Who is watching the Watchmen?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I streamed the first two episodes of Watchmen earlier tonight and it wasn't bad, but I do wonder where they are going with it, especially the creepy Dr. Manhattan subplot. The "Redfordations" was cute, and in case anyone has only seen the movie. Robert Redford was mentioned in the original comic as possibly running for President in 1988, more as a way critiquing another actor with the initials RR who ran for President in the real-life 1980's.

[You are responsible]

Watched it too... I think I liked it, although it's definitely on the upper side of the weirdness scale and certainly more bizarre than the original graphic novel/movie. I enjoy its zaniness so far, although I'm unsure how mass-compatible this is with regards to its long-term viability, because it's certainly not everyone's kind of show.

I'm also waiting for the inevitable "this is far-left, anti-Trump Hollywood propaganda trash" accusations from the right, although particularly in its second episode I also observed some satire of excessive political correctness, for instance the lenghty and overly comprehensive "viewer discretion is advised" segment attached to the "Hooded Justice" film they've watched on TV. So, in a way this a reality where right-wingers tend to be more right-wing and left-wingers tend to be more left-wing than in RL leading to even worse relations between the two than in our world. I guess it's basically meant as an overall satire of the current state of U.S. politics, with the deeper polarization between the political camps being a result of 20 years of Richard Nixon as president followed by 30 years of Robert Redford as president (instead of just eight years of GWB followed by eight years of Obama).

Notable cameo in the second episode: Real-life Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. playing an alternate-reality version of himself serving as Robert Redford's Secretary of the Treasury in the Watchmen universe. Maybe that Redford cameo will eventually happen after all, although creator Damon Lindelof has recently stated that he won't appear on the show (well, not in its 1st season anyway).

[Ban my account ffs!]

You should be asking...who are the watchmen running and are they on your side?

But no, I’m not watching much for TV shows anymore.  Trying to be as thoughtful and helpless as needed to counter the lot of you is too much TV.

[Robert California]

Wonderful thread title. I have been watching, and was hoping for a thread like this.

I was very thrown by the left-wing semi-dystopia the country is now in, particularly because the issues at play barely registered in the original comic. That said, it is definitely a very “current” subject to focus on. While I am surprised to not hear public uproar from the easily-triggered, I feel like the portrayal of, say, police violence and interrogation biometrics is meant to show that, no, this is not an ideal universe and I’d subject to the excesses we might expect. And that’s a very interesting angle, particularly if you consider that HBO is probably aware of having a liberal audience’s expectations you upset.

My biggest, eh, “critique” would probably be it’s being named “Watchmen”; the plot thus far feels too “niche” for it to inherit the title, no strings attached.

All around positive so far, but very curious to see if it pans out satisfactorily.

[Orser67]

I've only watched a couple episodes, but I like it so far and am looking forward to seeing where it goes. What I appreciate most is that it seems to take a more nuanced view on political issues than I had expected given that the main antagonists so far are white supremacists.

[dotard]

I’m really enjoying it but I wanted someone who’s never read the book’s take on it. Everyone I know irl who’s watching it has. Can you decipher what’s going on? I think you‘d pretty much be able to get everything but Veidt and the squids.

[DINGO Joe]

Yeah, this guy

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=342724.0

I saw the first episode and hope to get caught up now that I'm on vacation.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I enjoyed the way they made use of the brick joke in the latest episode. Advanced both the current story and provided some backstory in an entertaining way.

[Robert California]

Couple episodes since people posted, and boy things are heating up! Wanted to get your thoughts.