The Boys (Amazon Prime Video)

I just started watching this series and like it a lot so far. It fits well with the Watchmen and Brightburn world of flawed heroes.
I find it refreshing- after so many years of having perfect heroes doing perfect things- just because you have a power does not automatically align your moral compass.
 
I just started watching this series and like it a lot so far. It fits well with the Watchmen and Brightburn world of flawed heroes.
I find it refreshing- after so many years of having perfect heroes doing perfect things- just because you have a power does not automatically align your moral compass.
I just started it too. Couldnt agree more.
I would say it has a touch of Robocop to it as well, with the satire on big corporations.

Cant wait to get more into it.
 
I just watched episode 4.

That hijacked plane scene was dark AF!
This series has me hooked, I just wish I could get the time to burn through it quicker.
 
Dennis Quaid & Meg Ryan's son

Hughie in the comic looks a bit like Simon Pegg

View attachment 1043401

J

Thats because Hughie is based off Simon Peg during Spaced. and they got Simon Pegg to play his dad in the show as a tribute to that little fact.

Ok heres my thoughts on the show having finished it last week...

Mixed feelings. As a tv show I thought it was really very good... it played subtle comedy with hard drama in a pretty whacked out concept of the show... and as far as that goes I really enjoyed it...........

However, I read the comics a few years ago... And im also a big fan of the comics and this is where where things really get mixed for me.

This show is only loosely based on the comics. But mostly only in a really basic way... Character names maybe some similar personalities in some cases.... and the same basic premise. People keeping supes in line....

But like i say I read the comics and this show really REALLY REEEEEEAAAAALLLLLLYY deviates from the comics.... Right first off.... The boys are meant to be supes themselves and have been since birth, they just wernt taking snatched up by vaught.... Billy Butcher is meant to be built like a ******* brick shithouse.... Dave bertista kinda of build. And hes also super powered.....

Mothers Milk got his powers because his mother was infected with the super drug and she mutated into a ******* hideous blob monster.... And Mothers Milk got his power from drinking her milk. And he drinks her milk till Billy kills her... I knew this fact so much so when we had Mothers milk sweet talking over the phone, i had assumed he was talking to his mother and they were playing the possible incestuous storyline that the comic hinted.... But no hes just an ex soldier with a family who just happens to be named Mothers Milk. *sigh*

The Female is so far about the only one whos true to the comics, though the origin is a bit off.... But I think in the comics she was portraid cuter...

Frenchie is also different... not only in race but in the comics he was a bit more eratic than in the show. But it wasnt terribly off... But again he had a super power too but i cant remember what it was...

Now Hughie, poor wee hughie... WEE ******* HUGHIE, the clue is in his nickname... HES MEANT TO BE ******* SCOTISH!??!?!?!? Though I cant remember for sure but I think he was made a super by Billy in the comics... Cant remember, but he is also meant to have super strength and in the comics i think he ends up kicking A trains head clean off and over a building. This was towards the end. Though i cant remember for curtain as I read this nearly 6-10 or so years ago...

And then heres the other thing... The comics play for laughs A LOT... there is some seriously great twisted and dark humour in the comic, like the landlord who (warning adult ref)
jizzed blood streaked ejaculate under Hughies front door... while Hughie is eating out starlight and she then admits she was on her period, and he pops up in the next image with a blood stained face with a look of bewilderment)

The comics were REALLY funny... really over the top funny... Full adult humour. The tv show.... has some funny moments but its really VERY serious. almost no laughs, next to no comedy, its really dark.... but in a depressing way.

For me yes i enjoyed the show and its good in its own light, but as ive read the comics im really missing what the shows lacking from the comics... More than anything. The comedy... the humour... Oh and the other thing the tv show does that teh comics didnt.... They REALLY humanised the bad supes.... Even Homelander, you almost feel sympathetic towards him in the tv show when you realise why hes turned out the way he has. same for the other 7 and other b teams... In the comics theyre just all out frat boys/girls partying and not careing who they fekked up and hurt.... In the show. There seems to be more humanity in some of them.
 
