I was speaking to a friend about this series before Christmas, we both agreed it was complete tosh but also pretty compelling and pretty enjoyable. I prefer series like this that generate some response than some stuff that might be competent in all areas but pretty dull.
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Spoilers “Invasion” Discussion thread (May contain spoilers)
- Thread starter mrsmith1
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Why canceled? Because, after 2 seasons, it’s still a weak series which doesn’t necessarily merit its continuation (to the end of the story).
But you enjoy it, so let’s simply agree to disagree.
Late to the Invasion party I know, I thought I would add my views on Season 1 to the stack after watching it a couple of months ago. You get through so many series these days that you mostly forget things quite quickly, apart from the ones that are really, really good or the ones that are really, really bad. Guess which one of those applies to Invasion!
As was the consensus on this thread, I found the pacing a bit on the slow side early on but was happy to give it the benefit of the doubt. I reckoned that if it had the the aspiration to become a multi-series show then why would they jump too quickly into the alien reveal when it made sense to eek it out over a longer period.
And slow-paced does not necessarily automatically mean bad of course. Better Call Saul was a very slow burn show but was great, not that at any stage did I think any of the elements that personified the excellence of Saul were ever remotely present in Invasion. The other way in which it's hard to make a direct comparison is that BCS was not about a worldwide alien invasion, a subject that cannot but suggest big events, big drama and big action. Well it always did before Invasion.
As the season progressed I was starting to get more and more irritable with it, but having come so far I thought I had to endure to the end of the season at least. I grew to actively dislike most of the characters - the family with the whining kids in particular and while I thought the JASA story was a little more interesting than most, I disliked her just as much as the others.
In a typical human drama story then the JASA girl grieving her dead girlfriend, or the Indian woman sulking resentfully every time she looked at her cheating husband would be perfectly normal. But if the world was collapsing around me then I think I would act like, you know, that's a bigger thing and survival would be my priority rather than continuing to fixate on my partner's past infidelity.
There were so many smaller plot elements that I missed or misunderstood, not because I think I am slow, but mostly because they were poorly explained, if they were explained at all. The Indian woman being a doctor and just wandering off to help the military without even telling her family - then she's not really a proper doctor after all, but she is welcomed as some sort of medical saviour anyway. Then she decides she should be back with her family after all. I never really picked up on the boy's telepathic link to the aliens....I could go on with this for pages.
But I think the straw that broke the camel's back for me was late on and discovering that, by the way, a nuclear strike had been launched at the aliens and it was a success and everything could get back to normal. Eh? I really thought I had missed an episode - maybe I did, who knows - where this seismic event was played out with some of the expensive budget thrown at CGI. But to do this with a couple of throwaway lines of exposition....just incredible.
Needless to say I did not waste any more of my life on Season 2. Thank you for allowing me to get my Invasion annoyance off my chest. Writing it all down has been quite cathartic!
As was the consensus on this thread, I found the pacing a bit on the slow side early on but was happy to give it the benefit of the doubt. I reckoned that if it had the the aspiration to become a multi-series show then why would they jump too quickly into the alien reveal when it made sense to eek it out over a longer period.
And slow-paced does not necessarily automatically mean bad of course. Better Call Saul was a very slow burn show but was great, not that at any stage did I think any of the elements that personified the excellence of Saul were ever remotely present in Invasion. The other way in which it's hard to make a direct comparison is that BCS was not about a worldwide alien invasion, a subject that cannot but suggest big events, big drama and big action. Well it always did before Invasion.
As the season progressed I was starting to get more and more irritable with it, but having come so far I thought I had to endure to the end of the season at least. I grew to actively dislike most of the characters - the family with the whining kids in particular and while I thought the JASA story was a little more interesting than most, I disliked her just as much as the others.
In a typical human drama story then the JASA girl grieving her dead girlfriend, or the Indian woman sulking resentfully every time she looked at her cheating husband would be perfectly normal. But if the world was collapsing around me then I think I would act like, you know, that's a bigger thing and survival would be my priority rather than continuing to fixate on my partner's past infidelity.
There were so many smaller plot elements that I missed or misunderstood, not because I think I am slow, but mostly because they were poorly explained, if they were explained at all. The Indian woman being a doctor and just wandering off to help the military without even telling her family - then she's not really a proper doctor after all, but she is welcomed as some sort of medical saviour anyway. Then she decides she should be back with her family after all. I never really picked up on the boy's telepathic link to the aliens....I could go on with this for pages.
But I think the straw that broke the camel's back for me was late on and discovering that, by the way, a nuclear strike had been launched at the aliens and it was a success and everything could get back to normal. Eh? I really thought I had missed an episode - maybe I did, who knows - where this seismic event was played out with some of the expensive budget thrown at CGI. But to do this with a couple of throwaway lines of exposition....just incredible.
