Murderbot

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I went into this blind, and only watched the first episode, but I guess this wasn't what I was expecting at all. Is this supposed to be a comedy? It...didn't really have anything to make me laugh whatsoever, but the tone was clearly supposed to be very lighthearted.

I thought this would be some kind of sci-fi action-y drama type show and this wasn't that at all. Can't say it made me want to watch more of it.
 
Intrinsic

Intrinsic

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The first episode tone was a little off for me, but I’m going into it expecting where things are going.

The crew are definitely a bunch of space hippies so they got that right, but they’re a little too “zany” and over the top. Not so far off, they’re supposed to be very naive, I just never got the cookiness the show is playing up.

SecUnit similarly came off slightly different. He acted way more in line with my expectations than did his inner monologue. He’s sardonic, introverted, and self-deprecating, and doesn’t understand why he feels a connection to humans and doesn’t necessarily want it. Some of his writing was off to me. Like, he’d never refer to all humans as assholes. That’s just not his character. Some are or can be, but his perspective isn’t just blanket like that. He just thinks humans are gross and odd. Closer to his comments about sex and using the bathroom.

These are minor things for now. More interested in seeing how they develop everything. Still have to watch the second episode. Also I come from the audiobooks and how Kevin Free played the character, so that probably has a lot to do with my perspective. Going off someone else’s established portrayal and not really my own interpretation of the book text.
 
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INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS

INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS

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velk said:
Seems pretty good so far. The opening is way out of line with the books, but it's probably a fakeout given what happens later.

Show murderbot is visually more terminator than robocop, probably because they wanted more Skarsgaard nudity.
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Intrinsic said:
The first episode tone was a little off for me, but I’m going into it expecting where things are going.

The crew are definitely a bunch of space hippies so they got that right, but they’re a little too “zany” and over the top. Not so far off, they’re supposed to be very naive, I just never got the cookiness the show is playing up.

SecUnit similarly came off slightly different. He acted way more in line with my expectations than did his inner monologue. He’s sardonic, introverted, and self-deprecating, and doesn’t understand why he feels a connection to humans and doesn’t necessarily want it. Some of his writing was off to me. Like, he’d never refer to all humans as assholes. That’s just not his character. Some are or can be, but his perspective isn’t just blanket like that. He just thinks humans are gross and odd. Closer to his comments about sex and using the bathroom.

These are minor things for now. More interested in seeing how they develop everything. Still have to watch the second episode. Also I come from the audiobooks and how Kevin Free played the character, so that probably has a lot to do with my perspective. Going off someone else’s established portrayal and not really my own interpretation of the book text.
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I just finished Book 6 last month and am starting Book 7 after I finish up Chapterhouse Dune.

I haven’t seen the show, yet, but it taking off its helmet in season 1 seems odd. Something it almost never did as it preferred to hide behind the oblique mask. I was expecting the helmet to look more like the book cover and not whatever the trailer shows.

The developers also made tv show Murderbot hella masculine when it doesn’t have stubble and it’s more androgynous. Keypoint is people are referring to it as a “he” in the comment section when that’s never the case in the books. Murderbot is basically an autistic introvert and making it zany in the trailer at least is weird. People perceive it as an asshole because it lacks social skills as a construct, not because the sec unit thinks every human is an asshole.
 
Intrinsic

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INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS said:
I just finished Book 6 last month and am starting Book 7 after I finish up Chapterhouse Dune.

I haven’t seen the show, yet, but it taking off its helmet in season 1 seems odd. Something it almost never did as it preferred to hide behind the oblique mask. I was expecting the helmet to look more like the book cover and not whatever the trailer shows.

The developers also made tv show Murderbot hella masculine when it doesn’t have stubble and it’s more androgynous. Keypoint is people are referring to it as a “he” in the comment section when that’s never the case in the books. Murderbot is basically an autistic introvert and making it zany in the trailer at least is weird. People perceive it as an asshole because it lacks social skills as a construct, not because the sec unit thinks every human is an asshole.
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I’m pretty sure the scene in the show plays out very close to how it does in All Systems Red, with the helmet coming off after fighting the sand creature away. That’s pretty early in the book? But it has been a while and it was obviously accompanied by more internal stuff about being uncomfortable doing it. Like watching the video replays and not seeing himself.

Which book art? The guy who did the illustrations for SubPress that I posted above was also brought in to consult on the art direction of the show. I kind of have to just give him the benefit of the doubt I guess. The first images were a little weird but it’s kind of cool.

