FTA-TV The Man in the High Castle

[Dry Rot]

Great Phillip K Dick book comes to the small screen

The Man in the High Castle: the Nazis win, but so do viewers

Germany won the second world war and divided up America with Japan. That’s the premise of this wonderfully complex thriller ideal for binge-watching...

What’s the show about? It’s 1962 and the axis powers won the second world war by dropping an atom bomb on Washington DC. Subsequently the US was divided in two: Germany was given everything to the east of the Rocky Mountains and Japan took the land to the west. The area along the mountain range is known as the neutral zone.

When a young woman in San Francisco, Juliana Crane (Alexa Davalos), winds up with an illegal film that depicts the allied powers winning the war, she goes on a quest to figure out what to do with it. Her artistic boyfriend Frank (Rupert Evans) is left behind to deal with the authorities, especially SS officer John Smith (Rufus Sewell). Juliana heads to the lawless neutral zone, where she meets up with Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank), who just signed up with the resistance in New York and is carting some mysterious cargo. Meanwhile the alliance between Tokyo and Berlin is starting to fracture, and we see how that is being handled in the highest echelons of power.

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-r...-high-castle-amazon-prime-nazis-philip-k-dick

 

[chefmeister]

I had high hopes for this and enjoyed watching the first episode right up until the very end.
I thought the ending was too cheesy, gave away too much too soon for a series and really put a bubblegum type feel on what was becoming an above average and mature espionage thriller.'
Thinking about it after that it just seemed to be more of a 'Hunger Games' and less 'Black Book' type thing to what I was expecting.
Overall the acting was high quality and the production cost was good so will give episode #2 a look eventually but am in no rush...

 

[Edd1e]

Enjoyed the first 2 eps, looks like a winner!

 

[flight23]

thought i made a thread about this, but can't find it and might be tripping

loved just about everything about it

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Hearing good things about this. For the story and for the visual depiction of a German/Japanese 1960s America.

 

[Juggs Magnetic]

thought i made a thread about this, but can't find it and might be tripping

loved just about everything about it

Pretty sure someone made a thread about it coz I'm pretty sure I read about it here a while ago.
Anyway, this is one of the few books I've read and love it, so looking forward to the show for sure.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Episode 4

Spoiler

Outside speech with no security checks is kind of asking for an assassination attempt

 

[blackshadow]

Will be jumping in for a look at this...

 

[chefmeister]

Just saw an interesting piece on CNN about how advertising for this show has been pulled from the NYC subways due to the NAZI inspired imagery upsetting some folk.
I do get that some people may find it hard to look at certain images but it's only art from a make-believe universe FFS!!

This whole overly PC mentality and being offended for the sake of it mind state that has been embraced by this generation is getting beyond ridiculous.

Like I read somewhere earlier - it's only a matter of time before people begin boycotting the 'Charlie Brown' movie because child labour is used to shell peanuts in some far away African country...

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Dick is my favourite author of all time and this book is one of his best. Read it multiple times. Will give the series a serious look.

 

[blackshadow]

Just saw an interesting piece on CNN about how advertising for this show has been pulled from the NYC subways due to the NAZI inspired imagery upsetting some folk.
I do get that some people may find it hard to look at certain images but it's only art from a make-believe universe FFS!!

This whole overly PC mentality and being offended for the sake of it mind state that has been embraced by this generation is getting beyond ridiculous.

Like I read somewhere earlier - it's only a matter of time before people begin boycotting the 'Charlie Brown' movie because child labour is used to shell peanuts in some far away African country...

Couldn't agree more. No doubt the "outrage" was fuelled by a religious minority who wields far too much political and financial influence in the US.

Anyone who actually watches the series would see the oppression of religious freedom practiced by the Nazi regime is one of the subjects touched on.

 

[rumply]

First episode was intriguing enough, I'm in.

 

[Red mist]

Read the Book a long time ago. Enjoyed. Recall a lot about I Ching and decisions being made based on that philosophy. The first two eps were compelling enough to want to continue.

 

[Dry Rot]

Seen the lot, ripping stuff.

The more you know about history, the more you'll like this and the little touches probably lost on others.

Will be interested to read other's views about the very ending.

 

[Dry Rot]

Hearing good things about this. For the story and for the visual depiction of a German/Japanese 1960s America.

Both are excellent.

If you willing to step into this alternate world and embrace it, it is very rewarding, if disturbing.

 

[Catfish Alley]

Just saw an interesting piece on CNN about how advertising for this show has been pulled from the NYC subways due to the NAZI inspired imagery upsetting some folk.
I do get that some people may find it hard to look at certain images but it's only art from a make-believe universe FFS!!

