Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Episodes 1 & 2 Books Included

December 21, 2023 10:38 AM - Season 1, Episode 1

12-year-old demigod Percy Jackson discovers his abilities, gets expelled from school, is hunted by monsters, runs away to Camp Half-Blood, and plays capture-the-flag.

Written by, and based on the series of novels by Rick Riordan.

posted by 1970s Antihero (9 comments total)

Now streaming on Disney+ (and simultaneously on Hulu in the US).
posted by 1970s Antihero at 10:38 AM on December 21, 2023

So good! The casting is excellent and the CGI serviceable, but all the small details (mythomagic cards!) are great. Luke broke my heart immediately, Mr D is perfect and most of all - Sally Jackson. She was so young and exhausted and brave.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 2:11 PM on December 21, 2023

The casting is excellent

Both the adults and the kids are just plowing through all the required clunky exposition like champs.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 2:23 PM on December 21, 2023 [3 favorites]

I can’t see Mr D as any one other than Derrick from The Good Place, which also works as a Dionysius sort of character.
posted by autopilot at 3:03 PM on December 21, 2023 [4 favorites]

So far so good!
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:51 PM on December 22, 2023

Is this a good choice for grownups who haven’t read the books but are generally willing to watch a good fantasy show?
posted by Countess Elena at 12:15 PM on December 24, 2023

I read the first five books, but several years ago. I think so, if you're into watching a 12-year-old come into his own.
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:33 PM on December 24, 2023

This TV series is, so far, much more engaging for me than the movies, which I enjoyed, but which were very clearly movies for kids that I was enjoying at a remove. This show feels like it's pitched to multiple audiences, and I'm loving it. Can't wait for episode three!
posted by cupcakeninja at 12:17 PM on December 25, 2023

An inauspicious start I think. Everything is teal and orange half the time (except for a comically gray skyline to show how dreary the world is), constant rain for dramatic moments, the script is forever too busy explaining the setting and stakes to have any time for characterization, inhuman body parts (Grover's legs) are constantly and conspicuously out of frame, and they can't seem to decide whether the camp is a nice place or just more of the same. Percy wants to disappear and then a moment later he's telling his lost mother that he's got true friends who really like him.
posted by one for the books at 12:39 AM on December 28, 2023