The Strain (FX, Spoilers)

rhett7660 · Aug 28, 2014

Huntn said:
If I was turned into a vampire (against my will of course) the Twilight version would be much better, lol.

Yeah, I agree with that one. I mean in Twilight, they still have all their body parts and can still enjoy, well you know!! A little fooling around in the hay! Stuff isn't falling off and then being flushed down the toilet!

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D.T. said:
So the vamp commandos at the end of the last EP almost looked like an entirely different species, not only because of their sentience, but they had more of a classic Nosferatu appearance (they appeared to have fangs[?]). The leader also said something like [in reference to the housekeepers kid] shes been soiled/fouled, like the other vampires are some kind of offshoot/mutation.

That was a terrific WTF moment, this show has really stepped it up the last few episodes.

Ah, now that you have said it, Nosferatu look is spot on! I mentioned it earlier, I am wondering who and how these characters will play out. Hopefully we get some back story on them also!

Huntn · Aug 28, 2014

rhett7660 said:
Yeah, I agree with that one. I mean in Twilight, they still have all their body parts and can still enjoy, well you know!! A little fooling around in the hay! Stuff isn't falling off and then being flushed down the toilet!

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Ah, now that you have said it, Nosferatu look is spot on! I mentioned it earlier, I am wondering who and how these characters will play out. Hopefully we get some back story on them also!

Lol (for the first part). We are on the same page. The Nosferatu (if that is what they are) really broke this story out.

mscriv · Aug 28, 2014

Reflecting on the "hunters" who showed up at the house I keep coming back to the fact that it was the middle of the day. This makes me think they may not be vampires at all.

rhett7660 · Aug 28, 2014

mscriv said:
Reflecting on the "hunters" who showed up at the house I keep coming back to the fact that it was the middle of the day. This makes me think they may not be vampires at all.

Or vampires that have something special about them. They have me very intrigued.

I also like the fact they are pretty cold when it comes to killing those who might be or who are infected.

MICHAELSD · Aug 28, 2014

The look and feel of episode 6, the "eclipse" episode, was so spot-on that I'd venture to say that this has been my favorite so far. The only issue with it is the eclipse seemed more like it was building up to an ominous "vampires" rise from the shadows into the world scenario yet all we got was one vampire.

While the writing itself is satisfactory, essentially every person on the show is written to be a moron. This show is getting a bit ridiculous in that regard, as much as I'm enjoying it. They're definitely going for convenience of plot over realism. These vampires have been in the nursing homes and streets of NY for heaven's sake... There should be more public exposure. Is Eph just playing dumb by not showing off the vampire footage and the autopsy footage to the FBI, or am I missing something?

Personally, I like the show contained to one creature since the "Nosferatu"

hunting squad seems to be a bit more nonsensical. Realism and believability (as far as horror shows go) is slipping out of the show's grasp but at least the show still leaves me anticipating the next episode. The slow build-up is fine, but the pacing does make me want to binge watch (and I normally pace myself when watching a series).

On the plus-side, there is more substance to the show than the promos led us to believe.

rhett7660 · Aug 28, 2014

MICHAELSD said:
The look and feel of episode 6, the "eclipse" episode, was so spot-on that I'd venture to say that this has been my favorite so far. The only issue with it is the eclipse seemed more like it was building up to an ominous "vampires" rise from the shadows into the world scenario yet all we got was one vampire.

While the writing itself is satisfactory, essentially every person on the show is written to be a moron. This show is getting a bit ridiculous in that regard, as much as I'm enjoying it. They're definitely going for convenience of plot over realism. These vampires have been in the nursing homes and streets of NY for heaven's sake... There should be more public exposure. Is Eph just playing dumb by not showing off the vampire footage and the autopsy footage to the FBI, or am I missing something?

Personally, I like the show contained to one creature since the "Nosferatu" hunting squad seems to be a bit more nonsensical. Realism and believability (as far as horror shows go) is slipping out of the show's grasp but at least the show still leaves me anticipating the next episode. The slow build-up is fine, but the pacing does make me want to binge watch (and I normally pace myself when watching a series).

On the plus-side, there is more substance to the show than the promos led us to believe.

Lets not forget cellular is down and so is the internet. I have only seen one use of the phone and that was a pay phone.

But you are right, there should be more rounding up of forces to come in and assist with the killing of the Vamps. Unless this group is so big that there are plenty of people at the top who are turning a blind eye, have been paid off, or they are vamps already!

MICHAELSD · Aug 29, 2014

Woah, Fringe fans!!!

The Peter Bishop character in the show seems to allude to the fact that Fringe's pilot followed the same premise as The Strain's.

Huntn · Aug 30, 2014

MICHAELSD said:
Woah, Fringe fans!!!

