Studio

It continues to amaze me how well Warner Brothers does with their DC products in the television universe but manage to execute so poorly with their films.  Despite being a bit formulaic, the CW DC shows are still a blast to watch but it’s the more adult oriented shows Titans, Doom Patrol and Swamp Thing that have left me most impressed.  Now they have released Pennyworth for the Starz Network, despite the confidence I have in the other shows I went into this one with cautious optimism.  The biggest question that bothered me was do we need another series that delves into the Batman universe? Gotham recently wrapped up, there’s a Batwoman series, Joker was only 2 years ago and a new Batman film coming next year, not to forget all the other incarnations of the Dark Knight. What had me interested though is the notion of finally getting to see Alfred Pennyworth as the former SAS officer in his prime and the chance to see how he became entangled with the Wayne family.  Was the series a letdown or yet another success for the DC television universe?
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I remember when The Golden Compass came to theaters. I know I saw it because I was a projectionist and had to screen the print, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember anything about the film. Perhaps that’s why that when I first heard about HBO doing a TV series adaption of the beloved book series His Dark Materials, I wasn’t all that thrilled.  I’d never read the young adult series, and considering the amount of awful YA film and TV adaptations that have bombarded us for nearly two decades, it too played a role in squashing any excitement I might have had in different circumstances.  I was definitely pessimistic about watching the , but when I finished Season 1, I was excited about where the next season would take us. I loved the characters, the daemons, and the worlds that the show took us to. Not since Stranger Things had I been more excited about a new series.  Season 2’s can be a make-or-break for a lot of shows. Expectations have been made by the audience, and sometimes things just fall apart, but sometimes there is the rare occasion where Season 2 manages to only get better.  I’m happy to say in the case of His Dark Materials, things definitely improve.
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