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twistedmentat posted:When you think about it, this show is really leftist; the Skesis are the Owner and Investors class, exploring the workers being the Gelflings, who are divided for pointless squabbling so they cannot unite against their rulers. I feel this way as well, I do wonder if it's on purpose? If you look up the writers they've really not done anything exciting although one of the two does some LGBT oriented shows so perhaps. The other seems mostly to do Greys Anatomy episodes. Amazing reviews for the show on Rotten Tomatoes. I work for a company in the UK that does Netflix as part of what we sell and we're not advertising Dark Crystal and it's not been mentioned here though which is pretty poo poo really.
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Sep 2, 2019 13:31
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etalian posted:That peeper beatle torture scene with the Scientist was something else. I like that this is marketed to children.
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Sep 2, 2019 13:45
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Sep 2, 2019 13:49
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etalian posted:That peeper beatle torture scene with the Scientist was something else. “No, never use on Gelfling, only Skeksis who misbehave! And if Skeksis do that to Skeksis, imagine what Skeksis will do to Gelfling who will not talk, hmmm?” The show has managed to make Chamberlain out to be an even bigger motherfucker than I ever thought he was in the movie, and that’s saying something. I like the fan theory I’ve seen floated that he was the urSkek whose inner darkness was so intense that he singlehandedly broke them all apart instead of letting them go home.
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Sep 2, 2019 14:08
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Taear posted:I feel this way as well, I do wonder if it's on purpose? If you look up the writers they've really not done anything exciting although one of the two does some LGBT oriented shows so perhaps. It's basically this, especially how the royalty is Ok with the arrangement since it gives them power and also a opportunity to skim off the tithe donations. 
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Sep 2, 2019 14:53
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somewhat subverted by the fact that the skeksis are the most amusing and interesting characters to watch
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Sep 2, 2019 15:21
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I really like the bit of the world where multiple bipedal races have evolved into sentient species, each with their own unique physiology, language and culture.
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Sep 2, 2019 15:25
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Zane posted:somewhat subverted by the fact that the skeksis are the most amusing and interesting characters to watch It's like a fantasy version of The Office in which they always trying to use tricks like the blame game to get ahead and suck up to the Emperor.
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Sep 2, 2019 15:32
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There's some themes of colonialism as well; the Skeksis are not from Thra (and in fact we originally there because they got kicked off their planet). They took the caves from the Arathrim, enslaved them then gave the caves to the Grottan clan, ensuring they would be enemies. They did a bunch of other things to have the seven clans develop rivalries with each other. The desert Gelflings weren't allowed to be guards and were thought to be too obsessed with death (and in reality, the Skeksis were terrified of the idea of being Mortal). The Vaprans were the 'favored' clan which made them assholes to other clans. This gets reinforced with the tithing ceremony. I don't think the Skeksis actually take any of that stuff. The collector's job implies she does, but the whole thing seems more like keeping the Gelflings in line than anything else, and giving their monarchs an incentive to continue to serve the Skeksis.
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Sep 2, 2019 15:43
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Rhyno posted:I really like the bit of the world where multiple bipedal races have evolved into sentient species, each with their own unique physiology, language and culture. There's only really podlings and Gelflings, like Panfilo says the Mystics and Skeksis are from elsewhere. Rhyno posted:I like that this is marketed to children. Also what? Since when? I mean like I said before I don't really feel it's marketed at anyone at all right now but it's not got a child tag or anything. Taear fucked around with this message at 15:59 on Sep 2, 2019 |
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Sep 2, 2019 15:55
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Taear posted:There's only really podlings and Gelflings, like Panfilo says the Mystics and Skeksis are from elsewhere. Whatever the hell Aughra is.
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Sep 2, 2019 16:12
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Rhyno posted:Whatever the hell Aughra is. The spirit of the land. Kinda.
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Sep 2, 2019 16:31
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That's still a third sentient thing!
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Sep 2, 2019 16:33
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There's the Gruenaks as well, though we don't see much of their culture.
