is pretty bad for a new tv series
This is one of those shows that got better as it went along. I just finished watching the third season and I'm itching for more. The series started off kind of average, it had enough to keep me watching but it was lacking. There was way too many sex scenes that I felt just served as filler. The actors hadn't gotten into the characters yet and it really showed. I also felt the writing was a little all over the place in terms of quality but it improved by season two. By season three, each episode had me wanting the next. The characters have "character" and there's no holding back to make the show "family friendly" like most other fantasy series. I might try and pick up the novel to hold me over till the next season airs as I've heard it's a bit different and I'm interested.
Beyond its absurd storylines, tongue in cheek writing and teen drama. I'm addicted to this show. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone because I think it's a love it or want to kill yourself show and I don't want any blood on my hands.
This may have been my favorite show I ever watched in my whole life. If anyone knows of a show that is similar to this one is let me know, I have not been able to find anything like it and I'm going through withdrawals....BAD
[Note: This review is being written prior to the release of Season 4, for anyone who comes across it in the future. I don't know how the series will go from here, but this is my thoughts as of the end of Season 3.]
Until recently, Buffy had always topped my list of favourite shows. It was clever, fun, and maintained its plot well from episode to episode. I'm glad, though, that TV and movies seem to be growing as time goes on, able to talk about dark themes and being even more serial in nature.
So, when I came across The Magicians (and also American Gods, which I really hope pays off its potential), it quickly found its way into being my favourite show (well, maybe next to Kamen Rider but that's extremely niche). Not afraid to broach some truly dark subject matter (child molestation, rape, intense violence), while still maintaining the whimsy and charm that is common with the genre (a la Buffy). I was, and am, thoroughly impressed by the series.
As the series has gone on, the characters have become more likeable (particularly given that most of them start out as self-centered douchebags, but with enough character that it can be seen that there's really more to them than that). Even minor characters like Fen and Josh have thoughtful character arcs.
(Spoilers ahead, but kept mostly vague, for a more detailed exploration of why I love the series.)
The series can be a bit juvenile at time (plenty of sexualized jokes, such as the need to... imbibe a God's "bestowal", aka semen, to gain power), but I find it's handled reaasonably, though not necessarily tastefully. Still, I've never been one to mind a joke made in bad taste. On the flip side, it wholly delves into truly dark subject matter, not shying away from depicting a graphic rape (with literally all everything it can manage to do without nudity or actual depictions of sex), or making the audience sit through a truly uncomfortable build up to a boy being molested.
And the audience should be uncomfortable, these are uncomfortable topics, and the audience should be forced to feel even a fraction of the pain that the people in these sorts of situations have to feel, so that we can begin to empathize with how horrible they are.
Also, a later storyline sees a character rewarded and praised for accepting bestiality, due to the consideration that the animals involved are capable of speech, and thus intelligence and consent. I love this because the show doesn't just write off something complicated as 'taboo' and call it gross, it genuinely considers why something should be considered wrong, and doesn't demonize something just for being 'distasteful' by social standards. I wholly agree that while I'd never go "horse riding" myself, it's not really my place to decide it's wrong if the horse can give consent.
(Spoilers ended.)
The show has its flaws and cracks, but ultimately, nothing is flawless, but I say perfection is subjective; and this is as close to perfect, for me, as I've ever seen a show get.
This show started off a bit slow I thought, and reminded me in no small way of the Chronicle of Narnia books I read as a kid, with a modern twist. Another one of those, I thought. Great. I put this show aside for awhile, and only recently came back to it again when the new season released. I've found myself starting to care about the characters a bit more. There must be some new writing talent behind it, but it feels more like the same writers have begun to find their way. This show... this show turns me on. In a way I can't quite put my finger on, it's kinda sexy. It's fulfilling in a way that a B-movie can be entertaining on the right night and in the right company.
WOW, this was fantastic! Just finished season 1, and hooked since episode 1.
This is probably my favorite show. It has everything in it and it ended beautifully. Don't even think about missing this one.
I read all the books and agree its off putting, though it makes sense to change it up a bit like the movies do with books. It does gets better each season. It also explains why their story is different, doesnt leave you with a confused unexplained story. I hope they don't stay canceled.
Love The Magicians ... illusions as well people working together . Really a show I can watch over and over again to see what I may have missed the last time . Glad to see what is to come in season 4&5.
