12 Monkeys (1 Viewer)

No not the movie, the TV show!
http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/16/5910341/12-monkeys-trailer-syfy-tv-show-adaptation

Hmmmm.....

There's more summer TV than my TiVo can hold. Or I can watch. I'm skipping this on self-preservation. If it's good, I'll watch in reruns.

Interesting first episode, though it is the strength of the story from the film that shines through here. Will be interesting to see where they take it and whether they tie themselves to the original ending too.

Due a communication gap between me and the wife, I didn't get 12 Monkeys on a season pass. I think I'll take that as a sign to wait and see. I'm interested. But Helix is back, and Better Call Saul is starting up soon, so I've got a busy Tivo.

Will be reading to see how it goes, and if I should record it in summer re-play.

I thought the pilot was quite good. The plot moved forward at a good pace, and the show didn't waste time where other shows would waste time. For example, on most shows, Cassandra Railly wouldn't be convinced that Cole is a time traveler until the third or fourth episode.


Some interesting ideas in the pilot. I especially like how the show is taking paradoxes on head first--though we'll see if the plot gets internally inconsistent.

I enjoyed it too. I thought Aaron Stanford was terrific in the Bruce Willis role; he exhibits that same strange mix of being both incredibly dangerous and surprisingly vulnerable, even though those qualities present in different ways. Not sure why they changed Dr. Railly's first name from Kathryn to Cassandra for the show. Interesting that Brad Pitt's role as the mentally unstable leader of the Army of the Twelve Monkeys is being played by a woman in this iteration.

Josh Dial said:

I thought the pilot was quite good. The plot moved forward at a good pace, and the show didn't waste time where other shows would waste time. For example, on most shows, Cassandra Railly wouldn't be convinced that Cole is a time traveler until the third or fourth episode.

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I thought that was well handled, especially since in the movie Railly thinks Cole is crazy for most of the film. The bit with the wrist watch served the twin purposes of illustrating the show's theory of time travel causality, while providing Railly irrefutable proof that Cole is telling the truth. And then the beat with Cole vanishing as the police approach is used to give Railly two years to adjust to the fantastic idea of time travel before the action picks up again, moment later for us. The result is that the two leads are put together quickly, without it seeming forced or artificial.

Overall I enjoyed it. Not as much as the movie, which is one of my favorites, but it was still above average. (And in a strange twist of fate, I ended up watching the first episode and then the movie "Predestination" only hours apart, and I have to admit I didn't enjoy the show as much as that movie either.)

Adam Lenhardt said:

Not sure why they changed Dr. Railly's first name from Kathryn to Cassandra for the show.

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There was a quote about Cassandra from Greek mythology in the movie... "Dr. Kathryn Railly: Cassandra in Greek legend, you recall, was condemned to know the future but to be disbelieved when she foretold it. Hence the agony of foreknowledge combined with the impotence to do anything about it." I assume that has something to do with it, especially since it sounds a lot like the presentation she gives to the uninterested doctors, and then also like what we know of the two unseen years.

I liked it a lot.
First time having a Hue experience.
Very immersive having the lights set the mood for each scene.
Way better gimmick than 3d. IMHO.

The premiere set the table for what looks to be an interesting ride.
Agreed with above, I like that Cole didn't have to spend multiple episodes trying to convince Casandra.
Cut right to the chase!

Looking forward to more 12 Monkeys and the Hue light tricks!

The second episode kinda had a time tunnel vibe

I've got ep1 and ep2 recorded but only had time to watch ep1 and so far I really like what I'm seeing. I just didn't see how they could take the movie and draw it out over a couple of seasons but after watching, I think this could be an interesting show.

Also, what is it about the simian-related post-apocalyptic future that attracts bald Kirk Acevedo so?

"I assure you, there are two things I know: How to poison a Haitian, and sex."

That was a mind-twisting journey last night. I liked that the producers didn't try to hold the audience's hand, and respected their ability to figure out what was happening on their own.


I appreciated the episode's efficiency. No time wasted with hollow angst. Characters deduced things quickly and made their decisions. Other shows might have stretched out the decision-making process by dithering and restating the obvious.


The more I think about this, the more I realize the paradoxes on this show are actually bootstrap-paradoxes, as there appears to be no likely point outside the temporal loop that much of Cole's future information could realistically originate from.


The 2043 people know what they know because the people from the past were somehow able to communicate this information to them, but the past-people only know it because the 2043 people told them. Love that the show is playing with this whole notion how they are (and it's also remarked upon at length in this latest episode).


(Also noticed that, on her giant conspiracy-wall, Railly had a picture of Jones circa 2015. The scientist looked much younger in it, a little like Belinda Carlisle, and a little bit like Cassie herself.)

Another fantastic episode from this show. We've had hints for weeks now that some unknown entity out there was making sure Cole didn't quite succeed during his time-travels, but it was a great twist to have that person revealed to be José Ramse all along.


Ramse plays a very long game in order to counter Cole's moves in our own decade. He believes he's already killed Cole, so all he has to do is maintain the status quo. It's quite interesting that his face doesn't age, and neither does Olivia's. Is she a time-traveller too, and is it the serum that's keeping them (at least partially) young?


As I suspected, the time-loop had to play itself out exactly as it was originally set in order for events to occur as intended...and they have, except to this point, because Ramse has been operating under the false belief that Cole is dead and out of jumps. And now Ramse has just lost the advantage.


Even in a controlled environment, there are always unforeseen variables. Cole actually surviving and escaping 1987 may very well be the one variable that Ramse, The Pallid Man, and Olivia did not predict. Ramse is The Witness, but Cole has just become the wild card in their game. I can't wait to see what happens now.

Finished the first season and quite enjoyed it. Some interesting twists along the way and while the characters never really engaged emotionally neither did it make me actively dislike every character like Continuum did in its first season.

Look forward to the second season.

Finally caught up this morning. Great end to the first season and start to the second season. I had been wondering for the past few episodes whether there was a chance that our time travelers were on the wrong side. They posed and answered that question quite nicely in an interesting way recently with arguments to the same questions being answered at the same time.

Lou Sytsma said:

... Continuum did in its first season.

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There was an interesting guest from Continuum in a recent episode ...

I am loving this show

Interesting take on the stuck in a time loop plot this week.

I turned on episode 10 tonight and thought I was watching the beginning of the episode, but hit the wrong button and was actually watching the last ~10 minutes, I thought it was going to flash back to the events they were going to portray. Once the credits cam eon I realized my mistake. Now to watch it from the start.