Needless to say I did not waste any more of my life on Season 2. Thank you for allowing me to get my Invasion annoyance off my chest. Writing it all down has been quite cathartic!
I don’t think that they have said, but since the reception of the second season was so much better than to the first season, it seems possible that they will renew.
I watched both Seasons over the last week and just finished the last episode.
It's interesting and for the most part hilarious to read what you guys wrote in this thread.
But I agree with most of you, the first half of the first season was really hard to watch, most of the time I just surfed the web while only paying half attention. But For All Mankind had the same problem, damn did I have high expectations of that one, and damn was most of the first season boring and annoying... With Invasion I already knew it has a slow start and isn't rated that good overall.
The storyline with the woman and the stupid husband was so damn annoying. Then the US soldier in Afghanistan storyline, I hate that kind of stuff so much. The kids on the bus with that bully, and the bus falling so deep down with no one, besides the driver, being hurt... The only interesting and good part in the first few episodes was the JASA storyline.
But with episode 4 or 5 of season 1 it got better, the kids left the bully, the soldier went to London and met the kids, and the Aneesha storyline had a really good dark episode with a lot of tension. That episode (I think it was episode 6?) got me completly hooked. And when the husband finally died that storyline got so much better that it became my favorite.
I think the problem with Season 1 was that they tried to put all storylines in almost every episode, so that no storyline really progressed much per episode. With Season 2 they changed that, and we don't see all storylines in an episode but those we see actually move forward.
Now, what was so hilarious in this thread?
Some were like "why did they order a second season? There seems to be an audience for this crap, I don't get it" when they were the ones watching the show. They were the audience! I couldn't stop laughing when I read that.
Some others complained about characters talking about the "before times" after only 4 months. They wrote that after the whole covid situation where we already talked like that after 4 months. What do you think people would do after such an alien event that basically changes every aspect of your live? Nothing is the same anymore. And of course all the stupid conflicts we are having now wouldn't be important anymore, no one would care. The same for all the other changes in politics and whatnot. That part was the most realistic of the show.
Building all the stuff in the alien ship after 4 months? Yeah, could be a problem, but a show that's 100% realistic would be a boring piece of crap. Every show has some unrealistic stuff, they need to, because it's entertainment. Realistic stuff isn't entertaining. Also it would mean the aliens would take over the Earth much faster than 4 months. Would you want to watch that? For how many seasons?
The show has some really good ideas, and I'm curious to learn more about this type of alien. So I'm happy Season 3 is confirmed. It's a really good show with a bad start like so many other great shows.
It's interesting and for the most part hilarious to read what you guys wrote in this thread.
But I agree with most of you, the first half of the first season was really hard to watch, most of the time I just surfed the web while only paying half attention. But For All Mankind had the same problem, damn did I have high expectations of that one, and damn was most of the first season boring and annoying... With Invasion I already knew it has a slow start and isn't rated that good overall.
The storyline with the woman and the stupid husband was so damn annoying. Then the US soldier in Afghanistan storyline, I hate that kind of stuff so much. The kids on the bus with that bully, and the bus falling so deep down with no one, besides the driver, being hurt... The only interesting and good part in the first few episodes was the JASA storyline.
But with episode 4 or 5 of season 1 it got better, the kids left the bully, the soldier went to London and met the kids, and the Aneesha storyline had a really good dark episode with a lot of tension. That episode (I think it was episode 6?) got me completly hooked. And when the husband finally died that storyline got so much better that it became my favorite.
I think the problem with Season 1 was that they tried to put all storylines in almost every episode, so that no storyline really progressed much per episode. With Season 2 they changed that, and we don't see all storylines in an episode but those we see actually move forward.
Now, what was so hilarious in this thread?
Some were like "why did they order a second season? There seems to be an audience for this crap, I don't get it" when they were the ones watching the show. They were the audience! I couldn't stop laughing when I read that.
Some others complained about characters talking about the "before times" after only 4 months. They wrote that after the whole covid situation where we already talked like that after 4 months. What do you think people would do after such an alien event that basically changes every aspect of your live? Nothing is the same anymore. And of course all the stupid conflicts we are having now wouldn't be important anymore, no one would care. The same for all the other changes in politics and whatnot. That part was the most realistic of the show.
Building all the stuff in the alien ship after 4 months? Yeah, could be a problem, but a show that's 100% realistic would be a boring piece of crap. Every show has some unrealistic stuff, they need to, because it's entertainment. Realistic stuff isn't entertaining. Also it would mean the aliens would take over the Earth much faster than 4 months. Would you want to watch that? For how many seasons?
