Re: The KM Top 10 of Everything
Posted: 17 Jan 2004, 22:56
As promised.
"Top" 8 Series:
8. Series 4 - I don't like the Eye Shield, and its introduction made things even more repetitive than they already were in Series 4. Some nice new characters, but I don't think most of the outside filming works very well, and Dooris is painful to watch. Little variation in Quests or storylines. Also John Woodnutt's worst performances as Merlin, in my opinion, especially when in the stocks.
7. Series 5 - Pretty dire, but some good new characters make it more watchable for me. The "new" format is still finding its feet, and some actors are quite far off with their characters for a lot of the season, particularly Paul Valentine as Hands. Thankfully some of the older unoriginal characters are gone, although we still have awfully cliched ones like Aesandre making an appearance. Some dire teams, too, but just occasionally funny for that reason.
6. Series 8 - Mainly because it's so short, really. In many ways I think the show was on an upward trend again after some mistakes in Series 7, but I genuinely can't see how anyone thought the Reach Wand would capture the imagination, and Honesty Bartram and Snapper Jack needed a lot of work to make them memorable for the right reasons. I'm of the camp who suggest the winning team was a bit of a sham. Nothing they could do, I just don't think they deserved to win, and I think it cheapened the show somewhat to let them do so.
5. Series 1 - Obviously, this is KM finding its feet, but it's original and interesting, with some great initial characters. The mood is great and they didn't "sell out" by letting a team win, which really set a standard to live up to.
4. Series 2 - Great stuff most of the way through, using the best bits of Series 1 and letting us see a fair amount more too. An amazing variety of interesting deaths really make this season stand out.
3. Series 6 - The new characters from Series 5 have found their feet, and although "grand storyline" syndrome is setting in somewhat, most of it is good stuff. Most of the newers characters have improved, while the older ones are generally treated well this year.
2. Series 7 - I both hate and love it, and I want to place it both here and at #8, nowhere in between. It's here for what it could be, and for what it is if you don't look too hard. It looks fabulous, and the new environments are amazing to look at. (I like the Sewers too, even though I know they annoy some people.) Lord Fear has a great environment, although I increasingly think the humour between him and Lissard is taken too far on occasion. The storylines across the season generally work well, both with respect to Grimaldine/the Brollachan and Greystagg/Witchhaven. Grimaldine and Greystagg are both excellent characters in their own right, with potentially fascinating motives and conflicts to be explored. The Brollachan is a great idea visually well realised. However, the reverse is that the Brollachan is a pretty pathetic Wall Monster compared to those of old. Incorrect but confident guesses wouldn't have worked on The Brangwen She, that's for sure. There are also some truly awful characters, especially Marta and Fidjit. I don't like Motley much, but Fidjit is 10 times worse. The way Marta has to be shoved into that silly "Lissard Disguised as Marta" storyline is saddening, but it proves how useful she is otherwise. Sadly, the Hordriss of Series 7 would also have fallen for it, and he seems a complete shade of his former self this year- like Sidriss with a beard, sometimes, in the way he constantly needs rescuing.
1. Series 3 - Well, since I've already posted my reasons for loving it once in this thread, I guess I don't need to again.
"Top" 8 Series:
8. Series 4 - I don't like the Eye Shield, and its introduction made things even more repetitive than they already were in Series 4. Some nice new characters, but I don't think most of the outside filming works very well, and Dooris is painful to watch. Little variation in Quests or storylines. Also John Woodnutt's worst performances as Merlin, in my opinion, especially when in the stocks.
7. Series 5 - Pretty dire, but some good new characters make it more watchable for me. The "new" format is still finding its feet, and some actors are quite far off with their characters for a lot of the season, particularly Paul Valentine as Hands. Thankfully some of the older unoriginal characters are gone, although we still have awfully cliched ones like Aesandre making an appearance. Some dire teams, too, but just occasionally funny for that reason.
6. Series 8 - Mainly because it's so short, really. In many ways I think the show was on an upward trend again after some mistakes in Series 7, but I genuinely can't see how anyone thought the Reach Wand would capture the imagination, and Honesty Bartram and Snapper Jack needed a lot of work to make them memorable for the right reasons. I'm of the camp who suggest the winning team was a bit of a sham. Nothing they could do, I just don't think they deserved to win, and I think it cheapened the show somewhat to let them do so.
5. Series 1 - Obviously, this is KM finding its feet, but it's original and interesting, with some great initial characters. The mood is great and they didn't "sell out" by letting a team win, which really set a standard to live up to.
4. Series 2 - Great stuff most of the way through, using the best bits of Series 1 and letting us see a fair amount more too. An amazing variety of interesting deaths really make this season stand out.
3. Series 6 - The new characters from Series 5 have found their feet, and although "grand storyline" syndrome is setting in somewhat, most of it is good stuff. Most of the newers characters have improved, while the older ones are generally treated well this year.
2. Series 7 - I both hate and love it, and I want to place it both here and at #8, nowhere in between. It's here for what it could be, and for what it is if you don't look too hard. It looks fabulous, and the new environments are amazing to look at. (I like the Sewers too, even though I know they annoy some people.) Lord Fear has a great environment, although I increasingly think the humour between him and Lissard is taken too far on occasion. The storylines across the season generally work well, both with respect to Grimaldine/the Brollachan and Greystagg/Witchhaven. Grimaldine and Greystagg are both excellent characters in their own right, with potentially fascinating motives and conflicts to be explored. The Brollachan is a great idea visually well realised. However, the reverse is that the Brollachan is a pretty pathetic Wall Monster compared to those of old. Incorrect but confident guesses wouldn't have worked on The Brangwen She, that's for sure. There are also some truly awful characters, especially Marta and Fidjit. I don't like Motley much, but Fidjit is 10 times worse. The way Marta has to be shoved into that silly "Lissard Disguised as Marta" storyline is saddening, but it proves how useful she is otherwise. Sadly, the Hordriss of Series 7 would also have fallen for it, and he seems a complete shade of his former self this year- like Sidriss with a beard, sometimes, in the way he constantly needs rescuing.
1. Series 3 - Well, since I've already posted my reasons for loving it once in this thread, I guess I don't need to again.