Regina King plays a police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma who occasionally dons a costume of a menacing nun and kicks serious butt. She calls herself Sister Night and she carries much of the action in this 9-episode version of Watchmen. Watchmen was an iconic comic book series in 1986-1987 by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. It tackled the dark side of super heroes. Conspiracies, betrayals, and secrets powered the series. And, in the HBO version, everything gets amped up.
Set in an alternate universe, this planet Earth has Robert Redford as President. A nuclear war has been averted by the timely (or untimely) appearance of a giant one-eyed squid that killed 3 million people in New York City and surrounding areas.
Most of the action is set in Tulsa, but flashbacks to Vietnam and Europa (the moon around Jupiter) keep the viewer off-balance. A white supremacist group called the 7th Kavalry works on turning back the clock with a violent plot. My favorite characters are Jean Smart as former Silk Spectre who is now an FBI agent and Tim Blake Nelson as Looking Glass (who wears a reflective mask) and can tell if people are lying. Jeremy Irons plays Adrian Veidt (aka, Ozymandias) who is the smartest man in the world.
If you’re looking for an unusual series, I recommend Watchmen. GRADE: A-
I watched the first two episodes and had trouble getting into it. And getting it period. Maybe you needed to have read the comics or seen the movie. I guess it’s not getting a second season due to the showrunner’s other obligations. I really seem to be missing the gene for fantasy narratives.
Patti, you’re right about the first couple episodes being confusing. WATCHEMEN didn’t really get going for me until Jean Smart showed up.
Unlike you (and many others), I never read the original comic book series, so the only reference I had in advance was the WATCHMEN movie from some years ago, which I hated. I understand there were quite a few changes made, but overall, most of it worked pretty well. King certainly seems to be Flavor of the Month lately, and she does a good job here. I agree on Jean Smart, an actress I’ve always liked.
Do you think they will make a sequel?
Jeff, WATCHMEN certainly concludes with enough loose ends to power a sequel (or two!). I would watch it if they can keep this excellent cast together.
I never read the original series but did see the movie, which I remember absolutely nothing about. So here’s this alternate universe version of something I knew nothing about in the first place. It’s like reading “The Man in the High Castle” not knowing the first thing about World War 2. So I struggled through the first episode without a clue as to what the hell was going on and gave up about midway through the second. What made it especially disappointing was that it was the work of Damon Lindelof, who was responsible for “Lost” and “The Leftovers”, two of my favorite series EVER.
Michael, Damon Lindelof worked within the constraints of the original comic book series, THE WATCHMEN. Purists, who objected to Lindelof’s changes, complained.
I liked this a lot. Is it hard to follow? At first, but it makes more sense as the series goes on which I think was the intention. You don’t need to have read the comics or have seen the movie. I agree with the A-.
Steve, you and I found a lot to like about WATCHMEN. I’m hoping for a sequel.
I watched the entire series, but didn’t see the movie (didn’t remember there was one), nor did I read the comix. I wasn’t that impressed with the series. I felt like I followed it enough that I got it, just didn’t care for it. But, I’ve never been a real fan of SF or fantasy, just like the occasional book or movie. I also like Jean Smart, especially in Designing Women which I’m watching now, but will give up on when Jan Hooks joins the cast. I didn’t think her role was big enough. I do like Regina King, but this just wasn’t something I’d want to continue with.
Maggie, I’d like to see what Regina King would do in an expanded role in a WATCHMEN sequel.
I read and liked the graphic novel, thought the film was okay but a little ho-hum, and watched the first episode before we dropped HBO. Perhaps someday I’ll get back to the series. Based on your recommendation, George, I’ll change the “perhaps” to “probably.”
Jerry, WATCHMEN got off to a slow start for me. But, once Jean Smart shows up, the pace quickens considerably. If there is a sequel, I hope Jean Smart has a large role.
I didn’t see the movie or this series, but from what I’ve read of it, I don’t want to. I read the graphic novel collecting the comics and liked it, and took it out to reread, but while it is sitting here at hand, I have only read the first 10 pages or so. From your, and the commenters, remarks, it’s the cast, not the plot that is of interest. Naturally, that’s not my case, as I always try to separate the character from the person acting.
Rick, the variations from the comic book series and the HBO series are major. Many comic book purists railed against the HBO series because they disagreed with the changes and adaptations.
Another idea of which I only read the name – maybe in MAD magazine?
Somehow I don’t like and understand all these “man”/”men” concepts – whetherit’s superman, batman or watchmen – sorry, not interested at all.
Wolf, sadly MAD magazine isn’t being published anymore. They would have made fun of the HBO version of WATCHMEN.
Did they completely run out the string already? I know they were going all-reprint for a year or so…perhaps to fulfill subscriptions.
Todd, you can read all about it here: https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mad-magazine-ends-production-20190704-story.html
George, totally agree re MAD!
I found it as a student in the early 60s and as soon as I started working and had a credit card subscribed to it for many years. I also have a CD (or DVD ?) collection of the earlier Mad magazines somewhere – memories …
I used to read the persiflages of movies etc in MAD before deciding whether it was worth watching it …
Wolf, I’ve seen a CD set with ALL the MAD magazines on them. I was tempted…
I have a low opinion of Lindelof’s work generally, and got about four of five episodes in before making little effort, though the introduction of Jean Smart did help, as did the slight (half-assed) attempts to justify the idiot-plot elements of the first two episodes. Whenever Lindelof had a script collaborator, things improved. I will eventually watch the whole thing, am surprised they aren’t apparently going forward. It’s certainly less stupid than WESTWORLD. It’s a pity no one chose to adapt the original graphic novels, which is probably the best work I’ve read from Moore, who as some here might know won’t let his name appear on any film/tv adaptations of his work, since he isn’t happy with any of them so far. Mostly, I can’t blame him.
Todd, I think the elements are there to make a thrilling and wonderful WATCHMEN series. But a great cast needs great scripts. The HBO WATCHMEN scripts had as many holes as Swiss cheese!