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Thats because Hughie is based off Simon Peg during Spaced. and they got Simon Pegg to play his dad in the show as a tribute to that little fact.

Ok heres my thoughts on the show having finished it last week...

Mixed feelings. As a tv show I thought it was really very good... it played subtle comedy with hard drama in a pretty whacked out concept of the show... and as far as that goes I really enjoyed it...........

However, I read the comics a few years ago... And im also a big fan of the comics and this is where where things really get mixed for me.

This show is only loosely based on the comics. But mostly only in a really basic way... Character names maybe some similar personalities in some cases.... and the same basic premise. People keeping supes in line....

But like i say I read the comics and this show really REALLY REEEEEEAAAAALLLLLLYY deviates from the comics.... Right first off.... The boys are meant to be supes themselves and have been since birth, they just wernt taking snatched up by vaught.... Billy Butcher is meant to be built like a ******* brick shithouse.... Dave bertista kinda of build. And hes also super powered.....

Mothers Milk got his powers because his mother was infected with the super drug and she mutated into a ******* hideous blob monster.... And Mothers Milk got his power from drinking her milk. And he drinks her milk till Billy kills her... I knew this fact so much so when we had Mothers milk sweet talking over the phone, i had assumed he was talking to his mother and they were playing the possible incestuous storyline that the comic hinted.... But no hes just an ex soldier with a family who just happens to be named Mothers Milk. *sigh*

The Female is so far about the only one whos true to the comics, though the origin is a bit off.... But I think in the comics she was portraid cuter...

Frenchie is also different... not only in race but in the comics he was a bit more eratic than in the show. But it wasnt terribly off... But again he had a super power too but i cant remember what it was...

Now Hughie, poor wee hughie... WEE ******* HUGHIE, the clue is in his nickname... HES MEANT TO BE ******* SCOTISH!??!?!?!? Though I cant remember for sure but I think he was made a super by Billy in the comics... Cant remember, but he is also meant to have super strength and in the comics i think he ends up kicking A trains head clean off and over a building. This was towards the end. Though i cant remember for curtain as I read this nearly 6-10 or so years ago...

And then heres the other thing... The comics play for laughs A LOT... there is some seriously great twisted and dark humour in the comic, like the landlord who (warning adult ref)
jizzed blood streaked ejaculate under Hughies front door... while Hughie is eating out starlight and she then admits she was on her period, and he pops up in the next image with a blood stained face with a look of bewilderment)

The comics were REALLY funny... really over the top funny... Full adult humour. The tv show.... has some funny moments but its really VERY serious. almost no laughs, next to no comedy, its really dark.... but in a depressing way.

For me yes i enjoyed the show and its good in its own light, but as ive read the comics im really missing what the shows lacking from the comics... More than anything. The comedy... the humour... Oh and the other thing the tv show does that teh comics didnt.... They REALLY humanised the bad supes.... Even Homelander, you almost feel sympathetic towards him in the tv show when you realise why hes turned out the way he has. same for the other 7 and other b teams... In the comics theyre just all out frat boys/girls partying and not careing who they fekked up and hurt.... In the show. There seems to be more humanity in some of them.

Literally EVERY thing you just posted that this show left out, I’m glad it did. None of that sounds entertaining, funny, or dramatic at all.
 
Personally I like the fact that in this show the Boys are not super powered- not only does it bring the fight down to an identifiable level but the odds are so much more stacked against them. A normal human trying to fight someone who can fly and has laser eyes is bad enough, but having hundreds of super powered beings to deal with is overwhelming. While the film sucked, the idea of having Batman fight Superman was such a contest. Batman had to build a kryptonite Iron Man suit just to survive, the Boys have nothing to bring to the table except motivation and guts.
I am half way through the third episode so far and I do like the show, I am going to be sorry when I see it all, hopefully it will have a second season
 
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edit: possible SPOLIERS?