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Sep 2, 2019 16:35
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If you go by the comics there’s also the miner roach-lava things that didn’t make it into the movie and also Gelflings except they’re like fire elementals or some poo poo, I wouldn’t know because the art in Beneath the Dark Crystal is hideous. Basically everything on Thra is alive and aware in some capacity so watch where you step.
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Sep 2, 2019 17:11
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Deet’s monster turn 
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Sep 2, 2019 18:15
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I mean, while this is a good show and all, it's just that...GOOD. The insane praise its getting is something I can't understand. The visuals are great but the storytelling, characters, and dialogue is lacking.
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Sep 2, 2019 18:28
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punk rebel ecks posted:I mean, while this is a good show and all, it's just that...GOOD. The insane praise its getting is something I can't understand. The visuals are great but the storytelling, characters, and dialogue is lacking. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.
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Sep 2, 2019 18:56
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I like the story quite a lot, and while the characters were hit or miss the writing manages to replicate the movie. So yeah there’s some nostalgia at work but I think the series just genuinely hits home for a lot of people. I personally wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did.
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Sep 2, 2019 18:58
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Rhyno posted:Nostalgia is a hell of a drug. I watched the movie for the first time last month and I'm really enjoying the series. The movie was honestly pretty underwhelming. The story and effects of the series are a serious step up.
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Sep 2, 2019 19:03
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It was made in 1982.
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Sep 2, 2019 19:03
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Nitrousoxide posted:I watched the movie for the first time last month and I'm really enjoying the series. 37 years changes a lot. punk rebel ecks posted:I mean, while this is a good show and all, it's just that...GOOD. The insane praise its getting is something I can't understand. The visuals are great but the storytelling, characters, and dialogue is lacking. I dunno, I feel like they're really good? I like Dark Crystal but it's not like I'm blinded by nostalgia and am excited to see all these characters, I just genuinely enjoy what's going on.
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Sep 2, 2019 19:15
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I love that the voice of The Hunter is the same guy that played one of the Russian generals in Chernobyl. That dude has an amazing gravelly voice. 
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Sep 2, 2019 19:55
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Fly Molo posted:I love that the voice of The Hunter is the same guy that played one of the Russian generals in Chernobyl. That dude has an amazing gravelly voice. He's also Roose Bolton on game of thrones. There's a lot of GoT actors in the show actually. I didn't realize Rians dad was Mark Strong.
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Sep 2, 2019 20:05
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punk rebel ecks posted:I mean, while this is a good show and all, it's just that...GOOD. The insane praise its getting is something I can't understand. The visuals are great but the storytelling, characters, and dialogue is lacking. It's not life changing like a watching a top notch anime series with subs.
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Sep 2, 2019 20:28
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punk rebel ecks posted:I mean, while this is a good show and all, it's just that...GOOD. The insane praise its getting is something I can't understand. The visuals are great but the storytelling, characters, and dialogue is lacking. Consider they have to get all that acting and dialogue through... Puppets. The wide shots featuring say ten Skeksis and other creatures would have dozens is puppeteers all coordinating their motions into something that needs to look lifelike. The sets had to be really complex to be able to hide the puppeteers under the floor, and all the storyboarding and blocking would have to account for this. They could have just had human actors in prosthetics, or done CGI but they decided to go old school.
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Sep 2, 2019 21:43
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twistedmentat posted:He's also Roose Bolton on game of thrones. There's a lot of GoT actors in the show actually. He was Dagmer on got. Still good though
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Sep 2, 2019 23:25
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Taear posted:Man, then actually say it's speculation - don't present it as though it's definitely true! Did Kira's wings atrophy because no one taught her how to use them? In the film my impression was that wings were presented as a kind of vestigial organ.
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Sep 2, 2019 23:34
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etalian posted:It's not life changing like a watching a top notch anime series with subs. This but unironically. Panfilo posted:Consider they have to get all that acting and dialogue through... Puppets. The wide shots featuring say ten Skeksis and other creatures would have dozens is puppeteers all coordinating their motions into something that needs to look lifelike. The sets had to be really complex to be able to hide the puppeteers under the floor, and all the storyboarding and blocking would have to account for this. I agree. The visuals, effects, presentation, and atmosphere are top notch. It's just the storytelling that I don't see as incredible.
