as possible, sod the fanboys.

Thing is, it's a TV series based on a video game. That is never, ever a good sign.

pk1yen

I've been a massive Halo fan since I got my xbox on 2002 or whenever it was. Read all the novels for a bit as well, before there were too many.

I'm generally enjoying the TV show. It's nowhere near (say) HBO quality - but for a mass-market network TV video game adaptation of an FPS with a fairly bonkers story that continually goes off the rails and doesn't actually make any sense unless you read all the supplementary material, it's doing pretty well.

Except the extended Madrigal stuff which ... doesn't feel anything like Halo.
Spoiler alert
Episode 7 in particular had absolutely no relation to Halo and I have no clue what they were doing with the random Dune-lite and Star Wars style shit. They're clearly setting something up, but they're doing it in a really cack-handed way and nobody seems to care about this half of the show.
[close]

I'm particularly enjoying all the bitching and moaning on the Halo subreddit about yeah, things like Chief taking his helmet off, because the man-children on reddit don't understand the difference between how mediums tell stories. And as I say, the plot and characterisation was barely comprehensible beyond the first game anyway, unless you read the books as well (where, shocker, Chief always takes his helmet off).

The CGI looks genuinely incredible for a TV show. And I never get bored of seeing Chief's armour on screen.

Spoiler alert
Cortana still looks weird and uncanny though, which is doubly-odd seeing as her character is supposed to be CGI even in-universe so there's no reason for it ...
[close]

I might be giving it too much benefit of the doubt because I was expecting it to be unmitigated shit - but it's currently one of a handful of programmes I look forward to watching every week, with Better Call Saul and Inside No 9.

EDIT:

Spoiler alert
And yeah, there's a great twist coming, which makes me REALLY want a season 2. The CGI on that will be insane, seeing as how graphic some of the violence has been so far ...
[close]

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Master Chief: "Interstellar warfare doesn't get any tougher than this!"

Quote from: Inspector Norse on May 06, 2022, 12:48:04 PMThing is, it's a TV series based on a video game. That is never, ever a good sign.
I don't know. Castlevania on Netflix is well worth watching (as long as you can get past all the accusations against Warren Ellis). I've only played the first Halo game (and I don't think I even finished it) but the basic premise seems perfectly apt for a telly series. Maybe people would be better off watching the '00s Battlestar Galactica instead, but I don't think there's any inherent reason that Halo should be rubbish.

Famous Mortimer

If anyone's in the mood, "Red vs Blue" is still going, and was at least moderately amusing, last time I checked in.

Chollis

Quote from: pk1yen on May 06, 2022, 12:49:36 PMI'm generally enjoying the TV show. It's nowhere near (say) HBO quality - but for a mass-market network TV video game adaptation of an FPS with a fairly bonkers story that continually goes off the rails and doesn't actually make any sense unless you read all the supplementary material, it's doing pretty well.

Same. I'm a big fan of the game franchise but came into this with very low expectations, so I've been pleasantly surprised to find it's pretty decent.

Spoiler alert
When I first started watching I thought the "only certain special humans, like Chief, can activate this tech" premise was new to the show but apparently it's established lore. I can barely remember the canon timeline of events - do we think they will be introducing The F, or is this going in a completely different direction to the games?
[close]

pk1yen

Quote from: Chollis on May 06, 2022, 03:30:12 PM
Spoiler alert
When I first started watching I thought the "only certain special humans, like Chief, can activate this tech" premise was new to the show but apparently it's established lore. I can barely remember the canon timeline of events - do we think they will be introducing The F, or is this going in a completely different direction to the games?
[close]


Spoiler alert
I just read Greg Bear's 'F' prequel trilogy off the back of enjoying this show, and there's a lot of mystical stuff in there that fits with the weird ancient human lore. I still don't really understand the 'reclaimer' stuff because it's very hard to keep track of, but these three books are really focused on ancient and modern humans having specific information encoded in their DNA by the Librarian, and certain individuals having certain behaviour or information 'activated' when in contact with 'F' technology to fulfil long-term plans/destinies.

It's all better than it sounds summarised like this (except book 2 which is dogshit), but yeah, very complicated.

If they do go down this route I hope they explain it a hell of a lot better than they did in the games. It still amazes me that they had an entire game fighting the Didact without ever explaining what or who he is.
[close]


Dex Sawash

Quote from: Sherman Krank on May 06, 2022, 12:34:04 PMI disagree


I may have let zero replies anxiety affect my analysis

aunt mildred

Watch it with Dolby Vision and Atmos on an OLED.....game changer.

I'm up to episode 4 and I think it's a decent sci-fi show and you get to see masterchefs arse in it.

Thursday

The show is bad because Cortana is much sexier when she's a blue AI thing

elliszeroed

I'm a playstation boi, and friendless, so have never played any Halo games. But after watching the first episode of this, I like it.

elliszeroed

Holy shit! It's that guy from The Wire!

I think the Consolevania version of live action Halo will be hard to top.


Poobum

I was definitely coming at this as someone who is a massive fan of the first trilogy. Two main problems, one is that it lacks the humour of the games (most of this emerges from actual gameplay, but it's part of the tone), and two, there's no fucking halo! Never in my playing of Halo did I ever desire to know the detailed story of how they found it because that's the boring bit. The focus is completely wrong, the UNSC/Insurrectionist civil war and how the Spartans were created was interesting background but the main things should be the alien thing that's incomprehensively massive and mysterious, and the fight for it against an enemy intent on wiping humanity out. I know I'm complaining about what it's not, but I just find it so dull, it takes itself so seriously when it should be an Starship Troopers affair with a bit of fun and epic scenery. I'm watching because I like Halo and this ain't it.

Dex Sawash


Is the halo a big fuckoff ring space station?
Seems like I saw a trailer for a show that had one of those on a thread here

Bad Ambassador

Watched the first episode earlier and it was boring as fuck. Someone didn't see the Stallone Judge Dredd movie, because when the Mr Space Soldier took his hat off it turns out he looks like a fucking gimp

Dex Sawash

Quote from: Dex Sawash on June 25, 2022, 04:47:05 PMIs the halo a big fuckoff ring space station?
Seems like I saw a trailer for a show that had one of those on a thread here

Just worked out this was probably Elysium I was thinking of.

But why do they call it Halo?