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Some of 'em, maybe (definitely Secret Invasion) but I think a good miniseries can enjoyably deliver much more story in six hours. Yes, 10 is really stretching it for many -- a miniseries should have two major plots that overlap a little.
I appreciate that you judged it fairly and gave it a chance. As with everything in this industry , if the writing ain't there , the actors can't save it. We both know that is usually the case with this dying business.
You pulled Mannix out of the archives of my mind ; hilarious! You are indeed a national treasure, Chato ! Sheer brilliance. Keep on Truckin’, my friend .👍🏻
... Well... Wine moms ought to have their shows too... It is IMO a more vast demographic than the sexual oddities for whom all 2020's shows were made for...
I'm not sure what is Disney doing. The show is weird, putting Wandavision's villain as the protagonist. For who was this show made? Middle-age woman who love superheros dramas? I'm not sure. But I'm sure the audience is pretty, pretty small.
There are still tons of decent Marvel characters ripe for adaptation but A) Disney management has NO CLUE about quality control or what would work, always overspends on the worse or lamer characters now, B) they put the worst people in charge of these shows as if the micromanaging executives weren't bad enough! C) They utterly change characters to the point they're completely different people from the original comics. What they're doing is far worse than the majority of book to screen adaptations of the past. I saw the writing on the wall for Disney around 16 years after they did the first "Alice in Wonderland" live-action adaptation. It was overwrought and boring to me. Completely unnecessary live-action remake (the 1949 live-action film I think is still the best live-action "Alice") I had an inkling extreme political crap was going on behind the scenes going by new Disney Channel content at the time. That Disney would become THIS bad, an Orwellian and politically correct nightmare, was something I don't think most people expected. It's a decade-plus later and the Company is still heading down this terrible path that has utterly destroyed its legacy for many people. I can sadly say I can live without any new Disney content for the rest of my life. They've lost the magic, as if they weren't overhyped enough and suppressing most of the better pre-2000 Disney content already...
Why do we need Masc only dudes in every show. Im hoping this connects to the Fantastic Four considering Agatha was Franklin Richard’s nanny for a point.
@@SIMON_SAYS_SO since modern shows and movies with female protagonists have been pretty crappy and badly written, because the writers wants them to be mary sues girl bosses who are unrealistically better than men at everything because the writer said so, then yeah they come out as unlikable and why people prefer male-lead shows. At least with a male-lead you know there won't be a feminist agenda
I just don't think Agatha All Along should be an MCU property. Maybe ok just as a generic Disney Halloween special but it does not look attractive as an MCU property that the larger fanbase would be interested in.
Just as you can be a straight white man and recognize when a man is beautiful, so can you be a straight man and recognize the positive value of an entertainment product that is not targeted at you. Well done, Mr Chato. Are people who are not straight, not white, and not men who can do that?
"character growth is for movies, not tv shows" Tell that to Highlander, man! They did a great job of character growth through that series, and they lasted 6 seasons. They may be the exception, but I feel like there should be some character growth between seasons, at least.
I don't think Paul's seen stuff like Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. It's pretty ridiculous that he would say such a thing. TV may have been different when he was a network executive, but it's not the same today.
Stargate SG-1, and Sliders (Sliders whole premise as that they couldn't get home, and they didn't even have a ship like in Star Trek Voyager) did what he is effectively saying Agatha is trying to do. (Ensemble cast, "roadshow"). I don't think Agatha will be nearly as good as either. Also, I loved the old Highlander TV series.
@@DeadlyPlatypus You are naming off some of my favorite series, too. I was just floored to hear him say this. Maybe he's thinking of Agatha All Along as like a sit-com? Like Friends. Or Cheers! That is the kind of show he is describing there. But even then, they had 'some' character development. Usually dropped as cliffhangers for the next season. I mean, everyone is allowed a mistake, right?
Show idea "pillow fight" has Aubrey plaza, Rosa Salazar and Sydney Sweeney battle it out. Every time an item of clothing is knocked off it cuts to a ill timed add break and each week the game resets.