I am so hooked on this series I would give anything to see what's going to happen in the next saison
It's awesome, never disappoints !!
Started out this series without good hope of it being something great, and the first episode at first confirmed this by being boring and rather anticlimactic, same goes for the second episode.
However, I didn't say that I started out the series this way, as oh boy was I wrong about this series.
As the first season moved forward, it became great, as great that I would classify certain moments as truly scary.
To not spoil anything, if you like the wizardry Harry Potter world style, I would advice skipping this series.
Yet, if you are like me and like magicians, like the ones tricking you in real life, or if you have an interest in the more occult part of our world(also like me), this is a highly recommended series.
If you need to compare it to something, it is probably best compare this to Grimm TV series but instead of being focused on the Grimms' Fairy Tales, it is focused on magic.
Currently I am only at season 2, so maybe it will get less as I watch even further, but for now, I love it. :)
its gets better as the episodes move on, i really enjoy it!
Saucy and Magic excellent show!
Despite a slow start. Just a few seasons later this is proving to be a great show.
After the conclusion of season 4, I don't know if I'll make it through season 5 once it's out.
I have to say that the show really picked up for me around mid-season 3 although I liked it before then. It's always been so unexpectedly dark and I really grew to like most of the characters. I just don't know if their justification for the season 4 finale is something I can get behind.
That being said, I know I'll be watching and waiting until I watch a few episodes of season 5 before writing it off. Maybe the writers/producers/etc can prove me wrong.
Really funny and well done, light hearted and dark... (sometimes I would have cut some dialogue...)
Really liking this show, hope the plot keeps developing.
This will forever be one of my favorite shows. It starts off kinda of average - whenever I recommend it to anyone I always advise pushing through season one because it gets 5x better, and continually gets better with each season. The only exception is season 5, but it's still good comparatively. Be prepared to cry in the later seasons lol.
Excellent show. Good plot well acted and interesting characters. :thumbsup:
Is it returning or ended? I keep getting notifications back and forth.
One of my favorite tv shows
Hi, given that the series was simply canceled (even though I don’t understand the reason at all as the series is top....????), without spoiler given that I didn’t start watching the final season for the same reason, Do I still have to watch it even because I can’t make up my mind as I have so many series & animes to follow or start..... , thank you? Voilà, @+
Musical episodes are awesome love them
The first episodes seem to rush though the initial parts of the story. Haven't read the books, but in my view there are many story gaps.
Later the series will be quite nice and interesting but will keep featuring kind of a trashy style.
I thought Season 1 was pretty OK, 2 was good, then 3 and 4 just kinda took off with the last half of 3 and all of 4 being completely amazing. I'm glad I saved up all of 4 to watch one a day.
it's amazing shows, i watching all series and waiting 4 season
FOR ONCE THE SHOW IS BETTER THAN THE BOOKS!
Watched the full season. A truly disappointed piece of work. Illogical and not at a least entertaining.
I couldn't get enough of the books but this first episode was incredibly off-putting. I was really disappointed. I will check out the second episode but I don't have high hopes.
Something from a subsidiary of a subsidiary of ABC, The Magicians. Yay. Can’t quite pinpoint the target demographic, definitely not ‘adult over 18’. Seems to be somewhere between grade school level and early high-school. While it airs on the SyFy network, it would be more at home as a member of The CW stable of forgettable tweenster titles.
If a production targeted at that age range, and, the term ‘Very-CW’ sounds appealing, you’ll love it… ;-)
The Magicians is the nerdiest, geekiest show I've seen in a very long time - which is appropriate for a show whose primary audience are nerds and geeks. The show is in essence a spiritual successor to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and not like some people want you to believe, to Harry Potter) and it has the same atmosphere of fun and quirkyness paired with soul-crushing drama.
Admittedly the plotlines take a few liberties here and there, which I guess can be explained away with "It's magic!", but that is not really what makes the show worth watching. It's the characters that grow so close to your heart that every re-watch of this show is like getting back together to hang out with your best friends. The characters and their developments in this show are truly phenomenal and each one is unique in their own way. It's truly rewarding every time to watch these people go through their lives.
Altogether all five seasons of this show are absolutely worth watching. They all tell more or less self-contained storylines (with some overarching plots here and there, especially between S1+2), and the show has a very nice, satisfying conclusion. The absolute highlight of the show is S3 though, which has one of the best segments I've ever seen in a TV show (Harriet's story... you'll know it when you see it).