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Sep 3, 2019 00:30
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I was not prepared for this show 
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Sep 3, 2019 00:34
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etalian posted:That peeper beatle torture scene with the Scientist was something else. my most beloved of the five ocular castigations! voicing the skeksis must have been so drat fun
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Sep 3, 2019 02:33
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Taear posted:I dunno, I feel like they're really good? I like Dark Crystal but it's not like I'm blinded by nostalgia and am excited to see all these characters, I just genuinely enjoy what's going on. Yeah, I watched bits of the movie on TV when I was a kid, bought it on DVD in the 2000s and it didn’t make a big impression on me, and then watched the movie on Netflix last week to prepare for the series. And to be honest I wasn’t that impressed, it looked cool, and it was obviously a huge technical achievement, but it was a very simple hero’s journey and had pretty boring characters apart from maybe the Chamberlain. This show has blown me away though. It is, if anything, even more technically impressive and pretty than the original but is now paired with plotting, characterisation and themes worthy of most “prestige” TV shows, and remains child-friendly to boot. I am genuinely envious of kids who get to see this, I wish I had anything anywhere near this quality on TV for me when I was their age. I have some niggles - They really let Seladon off the hook at the end there, and generally the final battle was pretty disappointing, they really ran up to the limitations of puppeteering there. I think they should have just bit the bullet and employed CGI to get around stuff like only being able to have about 10 gelfling on screen max. They really are niggles though, overall I thought it was phenomenal work, and I’m a little bummed that it will probably be a long wait to the next season. Regarding connections to the movie, I think it’s going to diverge pretty heavily and not lead into it at all. At the end of the season, the Chamberlain murders the General, but he’s in the movie as the Skeksis the Chamberlain fights who becomes emperor. They might bring him back to life somehow or maybe it’s a different “General” in the movie (he does look kind of different), but it implies a change. Also, as it stands this series that is so far about the oppressed banding together to collectively defeat the terrible oppressors will end in the gelflings failing and being genocided, which seems a pretty bleak even for a show that gets fairly dark sometimes. Also, big fan of Locutus of Ascendancy. Regarding
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Sep 3, 2019 03:33
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Comrade Fakename posted:Regarding connections to the movie, I think it’s going to diverge pretty heavily and not lead into it at all. At the end of the season, the Chamberlain murders the General, but he’s in the movie as the Skeksis the Chamberlain fights who becomes emperor. They might bring him back to life somehow or maybe it’s a different “General” in the movie (he does look kind of different), but it implies a change. Also, as it stands this series that is so far about the oppressed banding together to collectively defeat the terrible oppressors will end in the gelflings failing and being genocided, which seems a pretty bleak even for a show that gets fairly dark sometimes. According the wiki for Dark Crystal, the General in the show is skekVar, and the one in the movie is a different guy name skekUng, and that "General" is just a title.
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Sep 3, 2019 03:47
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There were so many moments in this season: -SkekMengele doing the first essence drain. As someone else said, he's getting wayyyy too into it which just adds to the disturbing factor. Most of the time the Scientist is like the Emperor's bitch, but then there's scenes like this where you realize even a beta tier sadist is still a hosed up sadist. - Peeper Beetle scene - Skeksis funeral practices. They're so vain and egotistical they'll tart up one of their own and suspends him like a marionette in the throne room. -*Gets blasted by Gelfling force lightning* "Well that wasn't so bad!" *explodes into giblets*. -General: "Chamberlain, my bitterest political rival. You seem cool now, help a SkekBro out!" Chamberlain: "HMMMMMMMMMMMNNNNNNNN.... no. "
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Sep 3, 2019 03:54
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Comrade Fakename posted:Yeah, I watched bits of the movie on TV when I was a kid, bought it on DVD in the 2000s and it didn’t make a big impression on me, and then watched the movie on Netflix last week to prepare for the series. And to be honest I wasn’t that impressed, it looked cool, and it was obviously a huge technical achievement, but it was a very simple hero’s journey and had pretty boring characters apart from maybe the Chamberlain. I know people hate on him, but SkekSil is the real genius in all of this. He manages to discredit both the Scientist and the General, and implores the Emperor to poison the Gelflings trust and unity via FakeNews. He almost tricks Rian into turning himself in. His long plan would have worked, it's just the Emperor was too impatient because the old guy was scared of dying. This kind of ties into the movie in a way. At that point he's already spent 40? 1000? Trine toadying up to the Emperor. He's murdered his previous rival So he probably didn't see SkekUng as much of a threat which explains why he challenged him to Trial By Stone. Since that trial seems more about supporters choosing the Victor normally, I think he was expecting them to whack at the rock a few dozen times then his coalition would declare him the winner. And again, in spite of being exiled he still sought a way to weasel himself back in the court. There's kind of parallels to Seladon here, who was the daughter of the All Maudra, the fundamentalist that tried to establish her rank by kicking down anyone that stood out too much. And like SkekSil, the minute her superior dies the democratic system of succession goes out the window and just declares herself Supreme All Maudra for Life, Eat poo poo, Fara.
