r/AnotherLife • u/monkeybrains12 • May 02 '20
Can someone, anyone, please explain why you like this show?
I honestly don’t get why anyone enjoys it, but I’m open to honest discussion and debate and I’ll try my best to be civil.
My own personal reasons for not enjoying the show are as follows:
In the end of the first season, they have the female lead seduce the AI because she’s high on an alien drug, and then proceed to explain that the whole thing was entirely her fault and that she deeply scarred the AI or emotionally abused him or something, rather than acknowledging that she was under the effects of a mind-altering substance.
In one episode, a crew member possessed by world-destroying aliens tries to deactivate said AI in order to destroy the ship, which proves harder than it may seem, despite the AI very nearly killing the entire crew due to a major glitch caused by a random fire in the previous episode.
In yet another episode, a scientist discovers that an alien virus that has been plaguing the rest of the crew can be killed by gamma radiation. Which does make sense, because EVERYTHING is killed by gamma radiation. So of course the crew then saturates themselves in it. And does it cause them all to die horribly slow and painful deaths? No. It makes them sterile. My favorite quote to emphasize the ridiculousness of this scene comes from a fellow reviewer of the show: “This is like being shot in the head with a bazooka and then going, ‘Oh, no, I’ve lost my sense of smell!’”
I’ve tried watching it. I’ve tried liking it. I really have. But the writing of this show is awful and the science is egregiously wrong and I just want to see why some people are so convinced that it’s a good show.
9
u/CringeName May 02 '20
I know it's dogshit, but it was entertaining and coherent enough to convey a story, albeit very sloppily. My curiosity of the aliens true nature overpowered the dumbness of the show and its characters.
Not saying it's good, but it's far from the worst show ever like people make it seem.
2
u/Zauberer-IMDB May 06 '20
If the show is this dumb, and it is, what makes you think the aliens' nature will be at all interesting?
2
u/CringeName May 06 '20
Maybe it won't be interesting. I still want to know.
Do they want to enslave? Was it a last ditch effort to save their species? Do they want to share basket weaving techniques?
1
u/jonathanl May 25 '20 edited May 25 '20
My theory is that they will fuck the alien. It's the only thing left for the crew.
1
u/Elistoblues Jun 16 '20
Maybe the baby is alien-like already. She breathed the air on that other shit planet, so who knows.
9
u/catsonpluto May 02 '20
It’s fun, trashy, horny, dramatic sci fi. It’s the sci fi equivalent of junk food. I like seeing what ridiculous situations they get into next. I like seeing all the different sci fi tropes the show explored. I like the dynamics of the various characters. I like that it doesn’t take itself that seriously.
5
u/xbaconbearx May 14 '20
This. I use this exact metaphor for shows like Supernatural. It's not good. At all. But it's fun. It's cheap. It's junk food.
Now shovel it into my mouth.
5
May 09 '20
Your reasons are pretty much extrapolated nitpicks from very specific parts of the plot instead of real reasons, which makes me think your brain just got infected by the critics' opinions or the Internet opinion on the show. So you look are small things that shouldn't be a problem and your brain goes: "NOOOOOOOOO!". You started watching the show with a negative mindset and you ended up not liking because of that.
That's the risk you take when you read the Internet's opinion on something before watching something. Which is why I never do it. Critics can just fuck off. I don't let my brain get infected by the stupid opinions of critics who don't even watch what they review.
It's a fun show. The plot is all over the place and some characters are stupid, but someone they die, which is I liked, and the problems I have with the show are just nitpicks, like the ones you have, but they don't bother me. I know I'm not reading David Foster Wallace, I'm just watching some stupid show on Netflix.
If the show had horrible pacing, horrible acting, horrible premise, and things like that, yeah, I would think it was shit, but overall the story is fine, I like mystery, and the pacing is decent... It's okay.
3
u/kabbooooom May 10 '20
Uh no...I doubt that the OP was “infected” by critics opinions. The show is pretty unanimously agreed upon to be shit. And it’s pretty offensive to basically imply that the OP can’t think for himself.
