The Quatermass All-Purpose Media Review Thread

[Quatermass]

Maybe, but the whole first season is apparently on 9 Now, the streaming service for Channel 9, so if you have that (and remember, it's free, even if it has a LOT of ads), you can watch it without having to go on Amazon, at least for now. I wouldn't bank on it staying there for too long.

And I get where you're coming from. I HATE streaming services with a passion, aside from the free-to-air ones like ABC iView and SBS on Demand. I much prefer physical home video media like DVDs and Blu-Rays.

That being said, Amazon Prime seems to be better at releasing stuff on home video than other streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix. The Boys, Jack Ryan, Britannia, Good Omens, The Expanse, The Wheel of Time, Fallout, these ones have come out on DVD and Blu-Ray over here, and I was also able to get a hold of an official American (albeit region-free) Blu-Ray of the first season of Hazbin Hotel. So who knows?

EDIT: Oh, and incidentally, the second episode is on Gem (92, etc) Go (99, etc) at about 11:45pm, having changed channels it was being transmitted on. And I needed to correct that because I saw what channel it was actually on. I had a brain fart, sorry...

 

[Quatermass]

REVIEW: The Amazing Digital Circus: Episode 1: Pilot, and Episode 2: Candy Carrier Chaos! by Gooseworx.

TYPE: Internet video series

DETAILS: TADC 1-2, 2X25 minute episodes

Another day, another internet-based animated series. Yet since its inception, The Amazing Digital Circus has gained many fans for its dark comedy and deep themes beneath the candy-coated exterior. But how would I like it?

Courtesy of a strange headset, Pomni is a young woman somehow trapped in the digital world of the Amazing Digital Circus, a realm of dubious wonder and perilous excitement run by artificial intelligence Caine. With the uneasy company of the cheerful Ragatha, the cynical Zooble, the timid Gangle, and the malicious Jax, Pomni is forced to go on adventures in a digital world. Unfortunately, there’s no escape, Caine is insane, and if the inhabitants of the Circus get too worn down by their experiences, they glitch out into abominations known as the Abstracted. So hey, no pressure…

The first two episodes are a good mixture of dark comedy and existential angst, with a saccharine exterior. The plot, dialogue and style of the show work together, if not perfectly, then pretty damn well. Even the comedy works more often than not, something hard to do with dark comedy, though there are times when it falls flat. And I do wish there was a bit more proper plot, even at this early stage in proceedings.

Lizzie Freeman is an absolute delight as Pomni, who is the character acting as the audience surrogate, while Alex Rochon gives Caine a delightfully demented air that fits Gooseworx’s description of him as AM from I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream as a wacky, sociopathic goofball than a ball of hate. Sean Chiplock as Kinger is fun too, Amanda Hufford as Ragatha is the heart of the series, and while I despise the character of Jax, Michael Kovach does pretty well with what he has. I have to say, though, Zooble and Gangle don’t do it for me.

Gooseworx described the series as a love letter to the CGI series of the 90s, and it shows. The series is beautiful and glossy when it needs to be, and also dark and sinister when it needs to be too. The character design is distinctive and unique, and fits the surreal nature of the series well.

Overall, this was an enjoyable debut to a series. True, it’s nowhere near perfect, but hey, it works well…


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