I think the ship sailed about the whole helmet thing when the project was announced and Skarsgard was cast. He isn’t Karl Urban and wasn’t going to keep covered up for the duration. So, we’ve had over a year to rationalize that away 😀

There’s still a ton of awesome that can come from the show. Nothing is ruined in a Wheel of Time or whatever example of recent butchery to source material (Apple did -okay- with Silo but I have some big complaints and pretty much abandoned Season 2). Sanctuary Moon was hilarious and seeing Clark Gregg and what’s his Asian face from Star Trek was funny. Need to finish episode 2. I went through the audiobooks twice but it has been a while and everything blurs together.
 
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These are the book versions I have, and this helmet is what I was thinking. We do see that version of the helmet in the trailer when they say "This is our newest model" (or something) and they want the refurbished model (Murderbot) not the newest model.

Karl Urban as Judge Dredd is one of my favorite movies and exactly what I was thinking. Mandalorian or Dredd style with the helmet on at least for the first season until they off Corporation Rim. I agree about the Sanctuary Moon clip. At least on the trailer it looked hilarious.

I just reread the first chapter of All Systems Red and on page 12, it does remove its helmet when talking to Bhadarajw. At first it didnt remove its helmet, then when Bhad didnt response, it did remove the helmet to show its face. You were right. It does keep its helmet on for the vast majority of the book though, if I recall correctly.
 
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Chanur

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Kajiimagi

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INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS said:
These are the book versions I have, and this helmet is what I was thinking. We do see that version of the helmet in the trailer when they say "This is our newest model" (or something) and they want the refurbished model (Murderbot) not the newest model.

Karl Urban as Judge Dredd is one of my favorite movies and exactly what I was thinking. Mandalorian or Dredd style with the helmet on at least for the first season until they off Corporation Rim. I agree about the Sanctuary Moon clip. At least on the trailer it looked hilarious.

I just reread the first chapter of All Systems Red and on page 12, it does remove its helmet when talking to Bhadarajw. At first it didnt remove its helmet, then when Bhad didnt response, it did remove the helmet to show its face. You were right. It does keep its helmet on for the vast majority of the book though, if I recall correctly.
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Those books any good? Call me a male chauvinist but I don't find female authors to be all that great. They are all wanting to write about love and feelings.
 
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INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS

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Kajiimagi said:
Those books any good? Call me a male chauvinist but I don't find female authors to be all that great. They are all wanting to write about love and feelings.
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I’m gonna put this bluntly.

yes, the novellas are very good. There aren’t girl bosses or weird revenge power fantasies.

Most of them are very short. Only maybe two of them are long enough to be novels. But you can find them for like $10 each on Amazon, or I have the epub I can send to your email if you have a kindle.

I would say Martha Wells is the only female Scifi author who I like (so far). The only “modern audience” nonsense in the book is there are one or two characters in book 3 and maybe 4? That use alternative pronouns like zi/xir. But that’s also to be expected when they’re dealing with really weird and bizarre space colonies from across the galaxy. There’s gonna be some weirdos. There’s no speeches about it or anything. The machine (Murderbot) is pretty indifferent and doesn’t address it in any way. The author also never describes someone if they’re white, but they make sure to point out all the characters with brown skin lol.

besides those two very minor points, no other nonsense. Very well written stories. My brother bought me the ebook and I didn’t read it (I don’t like e books). The next year he bought me the physical copy to make sure I read it bc he knew I’d like it. I’ve ended up reading six of them so far.
 
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Kajiimagi

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INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS said:
I’m gonna put this bluntly.

yes, the novellas are very good. There aren’t girl bosses or weird revenge power fantasies.

Most of them are very short. Only maybe two of them are long enough to be novels. But you can find them for like $10 each on Amazon, or I have the epub I can send to your email if you have a kindle.

I would say Martha Wells is the only female Scifi author who I like (so far). The only “modern audience” nonsense in the book is there are one or two characters in book 3 and maybe 4? That use alternative pronouns like zi/xir. But that’s also to be expected when they’re dealing with really weird and bizarre space colonies from across the galaxy. There’s gonna be some weirdos. There’s no speeches about it or anything. The machine (Murderbot) is pretty indifferent and doesn’t address it in any way. The author also never describes someone if they’re white, but they make sure to point out all the characters with brown skin lol.

besides those two very minor points, no other nonsense. Very well written stories. My brother bought me the ebook and I didn’t read it (I don’t like e books). The next year he bought me the physical copy to make sure I read it bc he knew I’d like it. I’ve ended up reading six of them so far.
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I'll check them out then. Thanks for the reply. I don't have a kindle but I do have an internet sea ship.
 
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Intrinsic

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Kajiimagi said:
I'll check them out then. Thanks for the reply. I don't have a kindle but I do have an internet sea ship.
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If you like audiobooks I would recommend them. Not sure I would have put the same personality that Kevin Free did with Murderbot if I were just reading the dialogue in a page, and that is really 50% of what made it for me. The stories and characters and setting were all great, but the personality that he puts in to SecUnit kept me coming back for more.

