Pandora (2019 - ) , Season 2
I talked about season 1 over here. Well, one of TPTB said each season is going to be "different" and they weren't really kidding. They jettisoned almost all of the primary cast, and ditched the majority of the academy stuff. The academy stuff is mostly cover for being spies and on missions and the like.
They did keep Xander, spy undercover as a TA and official love interest now, and Ralan, alien and also a bit of a spy and love interest. Ralen got a little sidetracked by his arranged marriage wife, Matta, who eventually seems to be interested in Jax, or at least okay with Ralen being interested in Jax. I honestly thought for a hot minute there was going to be a poly relationship, or at least an open relationship, but no, Matta gets fridged right as she's getting interesting.
This show is almost like a story prompt generator. There's so much going on that could be an interesting story all on it's own, but it's just all over the map. Characters are recast, which makes it difficult to keep up with who's who.Enemy from season one turns out to be the child of the corporate villain, but also related to Jax, but they never seem to put together that makes one of Jax's exes her aunt. People who are shown to be Super Loyal we later learn have been brainwashed agents who may or may not have given info to the enemy and they didn't even know it. Meanwhile, all of humanity and the other races are facing extinction because they haven't exactly been singing Kumbaya and the All Knowing Aliens are going to destroy us all because reasons.
This is one of those shows where the expression "I didn't say it was good, I said I kinda liked it" applies. No idea if it will get another season, especially after seeing that the rating didn't even register a tenth of a point for the finale. Was up against football on Sunday, and CW isn't as ratings conscious, as they know they're aimed at younger viewers who'll stream later on the app, but still. The finale is listed a 0.0 with a 0 share of the 18-49 age bracket. Oof.
On a related tangent, I've been trying to think of what this show reminds me of, at least stylewise, and I think I've got it. I'm old enough to remember when reading SFF was Serious Bidness, but watching SFF on TV was considered stuff for kids. A lot of SFF on TV in the 70s and 80s were aimed at tween and teen audiences. Not exactly high quality stuff, but back then your only source was broadcast TV and maybe cable if you lived in a bigger city. You didn't have the option to (re)watch stuff via streaming or physical media until about the mid-80s, so you watched every crappy show to get a fix. While Pandora has sex and violence added, a lot of the style reminds me of these older shows which threw in everything but the kitchen sink (oh wait, there goes one of those) with a shoestring budget.
I recently came across one that I was trying to remember from this time period. Earth Star Voyager was a Disney movie from 1988, aired as a Disney Sunday Movie. It was a two-part pilot, but didn't get picked up. I think Duncan Regher being in it was what got me to watch, and a show about climate change leading to Earthers building a generational ship to get to another planet was kind of unusual for a TV show at the time.
As far as I know, Disney has not made it available anywhere, but someone has uploaded a copy to YouTube. I remember quite a few scenes very clearly, so I'm thinking I probably had it on VHS for a time. Most of it is rather hideous looking compared to something produced with a budget larger than most SF movie's catering budget, but I think I could picture it being redone with a tighter storyline and better effects.
They did keep Xander, spy undercover as a TA and official love interest now, and Ralan, alien and also a bit of a spy and love interest. Ralen got a little sidetracked by his arranged marriage wife, Matta, who eventually seems to be interested in Jax, or at least okay with Ralen being interested in Jax. I honestly thought for a hot minute there was going to be a poly relationship, or at least an open relationship, but no, Matta gets fridged right as she's getting interesting.
This show is almost like a story prompt generator. There's so much going on that could be an interesting story all on it's own, but it's just all over the map. Characters are recast, which makes it difficult to keep up with who's who.Enemy from season one turns out to be the child of the corporate villain, but also related to Jax, but they never seem to put together that makes one of Jax's exes her aunt. People who are shown to be Super Loyal we later learn have been brainwashed agents who may or may not have given info to the enemy and they didn't even know it. Meanwhile, all of humanity and the other races are facing extinction because they haven't exactly been singing Kumbaya and the All Knowing Aliens are going to destroy us all because reasons.
This is one of those shows where the expression "I didn't say it was good, I said I kinda liked it" applies. No idea if it will get another season, especially after seeing that the rating didn't even register a tenth of a point for the finale. Was up against football on Sunday, and CW isn't as ratings conscious, as they know they're aimed at younger viewers who'll stream later on the app, but still. The finale is listed a 0.0 with a 0 share of the 18-49 age bracket. Oof.
On a related tangent, I've been trying to think of what this show reminds me of, at least stylewise, and I think I've got it. I'm old enough to remember when reading SFF was Serious Bidness, but watching SFF on TV was considered stuff for kids. A lot of SFF on TV in the 70s and 80s were aimed at tween and teen audiences. Not exactly high quality stuff, but back then your only source was broadcast TV and maybe cable if you lived in a bigger city. You didn't have the option to (re)watch stuff via streaming or physical media until about the mid-80s, so you watched every crappy show to get a fix. While Pandora has sex and violence added, a lot of the style reminds me of these older shows which threw in everything but the kitchen sink (oh wait, there goes one of those) with a shoestring budget.
I recently came across one that I was trying to remember from this time period. Earth Star Voyager was a Disney movie from 1988, aired as a Disney Sunday Movie. It was a two-part pilot, but didn't get picked up. I think Duncan Regher being in it was what got me to watch, and a show about climate change leading to Earthers building a generational ship to get to another planet was kind of unusual for a TV show at the time.
As far as I know, Disney has not made it available anywhere, but someone has uploaded a copy to YouTube. I remember quite a few scenes very clearly, so I'm thinking I probably had it on VHS for a time. Most of it is rather hideous looking compared to something produced with a budget larger than most SF movie's catering budget, but I think I could picture it being redone with a tighter storyline and better effects.
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