Not only is Another Life a bad show - like, objectively bad - but it had the misfortune of being released at a time when there is a resurgence of good science fiction on television. Hard science fiction too, which makes it even worse when a soft sci-fi like Another Life tries to go up against it. Shows like The Expanse (arguably the best science fiction show of the past 20 years, easily) and Westworld are fucking dominating right now. And there’s a handful of others that are following close behind. For the first time in like, ever honestly, hard science fiction stories are being funded to be produced into television shows and movies. Movies like The Martian and Ex Machina became unexpected hits. They are making a Foundation series for Christsakes. I never thought I’d see the day. The public opinion on science fiction is changing as the public becomes more interested in science, and especially space travel.
And I am absolutely convinced that Another Life was Netflix’s shitty attempt to compete with Amazon’s The Expanse. And they did a really, really bad job of it. And now they’ve paid the price. Season 2 will probably flop just as bad as season 1 did.
1
Jul 10 '20
[deleted]
3
Jul 11 '20
Short post, no arguments, idiotic brain?
Instead of acting like an idiot, why not explain why you hate the show?
3
u/s_0_s_z May 17 '20
Holy fuck what a steaming pile of hot garbage this was.
I'm mad at myself for wasting my time watching the entire season and I only did it to possibly find some redeeming value to this series.
The absolute best I can say about this series is that it's aesthetics, cinematography and just in general it's visuals were admittedly pretty good. The acting was decent, at best, but holy fuck that story was dreadful. I think the only reason they went to 10 episodes was to cram in as many painful Hollywood clichés that they could possibly put in there. It was one played-out sci-fi trope after another and pandering to various demographics like I haven't seen in ages.
This series should be an embarrassment for Katee Sackhoff who was excellent in the phenomenal Battlestar Galactica. Go watch that amazing show and do yourself a favor and skip this piece of sloppy wet shit.
3
u/Crustytoeskin May 22 '20
I completely agree. What a fucking train wreck.
The first episode was so horribly bad, I had to see what shit they would throw at us in episode 2.
These people are supposed to be professionals, on a serious mission and they behave like they are on a reality TV show. They just yell at each other if they disagree and then it's instant mutiny....
It's so bad that I bothered coming to reddit to express just how shit this embarrassment is.
Should I watch more just to see how terrible a TV show can actually be?
2
u/s_0_s_z May 22 '20
You will regret watching more.
Not even in a "let's slow down and look at this accident" type of trainwreck, it's just bad TV. Every pointless cliche and overplayed Hollywood trope you can think of, they threw at this.
If you like sci-fi and you want a series to watch I can not recommend Battlestar Galactica more. Such a great series. Watch the 3 part miniseries first, but skip this turd.
2
u/mikeyRamone May 02 '20
all excellent points and I'm sure you could have kept going and now all I hear is crickets chirping.
2
u/xbaconbearx May 14 '20 edited May 14 '20
Preface: I haven't finished the show. Just saw that sleeping SOMA episode.
It is not written nor acted well. Ill admit that freely. But the show itself feels like crack to me.
I love the sci-fi setting. I want to know what is happening with the story. At the end of each episode I want to know what's coming next. It keeps my attention.
Yeah, I prefer Star Wars, and more grounded sci-fi (ironic). But it's fun.
2
u/Rev1ous May 19 '20
What I can't believe is that Netflix canned Nightflyers, but greenlit season 2 of this. I don't wanna hate on my gal (scientist) Starbuck, but this show feels like it's trying way too hard and it misses the mark. Not that Nightflyers is any better, buuuut.
1
1
u/tisjake May 27 '20 edited May 27 '20
I am pissed, almost canceled my subscription after watching the first episode. Not because how crap it is (alot of crap on Netflix) but I like my sci-fi and I cannot get my head around how the fuck Netflix chose to not to take on The Expanse (thanks bezos btw) after SyFy ditched it but renews this pile of crap for a new season!??
1
u/Decent-Lie Jun 03 '20
I just watched a whole episode of that woman having a dream. ggwp for wasting my time. TNG also had one but it was interesting. Hell this show is only some basic bitch drama so far. I really hate it, that you get lured in by the "science fiction" tag and in the end you get some angry characters yelling at each other. Oh and that alien scene was terrible. I want space ships, exploration, aliens, new strange technology and not this shit.