I love it! Fantastic!
I'm so excited To season 2!
This is a show I've watched 4 and 1/3 episodes of. I stopped 20 minutes into the 5th episodes because I realized I just didn't really care. I often think about shows that seem to be hindered by their network. It's what makes the CW all but unwatchable to me. With Syfy, I feel like you can feel the "nerdgasm" someone has in getting to create their "Harry Potter BUT FOR ADULTS!" show, that seems like a shallow nerd conception of the word "adult." Maybe it will help to describe in context with other Syfy shows. You can watch "Dark Matter" and think, "it's not Firefly, but the creators clearly loved Firefly and even tried to recycle an outfit." You can look at "The Expanse" and feel like it's a less epic "Battlestar Galactica" with a story line feeling complicated and hurried more than necessarily progressing. Maybe the term I'm looking for is "overwrought."
When a show starts to feel gimmicky, even fairly adequate actors start to feel hokey. The drama is supposed to come from your investment in them, not the "fantastic magical scenario!" meant to invigorate you like it might a child. Different cliches take over instead of someone's portrayal naturally playing into a mystique. "The wise old crazy-looking mentor" or course comes in to train the pupil who doesn't want his help but can't control his powers. A story told a million times, but with better dialogue and camerawork. The brainiac who shoots too high and gets burned. The aloof sort of overseer/guide. The seemingly authoritarian and know-how principal, yet this one never seems to find his teeth.
It could develop into something cool. The hedge witches with this outlaw style and shitty behavior could do more than pop in and out stealing things and being a marginal nuisance, but I don't think the show will think that deeply about them. Relationships could exist for more than two 3 minutes shots of intimacy before blowing up as if we're really that invested already or understand some complex array of discussions had off screen. The main character who never seems to have a personality unless it's being directed or fucked with by someone else around him gets exhausting looking for opportunities to really root for him.
This feels like another attempt at "capitalize on the fervor." Adults are loud and proud about how they grew up with Harry Potter, so make a magic show! And if you're particularly or easily entertained by magic-looking effects and immerse yourself in superficial lore, you'll probably love this show. If you watch too much tv and are thinking about how to spend another 45 minutes of your time, all the biting, cringy, increasingly loud tv-esc problems that come with a 6-7/10 type show start to wear on you when you don't really care about magic-stuff in particular. If there's Harry vs Voldemort on one end and vampires vs wolves on the other, this lies somewhere between in how much you're going to care when one of the characters "get caught up in something SUPER DANGEROUS."
To its credit, it does try to layer in different character's problems on top of a general threat and it doesn't leave anyone too far behind. It's just...not all there for me.
After terrible season 3...season 4 makes up for its. Amazing season so far.
I gave this show a solid change. I watched season 1 hoping things will improve. Then I watched the 1st episode of season 2 and I just dropped it.
I just don't care about any of the characters and the dialogue is so fucking bad. No matter how much I love magic related shows, I can't watch it anymore.
The show is not bad, however if you have read the books you cannot help feeling betrayed. The story is rewritten, the characters shifted, and overall the mood is different.
It could have been the epic "Harry Potter meets Narnia, with drugs & sex" we were hopping for, but sadly it is just entertaining.
I really like the show, even though the main character sounds like he is always freezing...
I'm sorry but you won't be able to ignore that fact from now on :D
The premise is interesting and the plots have some strength, but I have to ask if the "F" word is required for every other line of the script?
I saw the trailer a month ago and I was really enthusiastic about this show (always up for anything close to the Harry Potter universe) but if you're expecting the same thing as i did, turn back ang fly away 'cause this show incredibly bad. And I know what I'm talking about since I'm studying cinema and that i'm specialized in tv shows. Complete waste of time to me. But if you're into teen shows with stereotyped characters and bad special effects then you just found a match.
This show was pretty good, till they went full on preach at their audience woke. Then it lost me.
Great concept, actors are sweet too. I had to stop watching because gore fad got ridiculously unattractive.
The show completely tanked in the final season when the guy playing the main character quit after S04. I hate it when actors ruin a show by walking out.
it's back from what the article says https://www.syfy.com/the-magicians/blog/its-official-the-magicians-renewed-for-season-4-in-2019#:~:text=Well%20it%20looks%20like%20there%20might%20be%20some,to%20tackle%20the%20next%20installment%20of%20their%20misadventures.
