The Man in the High Castle

[Fading Fast]

Woo-hoo, really looking forward to this (from an Amazon email I just got):

Coming soon: The Man in the High Castle season 2

Imagine a world in which the American flag still flies, but a swastika replaces the blue field of stars. We literally can't wait for December 16 when the second season of the Emmy-winning Amazon Original Series The Man in the High Castle arrives.

 

[AmateisGal]

YES! It's out December 16!!! I can't wait!

 

[AmateisGal]

For anyone who hasn't watch this yet, I *highly* recommend it. Far better than many shows out there.

 

[Fading Fast]

There are many shows I haven't seen, but of those I have, this one is head and shoulders above the others. Even shows like "The Crown," which I believe are well written and acted, do not approach the quality of writing, directing, acting and period set detail that this one does.

 

[AmateisGal]

There are many shows I haven't seen, but of those I have, this one is head and shoulders above the others. Even shows like "The Crown," which I believe are well written and acted, do not approach the quality of writing, directing, acting and period set detail that this one does.

Agreed!!!

 

[Worf]

Watched episode 5 last night. Hmm... Blake's daddy is something else, siccin' that blonde femme fatale on his own son like that. I didn't exactly love the first episode but man has it gotten better since then. Great old iron in this one too, I spotted a Kaiser Darin and a Studebaker Lowey coupe at the house party in Berlin'. Schweeet.....

Worf

 

[AmateisGal]

Very excited that Amazon has ordered a third season of The Man in the High Castle!

 

[MikeKardec]

It's an additional plus that this series both gets the chance and TAKES the chance to explore how difficult it would have been for individual Germans and Japanese to have won the war and then have had to look back at both what that cost and who it made them in to. Ballsy writing and beautifully done; no talking "about" it just showing how much it takes out of some people.

There are a lot of questions in our actual history about exactly what "winning" the war would have looked like for the Axis. In both the German and Japanese case there was a sense of getting in to a situation (China/"reasonable" Lebensraum) and then having it ambitiously spinning out of control into a maelstrom of mission creep and hubris. Winning the war and ruling conquered territories and dealing with allied powers (Italy, South America, a possibly independent Indian, Irish and South African Boer Govt,) would have ended up as a HUGE challenge to people morally and ethically regardless how arrogant their governments might have been about it. Both Japan and Germany were suffering from damaged pride prior to the war that allowed them to justify many things ... I assume as soon as they won the damage would begin to seem petty and they'd either have to get over it and examine/excuse their actions or fall into a chaos of self examination. If either were "naturally" the great villain they are often made out to be there STILL wouldn't be room on earth of them. That's no excuse for their behavior but we all have similar horrific capacity (avoiding modern politics note the Soviet Union) and when all is said and done that maybe why we forgive and forget ... certainly an absolute victory then great forgiveness turned those two countries into very positive places. A lesson that was learned compared to the mistakes that were made with both enemy (Germany) and ally (Japan) at the end of the First World War.

 

[AmateisGal]

Check out Resistance Radio for the show. Amazon put together a "pirate radio" website and it's amazing.

http://www.resistanceradio.com/

 

[Mr. Godfrey]

Thank you for sharing, pretty cool design.

 

[AmateisGal]

Season Three begins filming in Vancouver May 17 and wraps October 17.

SO EXCITED!

 

[Fading Fast]

Season 3 trailer:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07FKX9S66?ref_=pe_2503690_293672880_pmwn_7.29_pvposmithc

I am going to have to re-watch the last episode of season 2 in preparation.

 

[MikeKardec]

Season 3? I'm half way in. It's lost some of it's edge writing wise. It's less sophisticated in it eases into various subjects, more 'on the nose' in a typical TV sort of way. It also might show some signs of being cut to time, compressed in various ways or just more crudely managed. It's also showing signs of suddenly trying to be "woke," which seems crazy in that it's actual conscience was in all the fantastic nuance's of it lack of PC concern. A good deal of this follows the wrap up of season 2 and how many of the characters were elevated from their modest to mid grade positions to suddenly operating at the pinnacles of responsibility. Many of the faults of American TV comes from the tendency to turn into "Dallas."

One of the first really great Executive Producers in the "new golden age" of TV advised me that the key to doing great work was to approach stories in a way where "a trip to the supermarket could change the lives of your characters." Season 1 of this show seemed to follow that rule, season 2 didn't stray far, season 3 is setting off warning bells although it is still good and I'm very engaged ... I'm just finding myself having to make more excuses for it along the way. In both season 1 and 2 the characters carried me along, their stories were deeply personal and sort of emotionally beautiful. So far with 3 I'm just getting plot. The incredible historical and ethical questions seem to have dried up. Is this just a sign of "Act Two Doldrums" or the "keep the ratings going by treading water" problems? Has some creative or managerial talent left the show? I'm not sure.

Technically it's as cool as ever in many ways but there are prop continuity issues, like using a different gun from one shot to another. Still a good show, better than 80% of what's out there, but not as tight as it once was. Still better that the first four episodes of Season 1 in many ways. It did have some trouble getting off the ground. Let's hope it gets its mojo back.

 

[MikeKardec]

On the other hand, this season articulates a theme we were discussing some time ago: "How do we live with our own survival."

I have a feeling that this season is about a sudden desperation to make "sense" of it all. For anyone who's ever read a Dean Koontz novel this is the moment when he stops getting spooky and starts explaining things. It can be a bummer but moving forward is a necessity, I just wish they were doing it with a bit more of their earlier magic.

A thing that is a bit strained but still functioning is the Alexa Davalos reserve, her magical quality. She keeps a lot to herself and it gives her that old movie star ambiance. It helps that she hasn't over exposed her private life either. I wish more actors would learn this lesson.

On a generally related and possibly spoilerish subject ...

Anybody see both Lost and The Leftovers all the way through?