Disparu also did a fantastic and very funny breakdown of the first episode, but he never does a bad review of some show or film. He pointed out that the entire town was playing along with Agatha's mental instability after she was brainwiped by Wanda and she was not a police investigator at all. Everyone in Westview never had their memories altered, only Agatha. So they just kept screwing with Agatha, making her think she was who she believed and coming up with dumb scenario to keep her occupied and out of their hair for awhile. Kathryn said it out loud on the red carpet that there won't be a season two, which is not surprising. As for the verdict, this should have been a "No". It was purely done for agenda driven reasons and the story is garbage.
Five seasons? Too late. It’s looking like it’s already cancelled for season two. 😂 Also can you go into more detail why character growth should happen in a movie and not a TV show? That was an interesting thing to hear. 👍🏻
I think it's fair to say that this show is aimed at middle aged women, but not just middle aged women, nerdy new age type middle aged women who watched the MCU because those boys are so hunky, and they take of their shirts too, wine moms and aunts. Also the gays, not homosexuals or lesbians, the gays, the kind of flamboyant people that are defined by their sexualities, love musicals and brigth colors and unironically ask, is this the gayest (insert product here) yet? with glee in their voice. You know, the cast of Will and Grace.
The equilibrium return at the end of each episode will be just like that of The Acolyte. (More specifics? Erm - confusion, ridicule, exasperation, mild nausea, regret at sobriety, vengeful impulses. That would be me anyways. The show itself? Fk knows.)
Guessing one of them will find their Courage, one will find her Heart, and one will find her Brain! And did Paul even mention the Musical aspect? I thought it was at least more appropriate for a show specifically about Witches, rather than a 'mainstream' Star Wars series... However that song was no 'Follow The Yellowbrick Road' and Hahn is no Judy Garland.
Mystery Box writing really doesn't translate to multiple seasons at all. I'm a huge fan of the old USA network formats like Suits, Burn Notice, Monk, etc.
I have come to loath mystery boxes. I like shows with a destination established at the beginning (whether obvious to the viewer or not), and where the showrunners have a map to that destination. The great sin of current tv is telling 4-hour stories in 8 or 10 hours. How many shows got better after the first 4 episodes? ST:TNG and M*A*S*H come to mind, but few others. How about shows that quit while they are ahead? These are rare as hens' teeth. The IT Crowd was one. How many shows start strong, but then devolve? Sherlock went from brilliant to stupid in its short life. The West Wing started sputtering and relying on stunts midway through its 4th season. Happy Days notably jumped the prototypical shark. There came a time in LA Law when every character was just miserable. Mork and Mindy had two years worth of material, but ran for 4 years. Once Upon a Time became an unwatchable slog. Wednesday's first season conclusion was insulting to fans. If I am greenlighting, I want to see a road map. I want to know how it's going to end.
I would have leaned into the police procedural for Season 1, similar to Wandavision. Each episode takes us through a decade in cop shows, then Agatha realizes she’s in a mental institution and escapes over the last couple of episodes. Season 2 she tries to regain her powers.
I have never have been a Disney+ subscriber so I have no personal experience to draw upon. That said, I have seen many reviews of these first two episodes and this review is very balanced and just. I greatly appreciate that. Sound, critical thought being applied to any property is becoming more and more rare as many other critics are trending for the more personal (and loud) criticisms - which is not too surprising given the overall quality of recent Disney products and the controversy they generate. Thank you, sir for a great review!
I was going to say "Agatha, nice to see you're back" and then we saw more than just her back! Nah, we don't need that in a Marvel show... Then again, these days anything goes (except for goid tv shows that is...)
In terms of having the show on the road and beginning the adventure after the first episode, it kind of did. When they know the first two episodes are releasing on the first day, they can treat them as one long episode. Andor did it with the first three episodes, but that show continued the three episode story arc for the rest of the show.
