Between: Season 1 (All Episodes)
August 9, 2016 9:36 PM - Season 1 (Full Season) - Subscribe
In this Netflix original series, a small Canadian town faces a plague that kills everyone over the age of 21.
Okay, it's been awhile since I watched it, but there's still one thing that still annoys the ever-loving-fuck out of me.
Why is there a farm in this small Canadian town that has tigers? What the hell? Why is that only a five-minute piece of unnecessary dread in the larger more boring and badly written plot? Why does no one go "Hey, y'know, I heard a story that there are tigers out on that farm past Old Man McGinty's house."? Why don't the tigers come into town and start causing trouble? Wouldn't that be more exciting?
Like, I was going along with it, I was amused by it, I was interested in some of the aspects of it, but I wasn't really into it. Then suddenly it's "small child tries to feed tigers" and I'm like "What. What. What the fuck is this. I can't even deal with it right now."
posted by Katemonkey at 6:59 AM on August 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Why is there a farm in this small Canadian town that has tigers? What the hell? Why is that only a five-minute piece of unnecessary dread in the larger more boring and badly written plot? Why does no one go "Hey, y'know, I heard a story that there are tigers out on that farm past Old Man McGinty's house."? Why don't the tigers come into town and start causing trouble? Wouldn't that be more exciting?
Like, I was going along with it, I was amused by it, I was interested in some of the aspects of it, but I wasn't really into it. Then suddenly it's "small child tries to feed tigers" and I'm like "What. What. What the fuck is this. I can't even deal with it right now."
posted by Katemonkey at 6:59 AM on August 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Some of the dialogue is so cringe worthy. A bunch of times I was like "That is IT. I am done." Unfortunately when it came out, I had the flu and this show was about at the right mental level for me with the flu so I did watch the whole first season. Personally, I was shocked when I found out a second season had been ordered. I thought I was the only one who made it through the entire thing.
posted by miss-lapin at 7:45 AM on August 10, 2016
posted by miss-lapin at 7:45 AM on August 10, 2016
Hah. I'm surprised anybody else watched this thing. I managed to get through it out of morbid fascination, although I have yet to finish S2. (The medical technobabble lost me. You'll know which, if/when you see it.)
Thoughts:
* This is maybe the most paranoid teen dystopian sci-fi that I've personally watched.
Adults being useless is a genre staple. I'd happily argue it's a necessary genre staple: if adults are handling everything, there's less room for teen/child heroes. This is grating in something like The 100, where an otherwise stellar program makes me wonder how some of the adults even made it to adulthood.
Between makes the government the villain outright, not only willing to just murder the children in the very least efficient way possible, but somehow willing to sacrifice a bunch of soldiers that most emphatically did not need to die to do it. It's the teen dystopian equivalent of conspiracy theories about black helicopters or something, completely leaving aside human motivations, logistics or how the scenario would look on the outside in order to depict the government as faceless unrelenting evil. *Really* rubbed me the wrong way.
* Like the tiger, the bar letting kids drink was something I did not expect to see.
I'll give them this, that was some inspired WTFery. That plot point and the jerkass rich teen tying the diabetic kid up in the public square were probably the closest times this got to actually hitting the Lord of the Flies feel that they seemed to be looking for.
At any rate... yeah. This was absolutely horrible, but I guess it was 'fascinating trainwreck' horrible instead of 'boring' horrible.
posted by mordax at 8:44 AM on August 10, 2016
Thoughts:
* This is maybe the most paranoid teen dystopian sci-fi that I've personally watched.
Adults being useless is a genre staple. I'd happily argue it's a necessary genre staple: if adults are handling everything, there's less room for teen/child heroes. This is grating in something like The 100, where an otherwise stellar program makes me wonder how some of the adults even made it to adulthood.
Between makes the government the villain outright, not only willing to just murder the children in the very least efficient way possible, but somehow willing to sacrifice a bunch of soldiers that most emphatically did not need to die to do it. It's the teen dystopian equivalent of conspiracy theories about black helicopters or something, completely leaving aside human motivations, logistics or how the scenario would look on the outside in order to depict the government as faceless unrelenting evil. *Really* rubbed me the wrong way.
* Like the tiger, the bar letting kids drink was something I did not expect to see.
