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Preacher


Craig H

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I've never read the graphic novels, so I don't have a clue how it compares to the source material, but I'm in love with this show and I can't wait for more. Only complaint - premiered tonight, but I have to wait 2 weeks to see another episode. Fuck you AMC, I wish this was on Netflix so I could binge watch the entire season right now. Very intrigued, and it's a lot better than some of the shit that AMC is serving up right now (Fear the Walking Dead, that new show with Jim Sturgess looks stupid, etc.)

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8 hours ago, JRGoldman said:

I dunno how you manage to make Preacher boring, but they pulled it off. They missed the mark so wholeheartedly I feel like Seth Rogen must have consulted with Zach Snyder at some point.

This.  It wasn't a total Fuck You to the comic fanbase, but it was at least a shrug of "yeah, we really don't care about you".  A solid 95% of everything that happened in this episode never happened in the comics at all, and that remaining five percent was still altered in some way.  Basically, imagine a version of The Walking Dead where Rick was never in a coma, the gang decides they're going to hole up permanently in Atlanta, and oh yeah Lori was secretly a jewel thief or some damn thing like that.  

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To be fair, by all accounts, it was Garth Ennis who convinced them to not try and make a straight adaptation.

Much like Lucifer, I'm willing to meet the show halfway. We'll see.

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I don't really care that they changed things, I expected and was prepared for that. My issue is that some of the things they changed I think genuinely undermine the overall impact and message of the narrative. Jesse and Tulip should be lovers of destiny, not two people who had sex in the past and still sort of flirt and just sort of hang out now. Also, how are you gonna make Preacher not really care about beating a woman all that much? In fact, what does Jesse care about in the show? He's just sort of there. It's hard to have a show where the protagonist seemingly has no agency.

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8 hours ago, Jingus said:

This.  It wasn't a total Fuck You to the comic fanbase, but it was at least a shrug of "yeah, we really don't care about you".  A solid 95% of everything that happened in this episode never happened in the comics at all, and that remaining five percent was still altered in some way.  Basically, imagine a version of The Walking Dead where Rick was never in a coma, the gang decides they're going to hole up permanently in Atlanta, and oh yeah Lori was secretly a jewel thief or some damn thing like that.  

 

6 hours ago, JRGoldman said:

I don't really care that they changed things, I expected and was prepared for that. My issue is that some of the things they changed I think genuinely undermine the overall impact and message of the narrative. Jesse and Tulip should be lovers of destiny, not two people who had sex in the past and still sort of flirt and just sort of hang out now. Also, how are you gonna make Preacher not really care about beating a woman all that much? In fact, what does Jesse care about in the show? He's just sort of there. It's hard to have a show where the protagonist seemingly has no agency.

 

All of this.  I wasn't expecting to like it and knew they'd take some liberties with the story, but if you'd changed the character names and Jesse's look a little bit I would have had no clue this was actually based on the comic.  If you're going to make something that divergent from the source material, why even bother?  Just make up a completely new idea and run with it.  Unlike a lot of other comic adaptations, this is a story with an actual beginning and end and not something that's still ongoing with a ton of different writers and continuities over the years which the showrunners can pick and choose from.

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As a pilot I thought it was fine, but not sure how well this will work as an actual ongoing series.  Especially with how they've opted to make certain changes. 

So basically it seems like he's going to spend the whole first season trying more to be a Preacher with his new power rather than going on a mission of "Fuck this, I'm going to find god and kill him!"

I guess they want to bring that concept along a little slower since some would perceive the show as being rather blasphemous and not get that it's a satire.

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so much whinging in this thread. Preacher is one of my favourite comic series of all time and I thought the first episode was great - the characters were recognisable to their comic counterparts and seeds were sown for the main crux of the comic narrative but the changed setting and story made it more accessible to viewers (though I'm sure them keeping the action in the town for now is another example of AMC being cheap fuckers yet again).

The bloke who played Cassidy was outstanding and I'm glad they made Arseface more than the butt of a joke (pun intended), I recon they'll bring Saint of Killers in at the end of the season too. But yeah, don't understand a two week gap after a bloody pilot, what's that about?

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On 5/25/2016 at 3:07 AM, CreativeControl said:

so much whinging in this thread. Preacher is one of my favourite comic series of all time and I thought the first episode was great - the characters were recognisable to their comic counterparts and seeds were sown for the main crux of the comic narrative but the changed setting and story made it more accessible to viewers (though I'm sure them keeping the action in the town for now is another example of AMC being cheap fuckers yet again).

The bloke who played Cassidy was outstanding and I'm glad they made Arseface more than the butt of a joke (pun intended), I recon they'll bring Saint of Killers in at the end of the season too. But yeah, don't understand a two week gap after a bloody pilot, what's that about?

I'm pretty sure Saint of Killers makes his debut in the one of the upcoming episodes. Like, ep 2 or 3 (maybe 4).

Or it's this character, which I'll put in spoilers. I can't remember which one debuts early on in the show's run, but it's been confirmed supposedly.

Spoiler

Herr Starr

 

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I think the only character that didn't really reflect their comic counterpart was Tulip BUT Ruth Negga was so fuckin' badass and compelling from the moment they put her onscreen that I didn't really care that much. I'll give the show a chance since it is just getting started.