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Sep 3, 2019 04:15
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Comrade Fakename posted:I have some niggles - They really let Seladon off the hook at the end there, and generally the final battle was pretty disappointing, they really ran up to the limitations of puppeteering there. I think they should have just bit the bullet and employed CGI to get around stuff like only being able to have about 10 gelfling on screen max. They really are niggles though, overall I thought it was phenomenal work, and I’m a little bummed that it will probably be a long wait to the next season. Besides it being really hard to do a major fight scene with puppets, I think the final battle suffered from the fact that they piled like half a dozen climactic moments on top of each other in rapid succession -- Rian dueling the General, Maudra Fara dying, the Chamberlain stabbing the General, Deet unleashing Darkening Lightning, the Archer suiciding to take out the Hunter (and Aughra returning)... it was all a little too much to digest at once.
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Sep 3, 2019 06:01
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C. E. Croix posted:According the wiki for Dark Crystal, the General in the show is skekVar, and the one in the movie is a different guy name skekUng, and that "General" is just a title. Ya its an issue that many people are having. I spent most of the series wondering why the General didnt look like the movie one. I've seen a few "ENDING WHAT DOES IT MEAN!" videos and they all bring up the General possibly coming back to life. SkekUng in the movie is the Garthim Master as well as General. They just seem to be titles that the Skeksis gain and shed. Of the 3 Skeksis they mention that arent shown, SkekUng the Garthim Master, and SkekNa the Slaver are the 2 movie Skeksis that dont show up in the first season. The third who I cant remember the name of is a never before seen like Sea Captain Skeksis, who is off sailing the oceans and poo poo or something along those lines. They did a great job with the Skeksis look. I was initially disappointed they didnt look like the movie versions, but then I realized thats because they havent really started their major deterioration yet. The crystal has only just started to give them less essence during their ritual. DurosKlav fucked around with this message at 06:17 on Sep 3, 2019 |
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Sep 3, 2019 06:13
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Oh along those lines I did like how the Emperor at one point screamed "I WILL NEVER BE DUST!" Because that's exactly how he ended up.
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Sep 3, 2019 06:36
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Is there any explanation as to why the skeksis who are off doing their own thing haven't died of age? The hunter seems the most vigorous of all of them and he is never around for any of the age lengthening rituals the castle bound members perform. Same goes for the Heritic The Collector needs more love. The perfect combo of goofy and gross which the voice actress tied together perfectly. It was bugging me the whole series because she sounded very familiar, but I couldn't put a finger on it. Turns out she is the wacky fashionista friend from Crazy Rich Asians.
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Sep 3, 2019 06:42
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At one point the Emperor says they should summon all the Skesis, so there are others out there, because the movie shows us a Slave Master and a treasurer in addition to another General, but I think the movie General is actually the Gartham Master, plus he looks different than the show General, so assuming that there is another Skesis that is outside of the castle that comes back and assumes the new role of Gartham Master, and they just call him General. They probably had a falling out with the Emperor or something they left and formed their own power base.
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Sep 3, 2019 07:23
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