I don't agree with that I like my characters to have growth and TV shows of course some shows don't and I can live with that too but I prefer having a somewhat personal connection to the characters I see on screen.
That’s part of the problem. “It was so-and-so all along” has been a staple phrase in mystery stories for a hundred years. But there’s a reason why that phrase is never used for a title. It’s clumsy at best.
#5 I disagree. Examples: "Chuck", "Star Trek DS9", "Fringe", The Big Bang Theory". To be fair those shows had strong writers and cast to make it work. I do agree with you to a point that it should reset each episode but to make a blanket statement that it can't or shouldn't be done (Character growth) I feel is wrong or at least a case by case basis.
"Whiches can't kill eachover," but as with all MCU "rules," that really is more of a "suggestion" than an immutable "law" That said "mistress death" is an OG comic character more noted for her conspicuous absence in the MCU than anything else. 🤔
Very little commercial television is worth the investment of time, anymore. And as for Disney, they've been sucking up to the LGBT123XYZ crowd long enough that they stopped being a source of entertainment choices in my home long enough for me to consider them irrelevant.
I just noticed that on top it reads "revenge is a witch", but what revenge? Against Wanda? The wanda who destroyed the Avengers from another universe just by lifting her finger?
I think in principle that this idea could work if done well but not as its being done. As a limited series rather than an open ended one the fake police show could have worked, but should have at least been one full episode if so. Another option would be the witches all together facing something terrible and then going "how did I get here?" and doing the intro.
I would disagree, character growth can certainly happen in TV Shows, breaking bad, better call saul, game of thrones, etc. You mean like sitcom type shows right?
always interesting to hear your take. This is exactly how bad shows get made. The people in charge have a set of check boxes and if you check them you're in, doesn't matter if the show is good or not. I wonder just how often that works out for the network...
When they had the first show be in the style of a prestige police procedural, I was hoping they would have a different genre of TV each episode sort of like WandaVision. Where that wasn't the premise, I agree, they should have ditched that first bit and combined the first two episodes to rush to the road. I want the show where episode one is Mare of Easttown, two is Oz, three is Sopranos, four is Wire, five is Game of Thrones, and six is West World.
Although I agree with all your points, I suspect this is an extended one-and-done movie, just like WandaVision was. Here's hoping it doesn't devolve in the same manner.
The saddest thing about this series is that it had a premise that seemed interesting but wasted in minutes. A nice cast that is also wasted for they are good actors, but the script is not, nor the director it seems... and of course nor the studio. Pandering again to an agenda they said they tossed away. Agatha is the story of an outcast, an underdog at this time, a black horse, but to be a successful one it has to be charming, redeemable, hopeful, uplifting, not boring and cringy. This story has little hope to end gracefully, most likely another forgotten step into the interminable stair of the MCU's projects.
Green light? Yes. But the context of having a MARVEL label on it will damage the viewing numbers as Whine Moms and HokusPokus Fans are not much interrested in Superheros and MCU Continuity. At least, the got the right time for this Show with upcoming Halloween. I think, the whole show is only made to bring Wanda back. And it is a one season Show.
The thing I find bizarre is that the show is marketed in a way that assumes people know who the hell this woman is. I’d never heard of her before. I don’t think I’m alone.
I think your rule about characters not growing in TV shows may not be so applicable to modern streaming shows. Most of them any more are not made to last 5-10 season, like MASH or Happy days, both of which, let's be honest, outlived their best days anyway. Streaming shows are made to be dropped online almost all at once. I don't have Disney, so don't know how they do it. But the modern concept seems to be less of a TV show and more of a long film. Maybe more like the old cliff-hanger serials that used to run before movies, back in the olden days.
