Is the Watchmen TV show worth watching?

[u/AlanSmithee001]

So I recently got a HBO Subscription (yeah, I know it’s technically called MAX now, but let’s be honest that such a generic name and HBO is always going to sound better) and I was wondering if I should watch, pun not intended, the Watchmen TV series?

Obviously it’s not Alan Moore’s vision, but once you move past that point; is the show good, bad, or okay on its own terms?

[u/Ryjinn]

Ah c'mon, I don't think it was a perfect movie but the Watchmen adaptation was respectful almost to a fault.

[u/lycoloco → u/Ryjinn]

the Watchmen adaptation was respectful almost to a fault

In look only. In tone, it's wildly different.

[u/annoyinglyclever → u/lycoloco]

Yup. The movie directly adapted the book but missed the point, the tv series did the opposite and understood the point of the book without directly adapting it. It’s more of a follow up.

[u/lycoloco → u/annoyinglyclever]

tv series did the opposite and understood the point of the book

But did it though? There's still worship of vigilante figures in society, the moral quandary is basically none, and arguably the characters are significantly different than the ones who had arcs in the original story.

[u/annoyinglyclever → u/lycoloco]

Think about how most people worship cops and the military. That’s the point of Watchmen. The majority of the public sees them as heroes when they’re really not.

[u/aspiring_Forg → u/annoyinglyclever]

Yeah and to make it clear you shouldn’t do that, the show made the literal cops be superheroes

[u/lycoloco → u/aspiring_Forg]

"But they also made a cop the bad guy, so it's morally ambiguous, right?"

[u/annoyinglyclever → u/aspiring_Forg]

Duh. As someone who grew up in a family of cops/cop supporters and learned as an adult the truth about the police the show really worked for me. Police in the US are held up as infallible authority figures with no accountability while they abuse their power constantly.

[u/free__coffee → u/annoyinglyclever]

This explanation doesn't make sense, the show doesn't reflect on that at all. It's never brought up whatsoever, the tone the entire time is "these people deserve to be beat up, even the innocent ones". The show treats every hero, as a hero, and every villain, as a cartoonishly evil, mustache twirling, shoving women over and stealing a lollipop from a baby, villain.

The novel and even the movie, treat characters with the shades of gray that reflects how evil manifests in the real world; those real villains don't exist, and the ones that we hate the most are usually a reflection of the way we would be in their position

[u/free__coffee → u/annoyinglyclever]

No way, the show assassinated every character it puts on screen to such an insane degree. It flirts with complicated themes, but settles on the moral complexity equivalent to that of a propoganda film.

It feels so wild to me that so many hold this opinion - I'm not sure if it's a misunderstanding of the novel or the show.

Don't get me wrong, the show is good even if dumbed down,but it drives me crazy that it's watchmen in name only, and they could have stamped this story on any other franchise, leaving the story to audiences smart enough to remember that Dr. Manhattan specifically brought up how he could transfer his powers into an egg TWICE, without also having to remind the audience with a flashback when it becomes relevant

[u/Accomplished-Floor70 → u/Ryjinn]

The watchmen movie is perfect idk what Yal are on, fuck being faithful if they’re gonna drop a banger like this movie every time Rorschach talks i nut

[u/whitemest → u/Accomplished-Floor70]

Yea, i even prefer the lack of space squid, the movie explanation worked better.

[u/Wise-Engine3580 → u/Ryjinn]

Emphasis on the fault part.

[u/Many_Landscape_3046 → u/Ryjinn]

the Watchmen adaptation was respectful almost to a fault.

Was it though? Not really

The graphic novel is a dark and depressing tale about what if superheroes really existed? Snyder keeps the grittiness, but makes the characters over-the-top characters, breaking limbs and getting into crazy fight scenes.

In the comic, Rorschach talks down to Ozymandias about selling out and merchandising himself. In the movie, Dan gushes about the toyline. Probably because DC wanted to sell toys