TV: Willow (Disney+)

[Jussi]

Agreed, but she’s dead now, so she/it or whatever can’t be the main villain.

Maybe it will be Airk now that he’s evil an all.

I thought they mentioned something about another villain commanding the Crone, but forget who that was.

I thought it was clear The Wyrm is the main villain?

 

[Osprey]

What if it's the actual Val Kilmer that's reading the books and that will be revealed at the end of the show?

I first thought about the use of modern music as puzzling but I got used to it and I have to give credit for the song choices, many I had not even heard before but felt they actually fit in perfectly. And that ending with "Money For Nothing"... *chef's kiss*

I said it before but this really does feel like a modern day version of Xena, Warrior Princess or Hercules but with actual production values. Those shows had plenty of characters who spoke with a variety of English accents, used modern language and definitely didn't take themselves too seriously. Now that didn't stop them from having serious issues with character relationships and plots and I think the same goes with Willow. It's not like Val Kilmer spoke with an English accent in the movie. I must confess to seeing the movie maybe once and not remembering all too much from it.

Relating to the movie, the season finale had a higher rating on IMDB than the movie (7.3 compared to the movie's 7.2). The last three episodes are in that region too.

The better scores for the later episodes don't surprise me. Most people who disliked the show quit after the first few episodes. If you made it to the end, you're likely a fan of the show.

Also, that might be the longest post that I've ever seen you make.

 

[Jussi]

Correction, the season finale has a score of 7.4 on IMDB. Episode 7 has 7.3, episode 6 7.2.

 

[Bounces R Way]

It was alright. Last couple episodes kinda lost me tbh. Just kind of confusing and maybe a little heavy on the magic and the metaphors. Still pretty fun all in all. Seeing Christian Slater made me laugh. Will probably give Season 2 a go.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I thought it was clear The Wyrm is the main villain?

Ya I thought they said thst, but we know little about it and haven’t even seen it, have we?

Trying to remember that dream sequence or whatever when Alora and Kit had to make their choices… was the Wyrm in that?

 

[Jussi]

Ya I thought they said thst, but we know little about it and haven’t even seen it, have we?

Trying to remember that dream sequence or whatever when Alora and Kit had to make their choices… was the Wyrm in that?

I though it was kind of that giant worm thing.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I though it was kind of that giant worm thing.

Was there? I recall some weird thing but can’t remember what it looked like.

Guess it didn’t make a big impression on me.

 

[Fighter]

It was alright. Last couple episodes kinda lost me tbh. Just kind of confusing and maybe a little heavy on the magic and the metaphors. Still pretty fun all in all. Seeing Christian Slater made me laugh. Will probably give Season 2 a go.

Good call on Christian Slater, I actually loved Allagash as a character. Granted I liked Slater since the late 80s, I felt he nailed his interpretation and could definitely see Allagash being Madmartigan sidekick in some adventures. We didn't see him die so I hope to see more of Allagash in another episode down the road.

 

[Jussi]

Good call on Christian Slater, I actually loved Allagash as a character. Granted I liked Slater since the late 80s, I felt he nailed his interpretation and could definitely see Allagash being Madmartigan sidekick in some adventures. We didn't see him die so I hope to see more of Allagash in another episode down the road.

"If Christian Slater is on Disney+, they should change the name to Disney-."

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Not really surprised by this

Movie was cult classic with niche audience so I can't imagine the series was all that popular

 

[Rabid Ranger]

I think Val Kilmer's health/status was a key factor.

 

[Osprey]

This is entirely because the reception was poor. I read somewhere that the data showed that half of viewers who started the first episode quit without finishing it and half of the viewers who did finish it didn't watch the second episode. That means that only 25% of viewers made it past even the first episode. When I read that, I had a feeling that it was dead on arrival. Shows are often renewed based on the reception of the first few episodes (see: House of the Dragon). The audience may be somewhat niche, but so was the fanbase of George R.R. Martin's fantasy novels when Game of Thrones debuted. If this show had been a lot better, understood its audience and captured the magic of the movie, it would've been more popular with Willow fans and made new ones, especially as word got out.

‘Willow’ Cancelled On Disney Plus Because It Abandoned What Made The Original Film Great [Update: Maybe Not?]

Willow has been cancelled. As much as I hated it, I'm still bummed out that we never got a true sequel to the 1988 classic fantasy film.

www.forbes.com

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

I mean I watched the whole season. I liked it but didn't really talk about it with my friends/family so I may have contributed to that statistic. Sorry.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I liked the show well enough.

I feel like the Christian Slater stuff jumped the shark, even if it was only season 1.