The show has some really good ideas, and I'm curious to learn more about this type of alien. So I'm happy Season 3 is confirmed. It's a really good show with a bad start like so many other great shows.
I am late to this discussion as I spend most of my time discussing media entertainment in the Community forum. I respect most opinions, but was surprised at the negativity in this thread. I watched season one when it came out and decided to rewatch it before starting Season 2.
There is always a human/family dynamic. Besides “action” what gives practically every story like this relevance, is how people react when put into survival situation, the choices they make.
If you demand instant action as in an alien/post apocalyptic movie that has to get the ball rolling, think of War of the Worlds, there we got about 30min of Tom Cruise establishing his family dynamics before the **** really starts. Here, in a series which has a lot more time to work with, you maybe disappointed, if you dislike slowly building human interest scenarios, which I am enjoying, but I don’t demand agreement. I guess some of this depends on if you like the characters, which I do.
This time, I am up to Season 1, Episode 5 and it’s all good. Ep5 is the best so far with tension and direct alien conflict. I find the individual stories to be compelling, the US Army soldier in an Afghanistan who has a close encounter, along with a hard time telling friend from foe (there are both). The family in NYC where the husband was having an affair and is morally forced to flee with his family by car. A group of school children in the UK who are forced to establish a pecking order in a survival situation. A JASA employee who loses a loved one on a shuttle, and is determined to figure this out and save her if possible. 👍🏼
There is always a human/family dynamic. Besides “action” what gives practically every story like this relevance, is how people react when put into survival situation, the choices they make.
If you demand instant action as in an alien/post apocalyptic movie that has to get the ball rolling, think of War of the Worlds, there we got about 30min of Tom Cruise establishing his family dynamics before the **** really starts. Here, in a series which has a lot more time to work with, you maybe disappointed, if you dislike slowly building human interest scenarios, which I am enjoying, but I don’t demand agreement. I guess some of this depends on if you like the characters, which I do.
This time, I am up to Season 1, Episode 5 and it’s all good. Ep5 is the best so far with tension and direct alien conflict. I find the individual stories to be compelling, the US Army soldier in an Afghanistan who has a close encounter, along with a hard time telling friend from foe (there are both). The family in NYC where the husband was having an affair and is morally forced to flee with his family by car. A group of school children in the UK who are forced to establish a pecking order in a survival situation. A JASA employee who loses a loved one on a shuttle, and is determined to figure this out and save her if possible. 👍🏼
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I am late to this discussion as I spend most of my time discussing media entertainment in the Community forum. I respect most opinions, but was surprised at the negativity in this thread. I watched season one when it came out and decided to rewatch it before starting Season 2.
There is always a human/family dynamic. Besides “action” what gives practically every story like this relevance, is how people react when put into survival situation, the choices they make.
If you demand instant action as in an alien/post apocalyptic movie that has to get the ball rolling, think of War of the Worlds, there we got about 30min of Tom Cruise establishing his family dynamics before the **** really starts. Here, in a series which has a lot more time to work with, you maybe disappointed, if you dislike slowly building human interest scenarios, which I am enjoying, but I don’t demand agreement. I guess some of this depends on if you like the characters, which I do.
This time, I am up to Season 1, Episode 5 and it’s all good. Ep5 is the best so far with tension and direct alien conflict. I find the individual stories to be compelling, the US Army soldier in an Afghanistan who has a close encounter, along with a hard time telling friend from foe (there are both). The family in NYC where the husband was having an affair and is morally forced to flee with his family by car. A group of school children in the UK who are forced to establish a pecking order in a survival situation. A JASA employee who loses a loved one on a shuttle, and is determined to figure this out and save her if possible.
Just like you explained you have to like the characters. To me this show was moving way too slow, had zero redeeming qualities,lazy writing, flat stereotypes as characters and I would have been fine with a slow moving piece if the rest of the list had some winners.
I think most of us approached the show with an open mind from day one and gave it plenty of time to evolve. Ultimately this one ends up being an acquired taste if I go with the overall responses from the majority here.
Most of season one acts as story setup. Another show similar to this, at least Season 1, would be Station 11 (HBO) post apocalyptic, most people die due to a flu virus, slow moving, a traveling symphony that makes a circle around Michigan entertaining the small communities that grew after calamity and I loved that too, but it’s definitely a characteristic of the focus on character story telling. In that show there was a significant violent event with highway men and a girl who can handle a knife, and that was cut short, flashing forward. At the time I was pissed, but forgave the story tellers. It was like a protest to action story telling.
Invasion has lots more action than that, but I’m ok with anyone who does not think there is enough. I really need to get into Season 2 to see where it goes.
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Yes, but twice as fast as season one. Maybe season three will be almost a normal pace? 😆