For fans of the 1981 movie Time Bandits, this new AppleTV+ version of 10 EPISODES makes a lot of changes in the plot, characters, and themes.
“[This TV version of Time Bandits] comes from three collaborators on the delightful FX vampire comedy series What We Do In The Shadows – -Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, and Iain Morris. That series too was adapted from a cult movie, and this team really knows what it’s doing. Each of them contributes as writers on the TV version. Clement and Morris are showrunners, and Clement and Waititi not only direct a few episodes, but appear in them too, playing the respective embodiments of good and evil. The major change this time is in the casting of the team of misfit marauders known as the time bandits themselves. In the new TV version, they are no longer played by dwarfs. This already has proven a bit controversial. Some have accused the producers of taking away roles for little people or erasing a key ingredient of the original narrative. Later in the series, though, new roles emerge as little people are featured as a sort of celestial detective squad, and the new Time Bandits makes its change very easy to access.”
After just two episodes, I’m hooked on this tale of a band of scruffy bandits traveling through Time to steal stuff. A young kid, Kevin, obsessive about History, joins their group by chance and together they visit the Battle for Troy and explore the Mayan pyramids. My favorite character is Lisa Kudrow (from Friends) who plays Penelope, the de-facto leader of bandits. If you’re looking for a fun, quirky Summer TV series, give Time Bandits a try. GRADE: Incomplete, but trending towards a B+
Kudos for explaining it, but it’s off my radar and TV’s capabilities! As of this moment, my comment on the last post is awaiting moderation, which I hate!
Bob, sorry for the delay but I was fighting a spammer who was trying to crash my blog!
I sympathize! I quit doing my blog because of a scammer who inundated me with annoying and disgusting comments! I wish there was a way to send a bolt of lightning back up the wire and fry their computers!
Bob, hackers are the viruses of the Internet. I wish there was better protection against them! I heard a rumor that hackers support Trump and Vance!
Spammer attacking your blog, George?
Todd, yes, my blog was under attack. Patrick is in San Francisco but when he returns to NYC I’ll have him upgrade the blog’s protections.
We are sitting ducks if we spend any time online re: hackers, spammers, etc.
I am probably the only person in the world who finds Lisa Kudrow annoying. I can’t even tell you why. Part of it is she always plays Lisa Kudrow. Part of it is her line readings are too quirky. You can never be believable as another character if you are too busy playing yourself, I guess.
Patti, you are not alone with your opinion of Lisa Kudrow. Many of our friends say the same thing: she can only play one role–her self. Fortunately, she’s not asked to do a lot in TIME BANDITS. The kid, Kevin, Kal-El Tuck is the key character in this series just as Daniel Radcliffe was for the HARRY POTTER series.
Patti, no you’re not. We find her incredibly annoying too. We never watched Friends but whatever she’s in is the same.
No Apple +, so no problem here.
Jeff, Lisa Kudrow is just one of many “actors” who can only play themselves. Dwayne Johnson and Kristen Stewart come to mind…
Well, Kudrow does play more or less a version of herself, but most of her bread has been made with a patented dumber version of herself, which works in ROMY AND MICHELLE’S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION and to some extent on MAD ABOUT YOU, but less well on FRIENDS, since that was an inane series.
Todd, there was enough audience for FRIENDS for it to last 10 seasons! It sure was inane!
Hackers come from every political stripe! Most of them support Allah!
Bob, it’s a small sample but the hackers who have messed with my blog in the past seem to reside in Russia.