The Peter Bishop character in the show seems to allude to the fact that Fringe's pilot followed the same premise as The Strain's.

I watched a few Fringes and thought it was more like the Xfiles, a variety of stories built around a central theme, but did not watch enough of Fringe to discover what the theme was... Vampires?

D.T. · Aug 30, 2014

Huntn said:
I watched a few Fringes and thought it was more like the Xfiles, a variety of stories built around a central theme, but did not watch enough of Fringe to discover what the theme was... Vampires?

It wasn’t

I’m not sure what he was talking about, unless he meant the Peter-Blishop-like character in The Strain (re: Ephram)?

Fringe had standalone episodes, but there was an over arching story that many meta-normal occurrences are tied together, and that some of the energies involved could be tapped into (and originated from a common source), and eventually a whole idea of a parallel universe being part of this grand plan (explored in depth in later seasons).

I won’t get into any details, but it’s pretty fun, and it definitely heads off in a direction that’s really good scifi and different than the X-Files.

Plus John Noble is simply fantastic as Walter Bishop - a hippy-trippy, crazy (or maybe not!) genius involved in “fringe technology” - Leonard Nimoy also has a pretty major role (in plot impact, though does appear in a small handful of episodes).

MICHAELSD · Aug 30, 2014

I honestly forget which character is Peter Bishop in this show (I think the pilot that gets killed... in the pilot.) but they do mention his name a couple times, and he is of course named after the protagonist of Fringe.

Fringe began as more of a procedural. The pilot episode involved every passenger on a plane dead at the landing. I might be the first to realize this since by Googling I've only seen people mention Peter Bishop as a Fringe nod but not make the connection that they did that because the pilots (and only the pilots) followed a similar story.

"When a commercial flight from Germany lands at Boston's Logan Airport without a single passenger or crew member on board alive, FBI agent Olivia Dunham is assigned to the investigative team."

D.T. · Aug 30, 2014

MICHAELSD said:
I honestly forget which character is Peter Bishop in this show (I think the pilot that gets killed... in the pilot.) but they do mention his name a couple times, and he is of course named after the protagonist of Fringe.

Dude. I did not even notice that, nice pickup if that’s the case.

[edit]

OK, it was Andrew Divoff’s character, who was in some kind of operations at the airport in Episode 1.

D.T. · Aug 31, 2014

MICHAELSD said:
Woah, Fringe fans!!!

The Peter Bishop character in the show seems to allude to the fact that Fringe's pilot followed the same premise as The Strain's.

Huntn said:
I watched a few Fringes and thought it was more like the Xfiles, a variety of stories built around a central theme, but did not watch enough of Fringe to discover what the theme was... Vampires?

BTW, MICHAELSD was totally right, I didnt quite follow what he was saying originally, but he clarified below, i.e., both Pilots EPs featured a downed aircraft with everyone onboard zonked by mysterious circumstances (and the fact a character was named the same as a character in Fringe was a nod/wink).

A+ for MICHAELSD, D- for me

oddnendz · Aug 31, 2014

eternlgladiator said:
I'm just getting near the end of the second of three books for this series. I'd say it'll run three seasons. I don't want to do any spoilers but last weekends episode took less than a handful of pages in the books. I can see how they would drag it out further. What I don't understand is why they deviate from the written version so much if the writers are making the show.

According to the FX president, "..the project will have a limited run spanning three to five seasons. The Strain series, based on del Toro and Chuck Hogans vampire novel trilogy, will produce 39-65 episodes, no less, no more, .

And for those who have read the book, Del Toro has said "... that the initial book can cover a season, and same with the 2010 follow-up The Fall. The Night Eternal, which concluded the series, can be broken up into two seasons, he said. There are also subplots that didnt make the book, and hes leaving room for creative detours that develop in the evolution of the series."

eternlgladiator · Sep 2, 2014

D.T. said:
Since this is a *spoiler* zone Im assuming its OK to discuss this (not book related, thats still a no-no for those of us who havent ready them )...

So the vamp commandos at the end of the last EP almost looked like an entirely different species, not only because of their sentience, but they had more of a classic Nosferatu appearance (they appeared to have fangs[?]). The leader also said something like [in reference to the housekeepers kid] shes been soiled/fouled, like the other vampires are some kind of offshoot/mutation.

That was a terrific WTF moment, this show has really stepped it up the last few episodes.

I don't want to ruin it for you but that character, is called Mr. Quinlan. He's an integral part of all three books. I'll leave it at that since they've deviated so far from the books already which doesn't make sense. You'd think with both writers involved they would just stick to the story but not a bit.

oddnendz said:
According to the FX president, "..the project will have a limited run spanning three to five seasons. The Strain series, based on del Toro and Chuck Hogans vampire novel trilogy, will produce 39-65 episodes, no less, no more, .

