I haven’t been watching much in terms of actual shows for a good while, then while listening to a podcast a host casually mentioned they had rewatched Chernobyl, how it still holds up, that there’s a reason it got as much acclaim as it did, etc. So I thought I’d give it a go and wow, loved it (still one episode left to watch).
Had me thinking, what else have I missed out on? What are some “absolute cinema” TV shows that still hold up and and are considered must watch?
I love me some Sci-Fi but yeah, the fact that it’s Star Wars had me ignoring this one despite all the amazing reviews and hype. Is Andor still enjoyable without having seen anything but the first six movies and the first two of the sequels? I know it’s closely linked with Rogue One and I didn’t watch that either. Still recommendable with that little knowledge of the current expanded universe?
I went in having only seen those movies too, you really don’t even need that much familiarity to enjoy this. Don’t sleep on it, it’s quite good.
I watched Rogue One after I finished Andor and I was pretty disappointed, it’s an alright movie I guess but a huge downgrade from the show IMO.
Interesting, as I thought the opposite. It felt bigger budget and a great extension to the series.
If you have never seen anything related to Star Wars - watch Andor, if you hate Star Wars - watch Andor, if you love Star Wars - watch Andor
I think the only thing you need to know is the Empire are fascists and baddies. They make that pretty clear even if you don’t know that. Imagine a political spy thriller made by someone who doesn’t care about Star Wars lore, because that’s what it is.
If you’re into sci-fi, I hope you’ve seen Babylon 5. The political storylines have never felt more relevant.
Babylon 5 is excellent. The special effects are still pretty decent decades later, but apparently you need to find the right version, because they tried to upscale some of it for HD at one point and completely messed up the effects scenes.
The actors do an amazing job though, and the fact that it’s a cohesive story that was slowly played out over multiple seasons is so rare.
If you know of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, it was a Babylon 5 ripoff. The creator of Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski went to Paramount with his idea and they rejected it. He went to PTEN / Warner Brothers and they made it. DS9 launched just a month before Babylon 5 came out. But, “coincidentally” it took place on a space station next to a wormhole, involved a leader who became a religious figure against their will / knowledge, there’s a fiesty female second officer, an idealistic doctor, a hard-boiled security chief… basically too many things to be coincidental.
Rogue One is also one of the best Star Wars shows of the modern era, and I generally hate prequels, but it and Andor are phenomenal.
Oh yeah that’s more than enough. If anything all you need is A New Hope, but as long as you know the Empire are the bad guys the story is pretty self-contained.
Rogue One takes place immediately after, so watch it next if you like.
You can go in with no prior knowledge if you want. Watch Andor and then Rogue One (narrative order is reverse release order)
I have no clue how Disney let them make it.
I might be wrong, but I’d estimate there are roughly zero mentions of light sabres, force, Jedi etc in Andor.
You’re only slightly off, and the point is well taken that it’s far from the point of the show.
Tap for spoiler
Specifically, there’s the mildly force-sensitive medic on Yavin who gets Bix to believe in something bigger. I think there’s also a few other offhand references.