After watching the first season I still have mixed feelings. I haven't read the comics though. It's a little too serious and pessimistic. A little too dark. It exagerates corporations quite a lot and also everyone seems to be evil for no reason. And I'm not talking about being a villain, but just making evil decisions, having bad reactions, bitching about everything, picking on the new girl for no reason, being on steroids, priests and prophesiers indoctrinating the youth in a very simplistic and obvious way and then having homosexual gangbangs, or just some character using sex to control somebody. Even Hughie's dad is a lazy conformist, and he's boss seemed a bit greedy. Even starlight's mother is the worst. Even the good guy, Hughie, is a killer. It's all so pesimistic it can be tiresome at times. I know the whole point of the show is to avoid the good guys/bad guys narrative but I think this pessimistic, exagerated and simplistic portrait of their world is a little too incredible even for an antiheroes show and I've lost interest a couple of times because of it. Nothing surprises me anymore. I just expect the worst.

That said, the final episode is one hell of a cliffhanger so I'll watch season 2 but if nothing changes, that's it for me.
 
Yeah let's face it, its really, really dark, but decided to binge watch the entire series (could not do that with the watchmen comics back in the day, but I digress). It was still good (and episode six had one scene that made me chuckle, no spoilers). Can't wait for season 2.
 
It's the same reason why I have to take breaks from such heavy shows like House of Cards and the like. The pessimistic attitude can be trying. Though the writing is so good and the characters so nuanced that I am compelled to see where it goes. I enjoy morally ambiguous characters but I can see where it would be emotionally taxing to watch at times. I also like my optimistic characters too which is why I enjoy the Marvel films so much.

It brings up some interesting things too and I like that Starlight is trying to stay true to her principles but the pressures of her job keep testing her morals. Plus the idea of constantly being in the spotlight brings up an interesting examination of the public perception of a person vs. the reality of their life.

While it can be overwhelmingly dark thematically, I think the ideas it presents are ones worth exploring. Especially given the hyper sensitive world we live in where emotions tend to control the narrative and not the facts.
 
One thing that does stand out in this show is the acting chops of Anthony Starr.
He was good in Banshee, but the way he switches the fake emotion on and off is spectacular. It's on par with James McAvoy in Split and Glass.
 
Just watched episode 1,....absolutely brilliant,...Karl Urban's English accent not too bad


J

I didn't mind it, but it wasn't a good English accent. He dipped into his native Australian accent regularly.

I'm only 2 episodes in and it's got me hooked! Hopefully this gets a green light for a second season, unlike many of the shows I was hooked on and got unceremoniously axed (The Colony, The Mist, The Expanse, Agents of Shield - although that was getting tired).

The Expanse got renewed, I read.


Dennis Quaid & Meg Ryan's son

Hughie in the comic looks a bit like Simon Pegg

View attachment 1043401

J

Supposedly, it was drawn to look like him.
 
I didn't mind it, but it wasn't a good English accent. He dipped into his native Australian accent regularly.



The Expanse got renewed, I read.




Supposedly, it was drawn to look like him.
His accent is decent enough, and for the most part he is using proper british phrasing like car boot and bollocks. It does clang when he days twot though. No brit would ever say that, it's not a word here and just sounds plain daft.
 
I immediately got sucked into the show and started reading the comic alongside.... and I have to say, I vastly prefer the show. For one thing, having the Boys be super-powered in the comics takes almost all of the risk away. If they can just punch their way through a fight with superheroes, where's the tension? How are they any better than the supes at that point? They're just super-powered people with a different agenda, which (frankly) got immediately boring.

Additionally, the comic doesn't really take any time in immediately laying out a lot of the background and context to the main characters- which I felt the show did a better job of slowly building up to. I also found it generally heavy-handed and overly exaggerated- especially with the characterizations of all the characters. In the show, they were more nuanced and had more dimension. All the characterizations in the comic felt hyper-exaggerated, by comparison.

To be fair I haven't gone too far in the comic series but I'm curious to see if it ends up anywhere near where the series ended- because I thought that was an amazing reveal that completely re-frames a lot of what we had been led to believe and (hopefully) forces Butcher to seriously re-think everything that has motivated him to that point.

And I could have sworn Karl was using an Aussie accent until I read the comic and realized he was supposed to be English. Just didn't land for me- but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter in the context of the series whether he's from Australia or England.
 

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