The Strain |OT| Guillermo del Toro's new show for FX - Sundays 10/9c

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Would be kind of fun to see how big the community for this gets to see if we make a spoilers thread to discuss similarities/differences from the books without having to tag everything and/or ruining it for others.
 
Would be kind of fun to see how big the community for this gets to see if we make a spoilers thread to discuss similarities/differences from the books without having to tag everything and/or ruining it for others.

GDT has said that this is going to differ somewhat from the books, right?
 
Obviously is a bit harsh. Dead come back to life and eat a living human. Seems pretty zombie. What are they then? This a vampire thing?
Vampires, just not the 'sexy' vampires that have been drilled into your head since the days of Bela lugosi / true blood /twilight/David bowie/ And Christopher Lee
 
Would be kind of fun to see how big the community for this gets to see if we make a spoilers thread to discuss similarities/differences from the books without having to tag everything and/or ruining it for others.
I already want to read the books to know what happens, lol.
 
Vampires, just not the 'sexy' vampires that have been drilled into your head since the days of Bela lugosi / true blood /twilight/David bowie/ And Christopher Lee

Someone explain to me how different kinds of vampires in fiction is a bad thing.

GDT has said that this is going to differ somewhat from the books, right?

Correct.

He went as far as to say that the second season would be the end of Book #2 (which may be too soon). The Comic-Con panel made it sound like they are going to be beefing up Fet's character, too.
 
Vampires, just not the 'sexy' vampires that have been drilled into your head since the days of Bela lugosi / true blood /twilight/David bowie/ And Christopher Lee

All the typical tropes for vampires are there and readily apparent though. If you are a fan of classical depiction of vampires that is...
 
GDT has said that this is going to differ somewhat from the books, right?

I don't have any idea to be honest.

I do know that from the preview (+ some things in this ep) some things have been changed. Like Samwise being around for more than a few pages here and there in the first book.

Preview makes it seem like he's a much bigger character. Otherwise I don't know.
 
I could never work for the CDC. I'd be walking around with a flamethrower burning everyone and all threats. I would be deemed a villain when in fact I saved the world.
 
Pretty alright show so far, I just hope the dialogue is a bit better going down the road. The hammy acting doesn't help either. "You called it a coffin" /rollseyes

I know they're both Del Toro works but it's kind of like some of the chesiness in the dialog and writing from Hellboy rubbed off onto this show. Except you don't get any of the actual fun of Ron Perlman as Hellboy to offset it. Like you have the same super serious tone of the villains to where it's almost laughable but your stuck with what seems like incompetent, boring protagonists.
 
Pretty alright show so far, I just hope the dialogue is a bit better going down the road. The hammy acting doesn't help either. "You called it a coffin" /rollseyes

That's pretty much how they talk about it in the books. Even when they know they are vampires, they don't like using those "hokey" terms.
 
Well, looks like I'm in for the rest of the season. Besides some somewhat cheesy dialogue I thought the show was good.
 
Really liked it! Some of the stuff was groanworthy, like some dude coming up and slapping the CDC head officer. Like really? And then, there is the case of ATC manager disappearing in cargo hold (subsequently getting his head squashed) and no one cares.
 
That's pretty much how they talk about it in the books. Even when they know they are vampires, they don't like using those "hokey" terms.

Which is fine for books, I'm just saying that with the visual style of the show and the subject matter of the plot, it makes me feel like I'm watching Hellboy without Hellboy. Especially since they both have a similar use of color schemes at times, you hardly see any "soft colors". The airport is a perfect example of this where everything looks blue, another would be the warehouse with it's blacks and yellows.

I mean come on, an ancient, evil, mysterious being that is freed from a mysteriously found box sounds exactly like something Hellboy would fight.

edit:

I agree with that Sepinwall review, Corey Stall's wig is a distraction and looks fucking ridiculous.
 
Watching this now. The bad video when they were on the plane really bothered me. This is 2014, I could skype someone and get better quality.
 
So whats the word on the first EP GAF? I've read the books and I'm really looking forward to the TV series!
 
I'm surprised to see that so many people liked the premiere... Outside of that brutal death scene it was about as banal as TV horror can get. The only influence I saw from Toro was the slightly more garish than average color palate.
 
agreed with some of the scenes having really bad dialogue and some parts being cheesy but overall it was enjoyable, intriguing and i'm interested to see where they will go.

def in for a few episodes
 
Step by step:

They really botched the beginning. After a great intro scene, they completely destroyed the "Dead Ship" scene. The CDC shit got better around the time of the mass body bags. Also really enjoyed how they never outright say "vampire" (and possibly won't until episode seven) but in every supernatural scene, something happened.

Ephraim: I really enjoyed how they showed that he is fantastic at his job but utter shit at being a father and husband. The incredibly stark dichotomy was great. Him not telling Kelly about his affair encapsulated how fucking isolated he is from other humans.

Nora: Good actress but, like in the books, she's essentially the Token Female.

Kent: I got a real sense that he was Eph's equal rather than his boss. I also really like how it is implied that Stoneheart has a more insidious grip on him rather than him just being a paid off lackey that doesn't give a shit either way.

Gus: Great portrayal, and I really like how they are integrating him into the plot, as he really has nothing to do for a large part of the first book. Plus, this makes it so he can both be an active character and plays less catch up later.

Setrakian: Originally upset at how they seemed to be wasting Bradley's talents by making him the stereotypical Van Helsing archetype, but it worked by the time he got to the airport. He embodies Setrakian.

Palmer: Enjoyed how the actor gave him emotion. Was not expecting Palmer to have the reaction he did to the news that there was no going back.

Eichorst: This actor as well actually made this character real.

Fitzwilliam: His calm way of speaking, his dedication, brought to life the books description of Fitz's stature.

Barnes: Nailed the asshole persona of the books, but grounded it in reality so we know him as a Real Asshole instead of just a Placeholder Asshole. Somehow, just by giving Barnes an actor makes his actions that much more believable and anal.

Kelly: Another case of an actual flesh and blood human giving a stale character meaning.

Matt: Exactly the manipulative, abrasive, selfish, despondent, willfully naive asshole he is in the books. I loved it. The new material with him fucking over Eph at his own family therapy session was a perfect addition.
 
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