And for those who have read the book, Del Toro has said "... that the initial book can cover a season, and same with the 2010 follow-up The Fall. The Night Eternal, which concluded the series, can be broken up into two seasons, he said. There are also subplots that didnt make the book, and hes leaving room for creative detours that develop in the evolution of the series."

At this point they could drag it out endlessly. The last two episodes have been basically nothing in the books. The gas station scene never happens in the books. I almost wish I didn't read them now. It would be less frustrating.

rhett7660 · Sep 2, 2014

eternlgladiator said:
I don't want to ruin it for you but that character, is called Mr. Quinlan. He's an integral part of all three books. I'll leave it at that since they've deviated so far from the books already which doesn't make sense. You'd think with both writers involved they would just stick to the story but not a bit.

At this point they could drag it out endlessly. The last two episodes have been basically nothing in the books. The gas station scene never happens in the books. I almost wish I didn't read them now. It would be less frustrating.

I picked up the hardcover graphic novel at SDCC this year. It is number three or four to read on my current list of items. I hate when the deviate from the story, especially if the story itself is good.

I am still excited to read them though. But I feel your frustration!!!

eternlgladiator · Sep 2, 2014

rhett7660 said:
I picked up the hardcover graphic novel at SDCC this year. It is number three or four to read on my current list of items. I hate when the deviate from the story, especially if the story itself is good.

I am still excited to read them though. But I feel your frustration!!!

I wouldn't rush in. They are fairly easy reading. I can see why adaptations go away from the real story sometimes but this books read like they were written for TV (as I think they were based on my understanding) so I don't get why they went and changed it again. They aren't incredible but what they're are doing with the show just isn't needed. This week's episode was basically devoted to introducing Vasilly Fet (who is a major character) to the group and mentioning the girl who shut down the web (barely mentioned in the book).

MICHAELSD · Sep 3, 2014

Note to self: if this plague happens in real life, reinforce windows with steel and fully surround house with stadium-grade UV lighting along with a battery and generator.

Huntn · Sep 4, 2014

The gas station scene reminded me of a variation of a Walking Dead situation. I love TWD but it would be better if The Strain kept itself differentiated. In the long run, I don't react well to been-there-done-that although I'm still hanging in with this show. I'm liking all of the actors especially Kevin Durand. Sorry to see the Hobbit (Sean Astin) go, but his character was on the mundane side.

D.T. · Sep 4, 2014

MICHAELSD said:
Note to self: if this plague happens in real life, reinforce windows with steel and fully surround house with stadium-grade UV lighting along with a battery and generator.

Wait, you havent done this yet?

Huntn said:
The gas station scene reminded me of a variation of a Walking Dead situation. I love TWD but it would be better if The Strain kept itself differentiated. In the long run, I don't react well to been-there-done-that although I'm still hanging in with this show. I'm liking all of the actors especially Kevin Durand. Sorry to see the Hobbit (Sean Astin) go, but his character was on the mundane side.

Yeah, that was definitely a common horror movie/show type trope: small group of people with diverse backgrounds get trapped in a gas station/mall/etc.

It does create a nice bit of tension (and at least a few of the characters actually talked, disclosed what they know).

The big difference for me is the mindless enemy of TWD vs. there being a ancient, evil, intelligent force in TS.

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eternlgladiator said:
I don't want to ruin it for you but that character, is called Mr. Quinlan.

Yeah, I saw his name in the Wiki article shortly after the episode (so I assumed he was a semi-major character). I also see hes being played by the usually excellent Stephen McHattie.

Huntn · Sep 4, 2014

I'll point out that along with Setrakian, Vasiliy Fet stepped up to the plate (regarding the Hobbit) and did what had to be done. They are no-nonsense pragmatists.

rhett7660 · Sep 9, 2014

I really like the Nazi concentration camp flash back sequences in this series.

I am all caught up. Along with the badass taxi driver who ends up biting the big one, the guy behind the cash register in the gas station is my vote for another idiot of the year award! God, he drove me nuts!

mscriv · Sep 9, 2014

We finally got to see the master this week.

rhett7660 · Sep 9, 2014

mscriv said:
We finally got to see the master this week.

Yes we did! Kind of reminds me of a supped up version of Nosferatu! One thing for sure, these are not your pretty, sparkling in the sunshine vamps!

Huntn · Sep 10, 2014

mscriv said:
We finally got to see the master this week.

Did I miss an episode?? Need to check my DVR and hope that it's available on demand...:-/

mscriv · Sep 10, 2014

Huntn said:
Did I miss an episode?? Need to check my DVR and hope that it's available on demand...:-/

Yeah, it would have been hard to miss what I'm talking about. It was this past week's episode during the final WWII German flashback.

The Strain (FX, Spoilers)

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