Swamp Thing (DC Universe) (2019) (1 Viewer)

[Sam Favate]

DC's streaming service's latest show premiered today. Swamp Thing - which has already been a movie and a TV show - has an X-Files vibe to me, with plenty of creepy mystery. This appears to be the first DC show in a long time without involvement from Greg Berlanti's production group. This was produced by James Wan and the pilot directed by Len Wiseman. It has a good cast, which includes Virginia Madsen, Will Patton, Jennifer Beals, Crystal Reed and Andy Bean. (Reed was recently seen on DC's Gotham as Sofia Falcone.) The pilot is loaded with character development, but also with loads of special effects and genuine scares. It will be interesting to see if this one holds up over its 13 episode run.

Two reviews:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/swamp-thing-review-1214269

https://mashable.com/article/swamp-thing-premiere-review/

 

[Johnny Angell]

I’d like to watch this but it’s just not possible to sign up for every streaming service that has a show I’m interested in.

 

[dpippel]

Swamp Thing has been cancelled:

https://deadline.com/2019/06/swamp-thing-canceled-dc-universe-1-season-1202628103/

 

[Johnny Angell]

Swamp Thing has been cancelled:

https://deadline.com/2019/06/swamp-thing-canceled-dc-universe-1-season-1202628103/

Bummer.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I have a feeling that DC Universe as a service is going to be cancelled soon, with its offerings rolled into the new WarnerMedia streaming service.

 

[Wayne_j]

Something is rotten here. You don't cancel a show that gets good reviews after 1 episode. Apparently they misfiled paperwork so they don't qualify for a tax incentive where they were shooting.

 

[TonyD]

This wasn’t cancelled after one episode.
It was already dropped down by at least three eps to whatever it is now.

This cancel already happened before it aired but wasn’t announced officially until now.

I watched the first one but it was too dark and I had a time trying to follow what was going on and what led to him becoming Swamp Thing.

From what I could figure the swamp was already a living entity at the beginning of the show and I don’t know how that happened.

 

[Sam Favate]

The tax incentive thing is true (North Carolina did away with its film incentives several years ago and it's very hard to get a production going there now; 8-10 years ago it was considered Hollywood East), but it's not the whole story. There were creative differences happening too.

 

[Wayne_j]

Will they release the rest of the episodes? If so it would be more understandable. I thought they weren't going to show anymorel

 

[TonyD]

Will they release the rest of the episodes? If so it would be more understandable. I thought they weren't going to show anymorel

Do you have the app?
When you look at the show it has a countdown until each new episodes airs.
All eps filmed are going to air.

 

[Wayne_j]

Nope I haven't joined but it is nice to know that they will all be released.

 

[Sam Favate]

They will, and what's more, it's a good bet that they will find their way to blu-ray as well. Warner is good about that. I thought the pilot was very well done and I'm looking forward to the second episode tonight.

 

[Thomas Newton]

I watched the first one but it was too dark and I had a time trying to follow what was going on and what led to him becoming Swamp Thing.

From what I could figure the swamp was already a living entity at the beginning of the show and I don’t know how that happened.

In the comic book, Alec Holland was murdered by a corporation who found his research inconvenient, and dumped in the swamp. Swamp Thing arose. He believed himself to be the dead man, but really had just absorbed the dead man's memories.

Alan Moore's run showed Swamp Thing to be the latest in a line of Earth Elementals that the Earth created to defend itself – often under similar, violent circumstances.

 

[The Drifter]

Really enjoying the new Swamp Thing series; it's one of my favorite new shows currently on (and I watch a lot of current TV). Very creepy & atmospheric, with a definite horror element re: the late-night scenes, the "ghost"?! of the dead young woman that is haunting both Abby Arcane & the girl's mother; the "living" plants that are taking over the swamp; the monstrous appearance of the Swamp Thing; etc. Going along with this, I feel the visual appearance of the Swamp Thing in this series is the most effective & interesting live-action version of the character.

Great cast here, with a lot of familiar faces - though some I haven't seen in years: Virginia Madsen (Candyman I; Sideways); Jennifer Beals (Flashdance); Will Patton (numerous films over the years, and you always know he's going to be playing a bad guy); etc.

Nice to see AB as Abby Arcane's boss at the CDC in the most recent episode; nice nod/homage the original '82 film.

Spoiler: SPOILER

It was interesting that Arcane blames herself for her friend's death years before, when she didn't actually cause the death; based on the flashback, she jokingly pushed her friend into the river when they were teens - and then when she was afraid that the girl had drowned, jumped in after her - and the girl was actually fine. However, something pulled the girl in soon after - but Abby had nothing to do with that. It seems like she was blaming herself needlessly for the death all these years - strange.

I hope this sub-plot gets explained/resolved in a future episode, but with the show getting canned - probably not.

Going along with this, too bad that the show is getting cancelled. It's excellent, and far better than much of the crap that's on the air these days.

Note that given ST is not a first-tier DC character (like Superman, Batman, Wonder-Woman, The Flash, etc.) it's interesting that he's spawned numerous movies/TV shows (both live-action & animated) over the years. Obviously, the popularity of the character has gone far beyond the various comic book series. In addition to this current series, we've seen:

-Two ST feature films (1982 & 1989); the first was solid; haven't seen the second.

-In the '90's, there was a ST live-action TV series (on an independent channel, I think) which I didn't think was that great. I saw a handful of episodes years ago, and it was not a "continuing" program per se; they tried to have stand-alone episodes each week, which I don't think worked too well for a show like this. Plus, it had a cheap budget - which definitely showed.

-There was also an animated series in the '90's; never saw this, but thought it looked mildly interesting.

 

[Sam Favate]

I've also been enjoying the series. It's a shame it won't be renewed, but glad at least we got to see this.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I just discovered the ST is available for purchase on iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, and google. 10 episodes and 10 bucks at least on Amazon. Is iTunes the best place to buy since I’ve got an ATV4K?

The last episode is titled “Loose Ends” bringing a implication there will be a conclusion. Watched a couple of previews and it looked interesting. Might not be a lotta sunlight in this one.

 

[Sam Favate]

I thought the show was really good. Best take on Swamp Thing yet.

 

[TonyD]

I don’t think an Atv4K matters since this isn’t going to get upgraded to 4K anytime soon.

All of those services are on the Atv though so what matters in my mind is the one you prefer whether it be ITunes or Vudu etc.and cost. (Cheapest)

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I have the first season on Blu-ray, got about halfway through, was really enjoying it, and then got pulled away for other things and never got back to it.

 

[The Drifter]

Re: EP10 of ST, great "finale" to the series; I enjoyed the fight scenes in the beginning, when ST was battling the mercenaries. And, as a fan of the Blue Devil comics when I was a teen (back in the '80's), I would definitely have liked to have seen more of the character on this show.

In essence, this was an amazing series that got cut off way too soon. Incredible effects & story-line, with solid casting as well (for the most part).

I read somewhere that that Jennifer Beals was costing this show a lot of money. Since her debut?! in the iconic film Flashdance (1983), I haven't seen her in much over the years. I would suspect she would be happy for the work - but, I could be very wrong. In any case, her inclusion in the series definitely brought some gravitas to the show - but, to be honest, her role could just as easily have been played by a no-name (or at least a much lesser-known actress) and saved the show some $.