Amazing Stories (Apple TV - 2020)

[11Alive]

So has anybody watched this yet? Any opinions? Haven't had time to watch the entire first episode yet, only the titles. Good to see they kept John Williams' classic, exhilarating theme almost unchanged, although I can hear slight differences that tell me it's not the same recording from 35 years ago, and of course the added sound effects. Strange that I don't see his name in the end credits. I understand why they needed to come up with updated imagery for the opening titles, but for me, they'll never replace the old titles, even though the CGI didn't look great even in 1985. Likewise, I'll always have a sweet spot for the old end credits with the view of the neighborhood darkening into night. These new credits are so generic with their black background, and without Williams' music. Those were cozy Sunday nights back then, with the original show followed by the Alfred Hitchcock remake.

 

[11Alive]

Okay, watched the first episode. It wasn't bad. Not great, though. Reminds me a little of Somewhere in Time. But a lot of unexplained stuff. Why did he only travel in the basement? What was the connection with the barometer, other than he saw it in the cellar in 2019? Why was he happier in the past where women's suffrage was still being fought for?

The opening titles are more Twilight Zone-ish than Amazing Stories, especially the way the doors opened, just like the 1950s intro.

 

[Awesome Possum]

It reminded me a lot of what the original show was, just fairly lighthearted stories with some sort of fantastical element. It’s not a groundbreaking story, but I enjoyed it and look forward to seeing more episodes. I grew up watching reruns of the original and it just like seeing an episode I never saw before.

 

[Awesome Possum]

I enjoyed the second episode more.

 

[11Alive]

Can't say that I did. Mostly predictable as a teen black version of Ghost. Figured that would be the case right from the scene with the roadside memorial.

But the impression that I got from these two episodes is that they're padded. They don't tell stories that couldn't be told in half the time.

 

[11Alive]

Five episodes in and it hasn't had any standout episodes yet. Five episodes and already two time travel stories. This is feeling a lot like the early stretch of the original show, when there really wasn't anything to write home about. This fifth ep made very little sense. So the Rift brings people through time to fix some problem, but if it's not fixed in eleven hours, kaboom! Seems like it's done a heck of a lot more harm than good.

And I'm still getting the feeling the scripts are padded. For instance, this one was basically done better as the 30-minute Twilight Zone episode, "The Last Flight," 60 years ago.

 

[TRON JA307020]

It reminded me a lot of what the original show was, just fairly lighthearted stories with some sort of fantastical element. It’s not a groundbreaking story, but I enjoyed it and look forward to seeing more episodes. I grew up watching reruns of the original and it just like seeing an episode I never saw before.

yup. I haven’t seen the new ones yet but the original was lighthearted fantastical stories. Basically fun. If that’s what the new series is like I’m sure I will be a fan of it. Everything today seems so serious and all the characters have to be morally grey in decisions they make. I really miss the story telling if older shows,

 

[Awesome Possum]

yup. I haven’t seen the new ones yet but the original was lighthearted fantastical stories. Basically fun. If that’s what the new series is like I’m sure I will be a fan of it. Everything today seems so serious and all the characters have to be morally grey in decisions they make. I really miss the story telling if older shows,

That's basically what it is. Some of them are heavier emotionally, but that's the kind of story it was telling.

 

[TRON JA307020]

That's basically what it is. Some of them are heavier emotionally, but that's the kind of story it was telling.

cool. I don’t have Apple TV so I’ll have to wait a while to see them but that sounds exactly what I was hoping for.

 

[11Alive]

yup. I haven’t seen the new ones yet but the original was lighthearted fantastical stories. Basically fun. If that’s what the new series is like I’m sure I will be a fan of it. Everything today seems so serious and all the characters have to be morally grey in decisions they make. I really miss the story telling if older shows,

I don't think this is anything like the old series. What you say you don't like in your last sentence is exactly what this is. All serious and morally ambiguous. It has shootings, beatings, deaths, drugs, robbery and a kneecapping, among other things. Only the third episode had anything resembling a lighthearted mood, and even then, all the characters had their own problems to overcome. Virtually all of the characters in the show so far have emotional baggage. If you're looking for anything resembling the original show, this isn't it. I wouldn't call this series fun.

 

[Awesome Possum]

The last episode is great. It's a nice twist on man out of time story. It's the most Spielbergy of the five episodes.

 

[11Alive]

As I wrote, that massive plot hole blew it away for me. The Rift transports people through time to correct some little thing, like saying goodbye to a loved one. But if every little piece isn't sent back to the proper time or that task isn't accomplished, people are killed, even an entire city is destroyed. What kind of compassionate phenomenon is that? Seems very callous and cruel. Help one person but devastate untold tens or hundreds of thousands? How did they know what they know, that things are fine if everything gets sent back? They said that they might have missed something before other catastrophes, like some bolt, but they weren't sure, yet they somehow know it will stop the destruction.

It was E.T.-ish in a couple of respects. First, the fatherless kid who desperately needs help to get over his sense of loss. And the enigmatic government agent, just like Keys (Peter Coyote's character), whom we knew almost nothing about by the end of the movie, except that he cryptically says E.T. came to him, too. But that seems to be normal for this series. Like the aliens in episode 4. Why were they here? What was their mission? Scouts for invasion or simple observers? We'll never know.

I've had to lift my spirits after each episode of this new show by watching an episode of the old. Those were so much more fun, even if they were often lightweight.