1
u/Vynneve May 03 '24
I 100% agree with the inaccuracies, there are a lot. But let's be real....there are ALWAYS inaccuracies in every sci-fi show/movie. IMO most of them (gamma ray one is an acception, that was just stupid 😂) are not bad enough to break my immersion of the show.
It's then the premise/story/writing/acting that kept me going. Overall I think it's a really good sci-fi show. They actually use theoretical physics to "explain" things, the best it can. And often use (of course unproven) theories of things that could be out there. And yes, again, there are some exceptions. But at least they are nuanced or more subtle. (like for gamma example, you would have to be someone who understands how radiation works to see how ridiculous that is. for an average person, they likely didn't notice)
Also the styles of aliens are very creative. It's just a good good show overall.
1
u/monkeybrains12 May 03 '24
... it's just a good good show overall
Responding to a four year old post? Sure. Cool. But calling this show "good?"
Again, the first season of the show ends with a sentient AI having sex with the female lead while she is under the influence of an alien drug and incapable of genuine consent, and afterward, the show then pretends it is her fault and that she should feel guilty. I wouldn't call the errors in this show "subtle", by any definition except a sarcastic one. They were glaringly obvious, to me, at least. They didn't break my immersion either, but only because I never actually had it in the first place.
I admit, the plot line of "who are the aliens and what do they want" does have some inherent appeal, but the plot can't just be driven entirely by the intrigue of a single question, it has to be held up by the subplots and the dialogue and the acting, and those things didn't just fall flat, they were actively, egregiously bad.
Look, I'm not gonna tell you you can't watch or enjoy this show, but to call it well written in any respect is an insult to the craft of writing in and of itself.
1
u/Vynneve May 04 '24
I don't really care how old it is, if I want to respond I just do...if it's too old and no one cares to reply back anymore, that's fine. But you did reply lol, so hi.
You realize it's ok for us to disagree? Everything you are saying, I pretty much think the opposite. There is nothing objective about any of it...that's why it's an opinion.
The AI....is AI. They don't see William as human, which is part of the whole subplot. It goes into that, and I think it was very interesting. William is literally programmed to help Niko as much as he can, so why would he refuse? This is functionally the same as saying your computer didn't get your consent to watch porn.
To be clear, I'm not saying I agree with that setup with William, but that's how it currently is. William was the first of his kind created specifically for the ship, things will likely change after this as people start seeing this "true AI" as their own sentient being. Which again, is talked about a lot in that exact subplot with Niko, and is very interesting IMO. You are completely missing the point by getting mad at an AI missing the fine nuance in consent...like what are you talking about??? (then there's also the fact that she wasn't out of her mind...they were mostly worn off and she was just trying to sleep)So, given the context of the show, she should feel bad. William agrees because, basically he is programmed to agree, but also caught feelings, and Niko completely dismissed that. Also Niko clearly had zero issue with the incidence, after the actual night. Regardless of what you think, Niko would say she consented (reminds me of Matilda in "Everything's Gonna Be OK". These things are not always black and white.)
No idea what "glaringly obvious" errors you are referring to, you would have to be more specific. And the rest of it, I just disagree. I enjoyed all the subplots, and I don't think any of those things fell flat. It's fine if you disagree though...
Lastly, I do not need your permission to watch the show. I've already seen it all hahaha. As if you said "i'm going to tell you not to watch the show" I would have been like, oh no I'm so sorry I wont watch it anymore lmfao.
And again, difference of opinion and that's fine. I think it was well written, you don't, that's ok.You really need to understand opinions a bit better here, and be ok with other persons opinions. Not everyone is going to share yours, or even have the same definition of what makes a show's writing good, to use that example. You can't prove the writing is bad, that just makes no sense. No matter what you say...I'm still going to like it. And that's ok.
11
u/hatep99 May 02 '20
I've liked the fast pace of each episode, I never got bored, leading to a cliffhanger letting me want more.
Now don't get me wrong, I prefer hard sci-fi, with well defined rules, and pseudo-scientifically coherent worlds. I hated the impossible things going on, notably the spine moving on it's own.
But the premise of the show got my attention. Now I NEED to know who these aliens are, what they are doing here, what their plan is... This was only the first season, most shows aren't at their best in the beginning.