James

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As the biggest Preacher fan in the world (only book I bought, bagged, and still own the entire run of to this day), this wasn't that good. I could enjoy it for what it was, and I knew some things were definitely going to change, but this lacked the heart of the series. It didn't have the western vibe at all. Tulip just doesn't work for me - not her skin color, but she was tough as nails, not bad ass, which really hurts the dynamic I feel - why do three badasses need help from anyone? Jesse looks like a midget, and yet he beat up a bar room full of people - again, this really screws with the dynamics of the characters. Why does a badass need to be more badass? What does that really add to a story? Genisys gave him the power to finally fight because he was weak and broken before. And the dude with the literal interpretation of the word...yeah that was needlessly violent for no good reason. Could have made the same point in a better way than something so much less cartoony.

.

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At one point Preacher was my favourite comic ever. It was sort of the first non-cape, non-edgy in a Spawn way comic I deep dove into as a (young) adult and parts of it resonated hard with me. Not sure I'll love it the same at 28 as I did at 18 but it's somewhat dear to me. 

 

With that said, I thought the pilot was a great adaptation. It did things differently but most of them worked for me, especially given how of its time Preacher was. I came to the party late but I at least had the twilight of the grunge era to relate to Arseface's backstory, for example.

 

I found the characters compelling and I liked the slow burn and eventual delivery. The rabbit sounds thing was the actual best. Tulip ruled. Cassidy was Cassidy. I was all in on this take. But then the last couple minutes happened...the unnecessary gore was off putting (as an aside, I love Brian Huskey and have since he and David Harewood stole the show in Selfie. He was great in his role.) I wasn't big on Jesse basically killing him, even if by accident. Still, I could deal with it even if it left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

*Really* don't love the trajectory created by Jesse deciding to stay on. For one it obviously shackles the series to come. For another it plays against the trajectory the character was on. Not a fan. 

 

So basically I liked it a lot...until the end where I got super nervous about where it goes. Fingers crossed it holds up.

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Full disclosure: I read every issue of Preacher as they came out.  I don't remember the details all that well, though, and it really wasn't one of my favorite books of the time.  So for the most part, I'm not too bothered if they change things up from the source material.

Having said that, the pilot kinda held my attention.  Not really sold on it.  None of the characters really gripped me, but it was definitely interesting so I'm in for awhile.  Probably in for the first season.

The main issue I had with it was the characters.  Yeah, Jesses's sense of.... morality?.... seems less evident than the comic version.  There really wasn't much to define Jesse aside from the trope of fighting guy who doesn't want to fight any more.  Hopefully, that last scene did indicate he was finding his passion because he was basically an emotionless void during the pilot.  His reaction to the woman confessing she didn't like being beaten was oddly subdued.  Did he even mention the kid to her.  She might enjoy the violence.  The kid didn't seem to.

Same with Tulip.  I'm ok with her and Jesse not being some sort of destined lovers, but their relationship seemed really mundane.  Not the sort of thing you go to the ends of the earth for (not literally), like they did in the comics.

Anyway, I'm intrigued but not sold.  We'll see where it goes.  I almost expect this to be an entirely different show, plot-wise and thematically.  Unless the ratings are astounding, I'm kinda skeptical that AMC wants the sort of trouble bringing God into this will probably buy.  I can only imagine the reaction if this show runs five or six seasons and they get around to Saint of Killers killing God.

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I can't fault AMC if they do change Preacher in a major way, both in terms of plot and themes.

I'm still surprised someone read the book - or at least the Wikipedia summary - and thought "Hey, this would make a great tv show."  There's so much in there that will offend people fairly quickly and there's a lot you probably can't do in any way, shape, or form without creating a controversy.

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I'm not sure.  I honestly expected there to be more controversy around Lucifer, but it seems like it didn't get much reaction (probably less than Fox was hoping for).  Sure, making God a dick is more out-there than making the Devil a flawed protagonist, but I can't feel certain it will make a huge stink. 

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I thought it was decent. GF liked it more than me.  Sherriff Root being kind of a possibly-racist asshole but not a total monster who hasn't spoken to his son in a year feels weird as fuck. I already feel sorry for Emily and it's only been one episode. And the bar fight was cool on its own merits, but compared to the Airing of the Grievances it didn't have nearly the same oomph.

 

 Is it bad that I desperately want "TELL ME WHAT YOU REALLY WANT" to happen?  So fucking juvenile and problematic, and so hilarious.

 

 

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This is going to be one of those shows where it doesn't really pick up and hit full throttle until near the end of the season probably, but I'm really liking it so far.

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Preacher is my favorite comic book series. And I wasn't young and angry when it came out. I re-read it constantly and always geek out for my favorite parts, and I always get upset and disappointed when the shit goes down with Cassidy. I adore the comic.

That being said, so far I'm loving the TV show. There's nothing wrong with taking the toy box full of characters and themes and playing with them differently. Actually, I think it's cooler than being beholden to one interpretation. As long as I still get bits like when Cass asks Jesse who taught him to fight, and we get a cool moment like we got where I know that means TC and Jody. I'm all in on this. Fuck people who can't get past changing shit. 

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