I'll give them this, that was some inspired WTFery. That plot point and the jerkass rich teen tying the diabetic kid up in the public square were probably the closest times this got to actually hitting the Lord of the Flies feel that they seemed to be looking for.
At any rate... yeah. This was absolutely horrible, but I guess it was 'fascinating trainwreck' horrible instead of 'boring' horrible.
posted by mordax at 8:44 AM on August 10, 2016
Oh, should've waited five minutes to hit post:
For contrast: the recently aired one-off Containment was much more sensible about telling a similar outbreak/restricted zone story, but was also pretty dull.
posted by mordax at 8:49 AM on August 10, 2016
For contrast: the recently aired one-off Containment was much more sensible about telling a similar outbreak/restricted zone story, but was also pretty dull.
posted by mordax at 8:49 AM on August 10, 2016
My impression of Chuck:
Someone cut off an old lady's finger... Ronnie has to pay.
Someone set the grocery on fire... Ronnie has to pay.
Lana has been murdered... Ronnie has to pay.
Amanda is dead... Ronnie has to pay.
This pork chop has turned... Ronnie has to pay.
I cannot believe you beat me at checkers... Ronnie has to pay.
I am concerned this mole is melanoma... Ronnie has to pay.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:09 AM on August 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
Someone cut off an old lady's finger... Ronnie has to pay.
Someone set the grocery on fire... Ronnie has to pay.
Lana has been murdered... Ronnie has to pay.
Amanda is dead... Ronnie has to pay.
This pork chop has turned... Ronnie has to pay.
I cannot believe you beat me at checkers... Ronnie has to pay.
I am concerned this mole is melanoma... Ronnie has to pay.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:09 AM on August 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
I have not gotten to season 2, but I kind of hope they're going the legit mental illness route with Ronnie, not just "drugs make you crazy, yo." I actually have a paranoid schizophrenic cousin in my family, who was a brought, likable young man studying archaeology until he went off on a dig to Greece and didn't really come back, if you know what I mean.
Considering the age of onset is typically 18-25, this could be a very solid storyline.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:16 AM on August 10, 2016
Considering the age of onset is typically 18-25, this could be a very solid storyline.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:16 AM on August 10, 2016
The writing on Gord is the worst on the show. He just blows with the wind.
Although Chuck isn't handled much better, what with the "I realize now I was puffing myself into a leader I'm really not and creating most of the town's worst problems" speech followed a half day later by "I AM THE LORD OF THIS TOWN AND I DEMAND AN EXECUTION."
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:17 AM on August 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Although Chuck isn't handled much better, what with the "I realize now I was puffing myself into a leader I'm really not and creating most of the town's worst problems" speech followed a half day later by "I AM THE LORD OF THIS TOWN AND I DEMAND AN EXECUTION."
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:17 AM on August 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
What kind of horseshit town name is "Pretty Lake"?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:26 AM on August 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:26 AM on August 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
"They're literally murdering a child every 15-45 seconds, but maybe we should stop and talk about this, maybe go over the plan one more time and take some suggestions on how it could be improved."
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:29 AM on August 10, 2016
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:29 AM on August 10, 2016
DirtyOldTown: ll say that this basically plays like the less stupid parts of Under the Dome crossed with the dumber parts of The Walking Dead
mordax: This is maybe the most paranoid teen dystopian sci-fi that I've personally watched.
Between looks like a Canadian version of the New Zealand cult television series The Tribe ... but with smart phones? The Tribe is on YouTube, split in two parts per episode.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:46 AM on August 11, 2016
mordax: This is maybe the most paranoid teen dystopian sci-fi that I've personally watched.
Between looks like a Canadian version of the New Zealand cult television series The Tribe ... but with smart phones? The Tribe is on YouTube, split in two parts per episode.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:46 AM on August 11, 2016
Oooh. I was taking a short day today anyway. Hahaha. Thanks, filthy light thief!
posted by mordax at 12:42 PM on August 11, 2016
posted by mordax at 12:42 PM on August 11, 2016
I'm distracted by things not television, but even just with the pilot down? The Tribe is *way* more interesting than Between.
(Between really does feel like a dumber teen version of Containment, IMO.)
posted by mordax at 2:10 PM on August 11, 2016
(Between really does feel like a dumber teen version of Containment, IMO.)
posted by mordax at 2:10 PM on August 11, 2016
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posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:38 PM on August 9, 2016 [1 favorite]