This whole overly PC mentality and being offended for the sake of it mind state that has been embraced by this generation is getting beyond ridiculous.

Like I read somewhere earlier - it's only a matter of time before people begin boycotting the 'Charlie Brown' movie because child labour is used to shell peanuts in some far away African country...

New York has a huge Jewish population. Perhaps it's not so much this generation complaining but actual survivors of the holocaust. I could understand them being uncomfortable with it.

 

[chefmeister]

New York has a huge Jewish population. Perhaps it's not so much this generation complaining but actual survivors of the holocaust. I could understand them being uncomfortable with it.

Perhaps it is, though if they're offended by anything and everything that looks even slightly NAZI inspired then it's a wonder they've made it this far in life since the war ended 70 years ago.
Kind of ironic that a major factor in National Socialism succeeding is attributed to it's complete use of blanket censorship and rampant misinformation...

 

[WowWeee]

Finished it - Started with high hopes but left frustrated. This show has serious pacing issues , felt like they just added things to fill up the 40minute quota. It should've been a 3-4 episode mini series instead. The show had heaps of potential, the visual depiction of a German/Japan 1960's USA was excellent but the show was poorly written. 6.5/10 from me. Overrated.

Hopefully season 2 will be alot better.

 

[Catfish Alley]

I haven't seen the series yet. Just saw the movie trailer though and it looks pretty good.

 

[rumply]

Finished it - Started with high hopes but left frustrated. This show has serious pacing issues , felt like they just added things to fill up the 40minute quota. It should've been a 3-4 episode mini series instead. The show had heaps of potential, the visual depiction of a German/Japan 1960's USA was excellent but the show was poorly written. 6.5/10 from me. Overrated.

Hopefully season 2 will be alot better.

I'm half way through & agree the writing has struggled a bit at times but I am still enjoying it none the less.

I haven't read the book but assume it is pretty full on, so could it be that it is one of those stories that's just too big a job to be an entirely successful convert to tv/movies?

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Watched all 10 episodes. I give it a C-. Some of the characters are weak and some of the plots are weak or too simple to seem real.

Spoiler

Juliana, Joe and Frank pissed me off. They swung between being boring and stupid. I was legitimately pissed off when Juliana didn't kill Joe in the final episode. But Joe is going to stick around (if there's a season 2) because he's the pretty boy of the show I'm still not sure if Joe is a really boring good guy pretending to be bad or a really boring bad guy pretending to be good.

Obergruppenführer John Smith easily the best character in the show. Unlike his subservient Joe he wasn't a boring s**t and I wasn't constantly questioning what he was supposed to be or what his motivations were. And his plots were 'bigger picture' stuff toward the end. It was annoying to go from his scenes to Juliana and Joe arguing about bus timetables or whatever.

The show could use a better CGI budget so I was surprised to hear apparently it was really expensive.

Will be interested to read other's views about the very ending.

Spoiler

When they watched the second film I thought there were alternate realities and when Hitler had a shelf of them I knew there was. Interested to see how it goes forward with the Trade Minister and no doubt others being able to travel between them. Shame we'll probably get as much screentime to Joe and Juliana going forward

In summary, a not bad show but not great or even really good. It was created for a CBS/FOX/ABC/NBC audience if you get my drift.

 

[WowWeee]

Watched all 10 episodes. I give it a C-. Some of the characters are weak and some of the plots are weak or too simple to seem real.

Spoiler

Juliana, Joe and Frank pissed me off. They swung between being boring and stupid. I was legitimately pissed off when Juliana didn't kill Joe in the final episode. But Joe is going to stick around (if there's a season 2) because he's the pretty boy of the show I'm still not sure if Joe is a really boring good guy pretending to be bad or a really boring bad guy pretending to be good.

Obergruppenführer John Smith easily the best character in the show. Unlike his subservient Joe he wasn't a boring s**t and I wasn't constantly questioning what he was supposed to be or what his motivations were. And his plots were 'bigger picture' stuff toward the end. It was annoying to go from his scenes to Juliana and Joe arguing about bus timetables or whatever.

+10000000000000.

Spoiler

Wanted to post this in my original post but didnt want to spoil it. Juliana, Joe and Frank triangle is fking tiring and annoying. Couldnt give a s**t about these 3. If you're gonna add romance and what not into the show atleast make it so the characters are likeable. Juliana's decisions pissed me off soo much, unbearable character.

Next season I want more frank, trade minister, political agendas and less JJF.

 

[rumply]

I'll give it a pass mainly because the premise is intriguing & I really want to see where it goes, pity got to wait on that.

 

[Toump Ass]

Toump Ass is huge history buff, and liked the first three episodes.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

There will be a second season of 10 episodes.

Spoiler

Please kill off Joe in the opening scene