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Man in the High Castle

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Buc Wheat
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Man in the High Castle

#1 Post by Buc Wheat »

Surprised no thread on this!

Just recently, over the last week, watched the 2 seasons.

I've tried since I was a young teen to give PK Dick a chance...and every
single time I've been left wanting... or worse.

This was no exception. (based on the differences btwn Bladerunner and
the novel, I'd hate to think how bad the novel was).

For one... the story dragged on way too long w/out advancing it in the least.
...and by the end, way too many questions never answered.

I did enjoy the John Smith character (he's also quite good in Victoria), but once
again I'm left Dick hating!

Thoughts?

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Zeiram
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Re: Man in the High Castle

#2 Post by Zeiram »

For the most part, PKD wrote short stories that folks extrapolated on to create films - Blade Runner, Minority Report, Total Recall, yadda yadda yadda... The Man in the High Castle is an example of a cool concept that has been stretched way too far to justify a miniseries. The entire story probably could have been done in a single season IMO.
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Re: Man in the High Castle

#3 Post by billikenmonster »

Agreed interesting concept but it was slow with character development watched two or three and abandoned it

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Re: Man in the High Castle

#4 Post by ausf »

I concur with everything said.

I watched the pilot, was looking forward to the production, but when it was available it didn't hold my interest very long.

For me it's like the new post-apoc stuff. It's full of promise, but most seem to get ridiculous fast.

Post WWII US split between Japan and Germany is lush for great stories, same as the collapse of civilization. Why do we need aquariums full of heads or pet Tigers to make it entertaining?
Plausible deniability.

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Re: Man in the High Castle

#5 Post by drano »

I have to disagree. I loved season 1 and season 2 and was glued to my tv for a weekend as I binged it.

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Re: Man in the High Castle

#6 Post by GrimmJimm68 »

I really enjoyed it and thought the cast was great and the overall production was top notch. I made me interested enough to seek out the book which I found to be a huge disappointment. Looking forward to season 3.

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Re: Man in the High Castle

#7 Post by LOBOREX »

Love pk's books, but this i lasted till the forth episode and bailed.
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Re: Man in the High Castle

#8 Post by Buc Wheat »

Season 3 thoughts... avoid if not done yet...








ok...



1. thought this season was better... probably bcuz all the characters
are fleshed out now and a story plot can just be written... but...

2. if the Germans have this massive machine to go to other worlds...then
apparently they knew about the other worlds. So how was Japan able to
bluff um w/ the a-bomb film, that avoided war, at the end of season
2?

3. Was about to buy the idea that you can only travel IF your other self isn't around
anymore... but then Julia travels??! huh??! (and how does the Trade Minister do it as well?)

so there's a few confusing parts (but then again, I'm watching season 3 of
Mr. Robot as well... whew! talk about a mind-f---!!!)

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Re: Man in the High Castle

#9 Post by monsterjones »

Love this series....but like all sci-fi elements of movies and TV there are holes in reasoning.
I love the JOhn Smith character 3rd season that is starting to crack in his belief in all this Reich mess.
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Re: Man in the High Castle

#10 Post by DNA »

Watched all three seasons in a week and overall enjoyed it.

Buc Wheat wrote:Season 3 thoughts... avoid if not done yet...








ok...



1. thought this season was better... probably bcuz all the characters
are fleshed out now and a story plot can just be written... but...

2. if the Germans have this massive machine to go to other worlds...then
apparently they knew about the other worlds. So how was Japan able to
bluff um w/ the a-bomb film, that avoided war, at the end of season
2?I think they knew about "travelers" and other worlds but don't know much else in season 2. The Germans didn't even know the films are from the other worlds brought by travelers. Trade Minister Tagomi tells Smith in their face to face meeting that the A-Bomb film was from his Son (who is dead in his world).It wasn't until season 3 that they build the machine and even then had their first experiment end in failure with a 25% success rate.

3. Was about to buy the idea that you can only travel IF your other self isn't around
anymore... but then Julia travels??! huh??! (and how does the Trade Minister do it as well?)Tagomi is dead in the world he travels to where his Son is alive and married to Juliana. In the scenes where Juliana and Trudy are together, Juliana mentions that she is dead in Trudy's world and Trudy was shot dead in season 1 of Juliana's wold. My guess is Juliana teleports at the end of season 3 to Trudy's world or any other worlds where she saw herself die on the films.

so there's a few confusing parts (but then again, I'm watching season 3 of
Mr. Robot as well... whew! talk about a mind-f---!!!)

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Re: Man in the High Castle

#11 Post by Buc Wheat »

DNA wrote:Tagomi is dead in the world he travels to where his Son is alive and married to Juliana.
Hmmmmm... might have to rewatch that... they certainly didn't seem
'put out' that their dead father is suddenly walking around among the
living?!?!

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Re: Man in the High Castle

#12 Post by DNA »

I may have to watch it again myself, but Tagomi's Son, Wife, and Stepdaughter does not know that he's dead in their world because the wife had divorce papers waiting if he ever returns. He seems bitter and does not approve of the marriage. They mention that there was an argument where he breaks the mug, rushes out, and disappeared when Juliana went after him on a bridge. After Hawthorne tells Smith that one must be dead for the other to travel to that universe, I assume that Tagomi committed suicide on the bridge and the body never recovered.

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Re: Man in the High Castle

#13 Post by Buc Wheat »

season 4 thoughts... skip if not done yet!







Although I enjoyed most aspects of the show, there were many things
that didn't work for me. And the ending was a big let down! I'll wait for
everyone else to finish it up.

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Re: Man in the High Castle

#14 Post by temperflash »

Tried reading the book and lost interest in the story more quickly than any other I can remember.

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Re: Man in the High Castle

#15 Post by Buc Wheat »

Yeah... although I've tried many times in my lifetime to read PK Dick, I've
never liked the trip!

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Re: Man in the High Castle

#16 Post by overspray »

I've never liked his books, but I love the general concepts he came up. I have really enjoyed the Man in the High Castle series, but never read the book - I've heard the book sucks. After watching Blade Runner I did read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, but thought that book sucked. In the High Castle series I know there's a few gaps and inconsistencies and in places it's a little hard to follow, but overall I found it very thought provoking with very high production values and fantastic acting.

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Re: Man in the High Castle

#17 Post by Buc Wheat »

re: Bladerunner... did the exact same thing. Since I'm a big fan of the movie (although
both of my sons think it sucks to high heaven) I too picked up the book about a year
or 2 ago and thought it was dismal!

I've read probably 6 or 7 of his works in my younger years and for some reason, I always
give him another chance. Again w/ dismal results! :)

But like you, I did enjoy the series. Thought the premise was very interesting, but agree...
there were plot holes all over the place.

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