I didn’t really see a character, I just saw Christian Slater being bad at acting and thinking I could do this acting thing if that’s all it took.

Without Madmartigan, it never really stood a chance with the original fans of the movie IMHO.

 

[Jussi]

I liked the show well enough.

I feel like the Christian Slater stuff jumped the shark, even if it was only season 1.

I didn’t really see a character, I just saw Christian Slater being bad at acting and thinking I could do this acting thing if that’s all it took.

Without Madmartigan, it never really stood a chance with the original fans of the movie IMHO.

Warwick Davis WAS right about Slater. Disney+ became Disney-, sort of.

Shame it doesn't get the remaining two volumes, the last 3 episodes really got me into it. Episodes were long and the last two were visually great.

 

[Osprey]

Without Madmartigan, it never really stood a chance with the original fans of the movie IMHO.

I've read a lot of critical reviews and comments on the show and the lack of Madmartigan barely even gets mentioned. For example, the article that I linked above lists some of the common complaints and he's not even mentioned. I'm a fan of the movie, myself, and no Madmartigan doesn't even register on my list of things wrong with the show. I think that most fans agree that the character of Willow is what makes the franchise and would've been on board even if he were the only one returning, so long as the series felt faithful.

 

[Jussi]

I've read a lot of critical reviews and comments on the show and the lack of Madmartigan barely even gets mentioned. For example, the article that I linked above lists some of the common complaints and he's not even mentioned. I'm a fan of the movie, myself, and no Madmartigan doesn't even register on my list of things wrong with the show. I think that most fans agree that the character of Willow is what makes the franchise and would've been on board even if he were the only one returning, so long as the series felt faithful.

I saw the movie once and barely remember anything. I enjoyed the show A LOT more and some stuff was very memorable. Especially this scene:

 

[I am not exposed]

This is entirely because the reception was poor. I read somewhere that the data showed that half of viewers who started the first episode quit without finishing it and half of the viewers who did finish it didn't watch the second episode. That means that only 25% of viewers made it past even the first episode. When I read that, I had a feeling that it was dead on arrival. Shows are often renewed based on the reception of the first few episodes (see: House of the Dragon). The audience may be somewhat niche, but so was the fanbase of George R.R. Martin's fantasy novels when Game of Thrones debuted. If this show had been a lot better, understood its audience and captured the magic of the movie, it would've been more popular with Willow fans and made new ones, especially as word got out.

‘Willow’ Cancelled On Disney Plus Because It Abandoned What Made The Original Film Great [Update: Maybe Not?]

Willow has been cancelled. As much as I hated it, I'm still bummed out that we never got a true sequel to the 1988 classic fantasy film.

www.forbes.com

I somehow made it to the 5th episode, which is quite surprising as it was a poor show with just a few highs. Still, that is further than I made it for Rings of Power and Wheel of Time! lol

 

[Osprey]

I saw the movie once and barely remember anything. I enjoyed the show A LOT more and some stuff was very memorable. Especially this scene:

I hadn't watched it in 20 years and barely remembered anything, but the memories came back and I loved it when I re-watched it just prior to the show starting. Not remembering anything after a decade or two or three doesn't mean that you didn't enjoy it back then and, naturally, the show will be more memorable to you because you watched it only 2 months ago.

I somehow made it to the 5th episode, which is quite surprising as it was a poor show with just a few highs. Still, that is further than I made it for Rings of Power and Wheel of Time! lol

I made it through the 3rd episode before Christmas vacation and haven't gotten back to it. I just find it so cringey. This news is giving me some motivation to get through it, though.

 

[I am not exposed]

I hadn't watched it in 20 years and barely remembered anything, but the memories came back and I loved it when I re-watched it just prior to the show starting. Not remembering anything after a decade or two or three doesn't mean that you didn't enjoy it back then and, naturally, the show will be more memorable to you because you watched it only 2 months ago.

I made it through the 3rd episode before Christmas vacation and haven't gotten back to it. I just find it so cringey. This news is giving me some motivation to get through it, though.

I don't know how I made it to the 5th episode. It didn't get any better. The shine of seeing the original characters soon wore off. I wanted to like the new characters, and I think Boorman had potential/some decent lines, but most of the time I found the script very cringeworthy. Elora is so annoying I was starting to wish Queen Sorsha had killed her as a baby!

I also hate the inclusion of modern music/upbeat rock tracks in a lot of TV shows. It completely takes me out of the moment. It seems to becoming more commonplace as well. With a fantasy show, I prefer fantasy type of music. For a WW1 piece, I want more appropriate music played, not AC/DC Back In Black etc.

