Umbrella Academy - Not bad, not great

[jonesy]

Initially I stayed away from this show, because I was under the impression it had something to do with the Resident Evil movies. The early footage did nothing to dissuade me from this idea. After that I stayed away because the first trailer I saw made it look like this had something to do with the DCU, and mainly Robin (I think the shape of the masks was a strong clue for this). I have to say that the show really suffers from poor advertising. I still have no idea what it's about. Having read this thread I now have impression that it is actually not about any sort of academy, or super-powers, or any previously established franchise, but is about somekind of a strange family? Confused.

 

[Hussar]

I think my problem with the show was that I just found the characters so unsympathetic. I just had so much trouble caring.

It got better by the end but I’d honestly give it about 6/10.

 

[Morrus]

A show where everyone makes bad decisions all the time is good TV for you? Low standards, man.

Goodfellas is one of my favourite films. Lots of terrible decisions; one of the best films ever made.

 

[Morrus]

You only groove to music made before you were born?

Why did you insert the word “only” into my statement, thereby changing its meaning?

 

[Ryujin]

Goodfellas is one of my favourite films. Lots of terrible decisions; one of the best films ever made.

Indeed. Movies in which the wheels come off tend to be far more interesting.

 

[Hussar]

Why did you insert the word “only” into my statement, thereby changing its meaning?

Because the show pretty much only plays music from the 80's or earlier. I find it very jarring that these characters would be grooving to music from before they were born without having any music that they would likely have heard.

I mean, they play music on a turntable. An old fashioned one at that. When these kids were in high school, we had MP3 players. It's not like they're audiophile snobs playing vinyl.

Anyway, I just found it really jarring that the music selection for the show was, to me at least, anachronistic.

 

[Istbor]

Actually, I think the scoring was the low point for me, although I did like the show overall more as episodes went on.

In the 1st episode, they have the big musical number to Debbie Gibson's I Think We're Alone Now. But, these people were born in 1989. That's a song that came out a few years before they were born. Why would they be all grooving on this? These guys are solidly Millennial. Their anthems would be Brittany Spears wouldn't it? So much of the music was drawn from the 1980s, and it really jarred to me. Barracuda? Stuff like that. It just seemed so out of place.

Never minding that you have them playing music on a turntable. These characters would be in high school in about 2004. That turntable would be about forty years old by the time they were using it.

That's fair. I only listen to music that is made after the date I was born. Anything before that holds absolutely no meaning for me. And how could it!? It was before I was born!
Look, I listen to music that is older than me, or wasn't popular in the 'appropriate' age for me to groove on, because not everyone had access to stations that played the new hits, or the latest audio playback technology. What is more, I had parents that ran the radio in the car or the house or a boss that controlled the one at work. I didn't really get to listen to what I wanted until I was in my later teens, and could buy my own CDs and player. And I don't know about anyone else, but what I listen to changes over time. So I don't think it a stretch for people born at a certain time, to listen to some music outside of their lifetime. Plus, I don't think 'they' are really hearing all of the music. You know, some of that is for us.

And yes, I don't watch show to see a perfectly laid out plan go perfectly. It is the failures and unexpected happenings that make it all interesting.

I'd say people more often than not, make poor decisions.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Mallus]

You have to play some old music to fully reazlie the Wes Anderson aesthetic.

I'm kinda shocked by the sheer amount of Wes Anderson in Umbrella Academy. Luther and Allison as Ritchie and Margot, right down the scene in the indoor tent/kid fort. The ending is basically a super-powered Eli Cash running over the Moon instead of a dog.

Not that I'm complaining. I'd actually like to thank Gerard Way and Netflix for making a Wes Anderson superhero show. Now if I could only get them to do Wes Anderson in space, maybe Barbarella starring Greta Gerwig or Saoirse Ronan, score heavy on the Stereolab...

 

[Tonguez]

Because the show pretty much only plays music from the 80's or earlier. I find it very jarring that these characters would be grooving to music from before they were born without having any music that they would likely have heard.

I mean, they play music on a turntable. An old fashioned one at that. When these kids were in high school, we had MP3 players. It's not like they're audiophile snobs playing vinyl.

Anyway, I just found it really jarring that the music selection for the show was, to me at least, anachronistic.

I remember being in class in 1987 (I was 15) talking about music and while everyone was talking about Prince, Rick Astley and Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam, I was a fan of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Four Tops and even the Everly Brothers - thats the music I heard in my house growing up (it was what my parents listened too), so perhaps the Umbrella kids only got to listen to older music provided by Mother