Which franchise of three or more works has the highest ratio of hits to misses?

[Zardnaar]

I'll agree the 3rd one wasn't as good as the first two, but I still think all 3 alien movies ever made are good. I'm just glad they stopped instead of doing silly stuff like resurrecting Ripley or having space plot goo.

Allen 3 wasn't that bad. Everything after thst very hit and miss.

 

[Mannahnin]

Are we trying to stick to fantasy and science-fiction? The OP doesn't say.

If so, it's hard to beat Discworld. They're not all GREAT, but a bunch of them are and almost none of them are less than good.

Though perhaps I have to give it to Lloyd Alexander's Prydain books- and those have more than five entries, as he published three supplementary works (Coll and his White Pig, The Truthful Harp, and The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain), all of which are great too. Those have basically a 100% quality rate. Hmm.

If we're not sticking to SF/F, if historical fiction is allowed, then Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey/Maturin series (aka the Master & Commander books) is twenty volumes (and an unfinished twenty-first) of pure gold. 100% quality again. And more installments than Prydain.

Watterson's Calvin & Hobbes collections don't have as many entries as O'Brien's, or they'd get my vote. Basically perfect as well.

 

[Mannahnin]

I'll agree the 3rd one wasn't as good as the first two, but I still think all 3 alien movies ever made are good. I'm just glad they stopped instead of doing silly stuff like resurrecting Ripley or having space plot goo.

I agree that 3 is underrated, but apart from the ending, I think Resurrection was pretty darn good. I loved the arc they took us on with Ripley in the first four movies.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Lord of The Rings/Middle Earth has literally 2 bad entries in the entire franchise of 6 21st century films, and the older animated films are both good. And then you’ve got the best book trilogy ever written, the very good Silmarillion and Hobbit books, the decent to good first hobbit movie, and the good Rings of Power show. Even the TRRPGS are more hit than miss. The one area where the franchise falls down a well is video games.

 

[Deset Gled]

I agree that 3 is underrated, but apart from the ending, I think Resurrection was pretty darn good. I loved the arc they took us on with Ripley in the first four movies.

Resurrection was fun. As a fun exercise, try watching it as it if were a pilot for Firefly.

I will also stand by Prometheus. Even Covenant was enjoyable; it gets judged way to harshly.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If so, it's hard to beat Discworld. They're not all GREAT, but a bunch of them are and almost none of them are less than good.

What's the worst grade you would give a Discworld novel?

Watterson's Calvin & Hobbes collections don't have as many entries as O'Brien's, or they'd get my vote. Basically perfect as well.

None of this converts on a 1:1 basis. Collections is the wrong way to measure comic strips, IMO. Each one of those is a difficult act of birth, having done it in college. To have them be consistently high quality both on the written and drawing sides? Calvin & Hobbes is a flat-out miracle. I don't think there's another comic strip, before or certainly since, that even approaches the level of consistent genius that Watterson managed. (Sorry, Pogo fans, you know it's true.)

 

[Andvari]

I will also stand by Prometheus. Even Covenant was enjoyable; it gets judged way to harshly.

I think they have serious flaws and things I hate about them, so I can see why others dislike them. But overall I did enjoy them both as well. Prometheus is my guilty pleasure.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I will also stand by Prometheus. Even Covenant was enjoyable; it gets judged way to harshly.

Both needed an editor with the power to send Scott out of the room and maybe five minutes of reshoots, and they'd be great films. As it is, each has just enough dumb stuff in them -- or smart stuff removed -- to have problems. But Prometheus in particular is this close to genius, especially with minor surgery to get there.

 

[Mannahnin]

What's the worst grade you would give a Discworld novel?

The first two (Colour of Magic and Light Fantastic) probably a 4/10? Might be worse nowadays if I revisited. There were a couple of late-period ones which disappointed me, too, and I eventually dropped the series. Despite wondrous heights like Reaper Man or Guards, Guards!, it's definitely not a .1000 batting average.

None of this converts on a 1:1 basis. Collections is the wrong way to measure comic strips, IMO. Each one of those is a difficult act of birth, having done it in college. To have them be consistently high quality both on the written and drawing sides? Calvin & Hobbes is a flat-out miracle. I don't think there's another comic strip, before or certainly since, that even approaches the level of consistent genius that Watterson managed. (Sorry, Pogo fans, you know it's true.)

Hmm. I agree that it's a wonder. But each strip is normally conveying one idea, where a novel many contain thousands of ideas across its many paragraphs. Obviously it's a bit apples to oranges.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The first two (Colour of Magic and Light Fantastic) probably a 4/10? Might be worse nowadays if I revisited. There were a couple of late-period ones which disappointed me, too, and I eventually dropped the series. Despite wondrous heights like Reaper Man or Guards, Guards!, it's definitely not a .1000 batting average.

I'm in the process of going through a second lap through the Discworld series and I found the first two books, at worst, a little unambitious. But I definitely rate them much higher than 4/10, as I have no regrets about reading them at all, which I can't say for many fantasy works, many of which read like someone telling me about their D&D campaign or their Lord of the Rings fanfic.