Nothing about the magic is explained, you're supposed to figure things out on your own. and also it's boring as hell.¯_(ツ)_/¯
First impression is decisive. This show has definitely not done that. After watching 4 episodes I completely lost interest. Plot is crap, dialogue & acting are bad.
the storyline is amazing but wow the acting is bad
I love this show :D
So, this is supposed to be magical fantasy for adults? Just because it has sex, (sometimes pretty over the top) violence and the occasional messed up scene? Because I can't find any other reasons than these.
I was hoping adult meant smart. But it's really not.
The atmosphere is good, the effects are good, but that's about it. The main character is ordinary as heroes tend to be sometimes but they've overdone it. He's so ordinary that he's not good at anything. Plus he's pretty unbearable to watch and listen to.
Most of the other characters are pretty annoying as well. The basic idea behind the story is fine, though it boggles my mind how they've managed to spread it this thin when a season is just 13 episodes. It would still be fine if there weren't super dumb plot twists in it (Especially the constant power jumps, come on!).
So, what's left? Yes, magic. I like that it's dangerous but the way it's performed is just laughable. Jumping around croaking would've been more serious.
Only managed to get through the first season.
Despite everything, it's not terrible. It just could have been so much better.
we all suffer from what is known as morbid curiosity. while you find yourself disgusted by the bulk of the shows content, we can't help but stare. the show is awkward, chaotic, aversive, guilty, and pleasurable. i think the lack of morality and chaos mirrors what society experiences and reflects this sense of, awkward, lack of empathy. it enjoys poking at it which makes it hard to just say, I'm done with this show.
it displays how people can become easily absorbed by their own problems. it shows how we easily blame each other instead of taking responsibility for own actions. there's a deeper context, which, in a way, makes it admirably brilliant. they don't allow the crass aspects of life that cause us to feel jaded in the real world to get completely lost in this happy, go lucky, fantasy. it says this is what i am, take it or leave it. you're free to retain your opinion; just keep in mind, this story, like every other, is just another cliche.
i'm tired of the happy, predictable story lines. life isn't like that at all. life is dark, cruel, and random. we all do the best we can and often fail at attempting to do so. i feel the magicians isn't afraid to express that, which is why i enjoy it.
happiness is nothing but a fractional moment. while we should recognize and enjoy those moments, i think ignoring the darker aspects of life is a tragic mistake. it's what creates character. plus it's syfy, never expect too much from syfy.
if you want congruency and improved acting, go watch GoT and even that's iffy. it still manages to diverge from the original story line.
for all you book lovers out there, hollywood will never do a literate series justice. ever. it's impossible to translate text into an encapsulated visual environment where different people have different interpretations of works in every medium. the directors and writers will always push the content towards their personal bias. which is why i always go in with an open mind and fresh slate.
the book is its own thing. the show is its own thing. they are two separate mediums of entertainment within the fantasy genre. after witnessing this over and over again, you think people would have realized this by now.
i would love to see the books translated as is, however, visual representation has more contextual meaning than words do. in your mind, as you read a good book, you create your own personal vision of what you interpreted that story to be. no one can project what you have envisioned aside from yourself. that's why fans will always bicker about details; it's called personal interpretation. you're more than allowed to have it. its an unspoken, universal, right. you're allowed to feel disappointed.
I love how the shows started, but finale was utterly disappointing. The Finale of the first season was pretty much ridiculous, doesn't she realize that she is trusting the person that could do something worse to her than rape? He is a pedophile! And she is supposed to be smart!
Is this worth watching or annoyingly harry potterish?
I have just finished the first season:
Boring, illogical, irrelevant and annoying.
The CGI is pretty good.
Honestly I do not know why I watched all the episodes ...
The whole show so far has been "Hogwarts meets Dawson's Creek". It's like a car acciddent: You don't want to look but you just can't avert your eyes …
Having read the books, the series seems to lack the things I liked most about the Magicians. Strangely enough, the main reason why I watch is to see how SyFy uniquely translates the books and to what extent will they diverge.
Shout by VeyBlockedParent2020-04-02T05:28:06Z
This show... was a personal favorite of mine. It got me through my own quests, so to speak... lol
I will be mourning the loss of the show.... I've been fully committed to this show for 5 years, and I won't disagree the plot kinda got unfocused, somewhere too early into the series.... but I've loved all the characters and each of their stories since day 1! I can't pick just one, including all the weird Fillorians ^_^