But you may hate audiobooks and not care 😂
 
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INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS

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Intrinsic said:
If you like audiobooks I would recommend them. Not sure I would have put the same personality that Kevin Free did with Murderbot if I were just reading the dialogue in a page, and that is really 50% of what made it for me. The stories and characters and setting were all great, but the personality that he puts in to SecUnit kept me coming back for more.

But you may hate audiobooks and not care 😂
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It’s also interesting because I imagine SecUnit as monotone and autistic introvert, not sassy or strong personality. Funny how when folks read / listen they can get wildly different interpretations.
 
INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS

INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS

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Lanx said:
so in the book the space hippies aren't so insufferable?
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Still haven’t seen the show (been playing Oblivion remastered and reading chapterhouse: dune instead), but in the book they are not insufferable at all. Naive maybe but not sassy, woke, or virtue signaling.

trust me, I hate that nonsense. It’s the reason I left reddit and came to this message board instead. Gurathin in the first book is an asshole but more like Dr Cox (Scrubs), bc he cares but he’s just a dick about it. Dr Mensah has a heart of gold and is pretty much the only person that views SecUnit as more than an appliance but a sentient being. Tbh, I’m not really inspired to watch the show (as I’ll likely just be disappointed like I was with Dune Part 2, or just most Scifi book to movie adaptations). But I can talk about the novellas all day. They’re great.

martha wells’ dialogue is very believable and there’s never a time where I thought “why would the character do X? Why wouldn’t they just do Y instead?” At least in the book they’re not hippies as much as they’re like Nordic Europeans. It wouldn’t be a stretch to see them from Finland or Norway in their economic system and culture.
 
Lanx

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INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS said:
trust me, I hate that nonsense. It’s the reason I left reddit and came to this message board instead.
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go put r/immigration as a follow it's funny once theres a popular post the blue hairs are shocked that sub is slowly turning "conservative"

like there will be a post "student that is about to graduate has visa cancelled by evil trump!!!"

then you'll see comments "what they don't tell you is this shitbag got visa cancelled b/c of dui"

and then blue hairs will be like "wtf, when did this sub become maga?"


but yea these space hippies are insufferably written, whats the first thing these space hippies do? well they almost die... so whats the second thing they do when murderbot saves one of em?

they sign a throuple contract!!!
 
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Kajiimagi

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Lanx said:
apple book app, droid readera, pc calibre, are you "book" apps to read epub/mobi/cbr(comics) etc
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I use moon reader pro +, bought it on some google app sale years ago for $.99. Personally cannot stand apple ipads but when I've used them I used a reader called I think Marvin?
Also don't do audio books. Tired it before but it didn't work for me.
 
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INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS

INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS

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Lanx said:
they sign a throuple contract!!!
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That's retarded. Now it is revealed later in the novellas that Dr Mensah is in a throuple, but it's not a thing in the first few books nor is there ANY romance in these books. We never see the throuple together in the same room. It's so unremarkable that I even forgot to mention it earlier. But its not that uncommon in scifi. I read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein (who wrote Starship Troopers) earlier this year, and on the Moon in that book they have massive multi-generational marriages of like 9 people. It's odd. In the Expanse, Jim Holden's parents are also in a similar compound 10-person (or some number) marriage.
 
Lanx

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INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS said:
That's retarded. Now it is revealed later in the novellas that Dr Mensah is in a throuple, but it's not a thing in the first few books nor is there ANY romance in these books. We never see the throuple together in the same room. It's so unremarkable that I even forgot to mention it earlier. But its not that uncommon in scifi. I read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein (who wrote Starship Troopers) earlier this year, and on the Moon in that book they have massive multi-generational marriages of like 9 people. It's odd. In the Expanse, Jim Holden's parents are also in a similar compound 10-person (or some number) marriage.
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sounds like you should watch the show heh, the only thing this has going for it (as a non book reader) is i'm just waiting to see these hippies die horribly one by one
 
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INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS

INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS

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Holy shit.

I’m 15 minutes into the first episode and what in the millenial writing is this. They turned Dr Mensah and her crew into cringy blue haired baristas and weirdos. Their dialogue is so bad. And everyone is hella miscast.

Im done. Another retarded Scifi book adaptation. Just read the books instead.
 
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Lanx

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INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS said:
Holy shit.

I’m 15 minutes into the first episode and what in the millenial writing is this. They turned Dr Mensah and her crew into cringy blue haired baristas and weirdos. Their dialogue is so bad. And everyone is hella miscast.

Im done. Another retarded Scifi book adaptation. Just read the books instead.
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yea i'm gonna hate watch this until eps6 if they don't perma kill a hippie yet, i don't even have a favorite to kill, theyre all so horrible
 
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