The real question here, isn't whether or not you'd greenlight this as a concept. But, given these first two episodes as a PILOT, would you take the risk of paying for a season of shows based on that? I would suggest no. You yourself say that these rules are for general-audience television. This series is ANYTHING BUT for a general audience. It's extremely niche. Not ONLY do you have to be a fan of DISNEY marvel, but you also have to already be familiar with the background from Wanda Vision, AND you have to be a fan of Agatha Harkness, AND you have to be craving a "Queer Explosion". That will slice up the available audience into a TINY SLIVER of the general viewership. What sort of advertising pitch could you make for that, that would have the money guys salivating?
As I was listening, I wondered if a collaboration between you and Ryan George of Pitch Meeting would work. There, Ryan would pitch the details if the scripted art and you would weigh the details against the Green Light criteria.🚦 Please allow me to suggest use of a signature phrase for giving the Green Light and one for giving the rejection. I might find it amusing.
Let's be honest, they made the show because of the song, didn't they? Disney+ needs/needed content so much they'd greenlight a show based off anything with a positive perception.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the Penguin HBO series, I thought it was very well done and reminded me of the Sopranos. Refreshing watching something without, what seemed like, any agenda!
Given your experience as a former network executive, don't you think that the phrase "Going down on the witches all along" is a perfect title for a genre of entertainment a bit distant from the normal Marvel/Disney audience and environment?
Just because critics and jaded Marvel viewers say that a lot doesn't make it true. I think much of today's audience could come to this show called and enjoy it without confusion. No homework required.
I think some of the criteria are focused on the medium of terrestrial television, especially I'm guessing the idea that the show should remain relatively constant between episodes so that people can watch the episodes in any order as they are airing. It might be interesting to have a video talking about how you might adjust your criteria if you knew you were looking at something destined for streaming only.
I would submit that the Little House books were celebrations of the masculine energy of Laura's dad, Charles Ingalls. Read the books and he comes across like a super hero, the male archetype of all that is good and strong and noble. Someone could go back and redo Laura Ingalls Wilders books for grown men. Jeepers! At one point Ingalls, the payroll clerk at a remote rail road camp almost got strunk up by a mob of angry workers. If he hadn't gotten his half-breed friend Big Jerry to create a distraction that led the men out of town (to string up the payroll clerk at the next camp) who knows what would have happened. There's tons of potential for a movie about macho man Charles Ingalls done is a less kid friendly light. It's well known that Laura's daughter Rose Wilder Lane sanitized the stories so they could be sold to children. Someone should go in and un-sanitize the stories. People would watch, as long as they didn't violate the integrity of the beloved books and go too far and make him ultra violent, vulgar, or creepy- people would love a glimpse into the real Charles Ingalls.
I think this is the first time i have seen you green light a show that you aren’t really interested in… i could be misremembering, regardless, neat to see!
An episodical police drama would fall into what you are talking about, yet the series changes it in the first minutes, making it a mess, and a missed opportunity.
I appreciate your objectivity Chato! I think people are still caught up in how truly awful the Acolyte was and that is causing them to be hyperbolic about Agatha. I don't think it's gonna be anything close to as bad as the Acolyte or She Hulk or Echo. I think it'll be Falcon and the Winter Soldier level: some good stuff, entertaining at times, but ultimately bland, riddled with plot holes and inconsistencies, and will undoubtedly fumble the landing spectacularly.
I will say as a tumblr user that there really doesn't seem to be any buzz for it. It is the gayest show that Disney has yet produced, Tumblr is the gayest form of social media - and yet - there's no excitement. Even the few people this was made for cannot be bothered talking about it.
Can you imagine a standard tv exec from say 1995 sent through time and made to watch a month of everything offered to our modern audiences? Pun intended! Wonder what he/she would think? 🤔 😂
inconsistent writing, mystery box and scatterbrain ideas present in ep1 = no go! this would not get made under me! also the amount of failures from marvel reinforces the scrutiny, so far none of the shows are good so a new show that shows degraded writing from those doesn't deserve the effort and expense!
Great video, man. That's the thing I love about you. You look at these shows objectively, you don't just pour vitriol all over them like others tend to. They may be right at times, but I genuinely love watching expertise in action.
