S1 - Discussion

[R.A. Picking]

SEQUENCE ONE DISCUSSION

Here is where you can discuss Sequence One - Please remember that some people may have not read the episodes so if you can put "Spoiler" tags around episode content and/or reviews and feedback that may contain content that include information about the story. 

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[A. Blackwood]

So I just read the first episode of the 'new' Bionic. I'm pretty sure I read some of the original one from memory so I was curious to see what this version was going to be like. I'm going to put the rest of my comments under a spoiler because they're going to contain - surprise - spoilers, haha!

SPOILER: Click to show

Okay, so even though I sort of remember the original Bionic and don't remember a lot but the general vibe I'm getting from this version is that it's aiming to be a lot more mature? I can't remember if there was that much 'sex and violence' in the last iteration but it does certainly push the show into that more adult direction. Is that a good thing? Hard to tell from just one episode. Sometimes the mature elements seemed a little ham-fisted, sometimes they worked but I think for now I'm going to hold out judgment and see where it goes.

I'm very disappointed that you killed Seth, who I liked from just this one episode. While I am mostly joking about this I was legitimately bummed out with that ending so

I think the idea of there being information that has been stolen and people who are desperately looking for it was a good hook. I'm already asking questions like 'did he store the data somewhere?' or 'is Cody now in danger because he got Seth's call?' so it was effective in pulling my in to the master and what was going there.

One area I felt it fell down a little was with the very first scene because it happens but then isn't addressed at all? This may be partly to do with the webisode format but because we get no official follow through it feels a bit out of place and like it may have benefited from being elsewhere in the first season. I'm assuming Justin is still Bionic in this iteration (forgive me if that's not the case, I'm leaning a little on what I remember of the original scrips) but if I didn't know that from outside information that first scene connecting with the later scene with Bionic wouldn't happen. I think it could have been better for the story if, in the scene where you reveal Bionic, we get some inkling or confirmation that this is the same person from the opening scene, or, alternatively, scraping the first scene or saving it for later down the line.

Overall I was interested as I was reading and curious to read more so you very much succeed there. I'm definitely going to read the next few episodes to see what direction you're taking it and am looking forward to writing some more reviews for you

[A. Blackwood]

So I just read episodes two, three, and four, and here are my thoughts.

SPOILER: Click to show

First and foremost I'm a bit conflicted with this series. I wanted to give it a proper chance to capture me so I made sure that I read all the available episodes but it seems like it's just not going to vibe with me. Now please, please understand that a lot of this is probably going to be flavoured by my personal preferences in media and I'm sure there will be plenty of people who love this new direction but I don't think I'm going to be one of them. I'll give my opinions because who knows, there might be something in here that you find helpful, but don't let the fact that I personally am not enjoying everything about Bionic discourage you from continuing it.

Okay, in my last review I mentioned that, to me, it looked like the show was going for a more mature tone and that theme continued through the next few episodes. There's continued allusions to violence and the way sex is handled is just... not my jam. For me personally the mature elements seem a bit forced in some places too, but I'll leave the comments about this more 'mature/dark' tone there because it is definitely not my preference and I don't want to go on and on about something that is personal preference.

In terms of the plot I found it rather jarring. There's definitely a mystery element to some things which is great and adds an intriguing element but other things are written like they are supposed to make sense to us as a viewer/reader and for me they just didn't. If I had to guess about why exactly I felt this way I would say that it's because the story is focusing on the wrong things- that or it's not making connections between story threads clear enough. I may have missed some things while reading but the only plot thread I'm really able to follow at the moment is what's happening with Cody and Ben. That's been done fairly well and I'm curious about what's going to come from that confrontation. As for the other plot points, I don't really understand where Bionic (the title character) fits into all this. He's kind of just hanging around having flashbacks at the moment. There's been nothing to really strongly tie him in to the main story. I also don't really know what's going on with the people we're focusing on at Biotech? It feels like that's a whole different world compared to the rest of the story and again I'm struggling to see how it links together with other plot points and what its purpose is.

I understand that writing in a webisode format is much easier in terms of the time commitment and allows you to tell stories that are maybe not quite big enough to run as a full hour/half hour show, but I also know it comes with challenges in terms of pacing (from my own experiences anyway). It feels like that may be a bit of an issue here, as by episode 4 I would have hoped to have a much stronger idea of where the story is going and who the major players are. It might have been a case of too much being introduced too early and perhaps a focus on just one major storyline with a slow introduction later for the others might have been a better choice.

In summary I just don't think Bionic, or at least this new iteration, is going to be a series for me. Overall the themes and storytelling in Bionic just aren't really my thing, but I'll do my best to continue to provide support and encourage your writing because, as I said, I'm sure there are plenty of others who will vibe with it

[R.A. Picking]

After much consideration I’m pulling this version. Not just because of the comments but because it’s a common response by people. I went too hard with certain things. I’m going to retry the pilot episode in a new direction.

[R.A. Picking]

Thanks for the response. I understand what you’re saying. I’m going to try something different.

Jun 13, 2021 23:07:14 GMT -6 A. Blackwood said:

So I just read episodes two, three, and four, and here are my thoughts.

SPOILER: Click to show

First and foremost I'm a bit conflicted with this series. I wanted to give it a proper chance to capture me so I made sure that I read all the available episodes but it seems like it's just not going to vibe with me. Now please, please understand that a lot of this is probably going to be flavoured by my personal preferences in media and I'm sure there will be plenty of people who love this new direction but I don't think I'm going to be one of them. I'll give my opinions because who knows, there might be something in here that you find helpful, but don't let the fact that I personally am not enjoying everything about Bionic discourage you from continuing it.

Okay, in my last review I mentioned that, to me, it looked like the show was going for a more mature tone and that theme continued through the next few episodes. There's continued allusions to violence and the way sex is handled is just... not my jam. For me personally the mature elements seem a bit forced in some places too, but I'll leave the comments about this more 'mature/dark' tone there because it is definitely not my preference and I don't want to go on and on about something that is personal preference.

In terms of the plot I found it rather jarring. There's definitely a mystery element to some things which is great and adds an intriguing element but other things are written like they are supposed to make sense to us as a viewer/reader and for me they just didn't. If I had to guess about why exactly I felt this way I would say that it's because the story is focusing on the wrong things- that or it's not making connections between story threads clear enough. I may have missed some things while reading but the only plot thread I'm really able to follow at the moment is what's happening with Cody and Ben. That's been done fairly well and I'm curious about what's going to come from that confrontation. As for the other plot points, I don't really understand where Bionic (the title character) fits into all this. He's kind of just hanging around having flashbacks at the moment. There's been nothing to really strongly tie him in to the main story. I also don't really know what's going on with the people we're focusing on at Biotech? It feels like that's a whole different world compared to the rest of the story and again I'm struggling to see how it links together with other plot points and what its purpose is.

I understand that writing in a webisode format is much easier in terms of the time commitment and allows you to tell stories that are maybe not quite big enough to run as a full hour/half hour show, but I also know it comes with challenges in terms of pacing (from my own experiences anyway). It feels like that may be a bit of an issue here, as by episode 4 I would have hoped to have a much stronger idea of where the story is going and who the major players are. It might have been a case of too much being introduced too early and perhaps a focus on just one major storyline with a slow introduction later for the others might have been a better choice.

In summary I just don't think Bionic, or at least this new iteration, is going to be a series for me. Overall the themes and storytelling in Bionic just aren't really my thing, but I'll do my best to continue to provide support and encourage your writing because, as I said, I'm sure there are plenty of others who will vibe with it