The Terminal List: well produced but way too dark

Submitted by SpongeJake t3_yebx2h in television

I like Jack Carr’s books, and am a fan of that genre in general. So expectations going into the series were high.

I can’t speak to how closely the book matched the series but I’m guessing it’s probably close, particularly as Carr was involved in the making of the series.

The first episode starts off with a few horrific scenes, all designed to bring our hero (Pratt) to the point of vengeance.

After that, every episode gets darker than the rest. And just when you think all is well and maybe you can get some uplifting relief, it gets even darker.

It’s unrelenting, and it sucks all the joy out of even wanting to watch it. By the time the sixth episode came around, I was ready to quit. I only kept going because the characters were compelling enough (and well-acted) to make me care about what happens. But man - it’s just awful.

There were a couple of episodes that seemed unnecessary, such as the one where our hero was fleeing a manhunt through the woods and hills. There was unrelenting pain, unrelenting nightmare (not in a good way) and it didn’t really add anything to the overall plot.

It’s labelled as “Season 1” so there’s a slim chance there might be another season. If so, I won’t be watching.

Maybe I’ll stick to that genre’s books from now on.

What did you guys think?

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mickeyflinn t1_iu06fdk wrote

> What did you guys think?

I found everything about the show to be terrible. I quit after the silly shoot out in Mexico.

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VampireHunterAlex t1_itxc5t2 wrote

Why does this keep happening with shows, especially ones with such high budgets? I read an article the other day from some guy behind GOT, and he said those dark scenes are perfectly fine on his Home Screen, and that there’s just so many variables in type & settings on modern TVs. But you’d think then they would do lighting tests before full production even begins, and have like a master tv room where they can run scenarios on test footage.

This should not be as large of an issue this far into the streaming era.

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SpongeJake OP t1_itxdmmq wrote

I’m sorry, I should have been more specific. I didn’t mean physically dark, I meant mentally. The show was depressing as hell, it really was. Literally almost no joy anywhere in it at all.

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VampireHunterAlex t1_itxfvfa wrote

Oh derp, my bad. I must have just skimmed your post, but my response was already bubbling in my mind and did a sort of mind-warp. I had read the article on lighting the other day, and it was in my mind.

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SpongeJake OP t1_itxi5zk wrote

No worries. But you also raised an interesting point about so many programs out there handle lighting. Sometimes during the day the shows are so dark you can’t even see the characters very well.

And don’t get me started on the mumbling stuff. For some reason a lot of actors mumble their words so lowly and so fast that they’re unintelligible. I find a lot of Prime shows are like that, and so for most of the time I’ve got captioning turned on.

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Prax150 t1_iu06pfm wrote

I too thought they meant literally dark lol. Started watching the first ep with my parents and they didn't want to continue because they couldn't see anything.

In general I think this happens because a lot of shows/movies shoot in the day and put a filter over it to simulate night time. I guess it's cheaper to film that way (don't have to pay people over time, use a bunch of lights, etc). I remember reading about it after Nope came out, which apparently was revolutionary because the cinematographer came up with a new method to film during the day and make the scenes pop a lot more.

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[deleted] t1_itxdhwx wrote

[deleted]

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McZalion t1_itxfxx5 wrote

I mean in his view, it was justified. Some shows just doesn't need lighthearted moments. Glad this show didnt try to pander to all kinds of viewers. First ep already tells u what kind of show this was gonna be just by its dark depressing tone. Imo it was great and 2nd season's kinda been confirmed by Chris pratt but still not yet greelit.

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Impossible_Bed3533 t1_ityjuqy wrote

The show had a different type of humor. The poser guy losing his shit and getting offed without putting up a fight is "funny". Not laugh out loud "haha" funny, but it's humorous.

Some of the banter is funny but it's all very low key and dry humor. I think it works because too much 'actual' humor would kind of ruin some of the heavier and more brutal undertones. I enjoy how they managed to make the story feel really heavy and brutal without being overly gory

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russdb t1_ityg7at wrote

I thought you meant dark emotionally lol

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Sks44 t1_iu133oy wrote

They rip off Wolf the Quarrelsome’s killshot on Brodir of Man.

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