 

[Jussi]

I don't know how I made it to the 5th episode. It didn't get any better. The shine of seeing the original characters soon wore off. I wanted to like the new characters, and I think Boorman had potential/some decent lines, but most of the time I found the script very cringeworthy. Elora is so annoying I was starting to wish Queen Sorsha had killed her as a baby!

I also hate the inclusion of modern music/upbeat rock tracks in a lot of TV shows. It completely takes me out of the moment. It seems to becoming more commonplace as well. With a fantasy show, I prefer fantasy type of music. For a WW1 piece, I want more appropriate music played, not AC/DC Back In Black etc.

It got a lot better.

 

[NyQuil]

I watched it but I won't say that I'll miss it.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I've read a lot of critical reviews and comments on the show and the lack of Madmartigan barely even gets mentioned. For example, the article that I linked above lists some of the common complaints and he's not even mentioned. I'm a fan of the movie, myself, and no Madmartigan doesn't even register on my list of things wrong with the show. I think that most fans agree that the character of Willow is what makes the franchise and would've been on board even if he were the only one returning, so long as the series felt faithful.

I was a kid when it came out and Willow was just this boring guy that waved a stick around and wasn’t very exciting.

He didn’t exactly move well or do exciting things, he wasn’t very funny or witty either.

He was basically a clumsy sorcerer’s apprentice that didn’t do anything particularly cool.

My bro, friends and I were big Madmartigan fans. He was the sword fighter, the guy with charisma, the guy that got the girl, etc.

We wanted to be him, not boring Willow.

I don’t see how you can build a series around Willow himself, and apparently you can’t.

I suspect if Val Kilmer was in good health ala Tom Cruise, and he reprised his role, it would have been an entirely different show.

“We can’t get Val… but how about… Christian Slater!”

Someone actually got paid to approve that idea.

 

[Osprey]

I was a kid when it came out and Willow was just this boring guy that waved a stick around and wasn’t very exciting.

He didn’t exactly move well or do exciting things, he wasn’t very funny or witty either.

He was basically a clumsy sorcerer’s apprentice that didn’t do anything particularly cool.

My bro, friends and I were big Madmartigan fans. He was the sword fighter, the guy with charisma, they guy that got the girl, etc.

We wanted to be him, not boring Willow.

I don’t see how you can build a series around Willow himself, and apparently you can’t.

I suspect if Val Kilmer was in good health ala Tom Cruise, and he reprised his role, it would have been an entirely different show.

“We can’t get Val… but how about… Christian Slater!”

Someone actually got paid to approve that idea.

I see where you're coming from. That said, Willow is basically Frodo and Madmartigan is Strider/Aragorn (and baby Elora is the One Ring). Young boys may be more drawn to Aragorn, but that doesn't mean that you couldn't build a story without him and around the "boring" hobbit, instead. In fact, that's essentially what The Hobbit is. Like Frodo/Bilbo, Willow is the main character of the movie and it's his journey (both physical and mental) that's at the center of it. Madmartigan is in it largely to make Willow look better and push the message of the movie (that size, skill and bravado don't make you a hero). In that way, he is rather important to the movie, but I wouldn't say that he's really necessary for a sequel, especially since he changed in the movie and couldn't really serve the same purpose again.

For that matter, I suppose that Willow couldn't serve the same purpose, either, since he grew a lot, too. That may be the real stumbling block when it comes to making a sequel. You may've felt that Willow was boring, but I think that most people fell in love with him because he was a relatable, sympathetic nobody caught up in an adventure against his will. By the end of the movie, though, he was confident and had learned magic, so where do you go from there? I imagine that the franchise was dormant for over 30 years because even George Lucas didn't have a good idea for a sequel, and the writers of this show seemingly didn't, either. If they had had a good idea, I think that they could've made a good show without Madmartigan. Since they didn't, I don't think that including Madmartigan would've saved it.

 

[Jussi]

I was a kid when it came out and Willow was just this boring guy that waved a stick around and wasn’t very exciting.

He didn’t exactly move well or do exciting things, he wasn’t very funny or witty either.

He was basically a clumsy sorcerer’s apprentice that didn’t do anything particularly cool.

My bro, friends and I were big Madmartigan fans. He was the sword fighter, the guy with charisma, the guy that got the girl, etc.

We wanted to be him, not boring Willow.

I don’t see how you can build a series around Willow himself, and apparently you can’t.

I suspect if Val Kilmer was in good health ala Tom Cruise, and he reprised his role, it would have been an entirely different show.

“We can’t get Val… but how about… Christian Slater!”

Someone actually got paid to approve that idea.

To be fair, he was only in one episode.