The Defenders The Defenders General Discussion Thread - Part 1

[guitarsingerguy]

He could get one but I wouldnt expect him to get one this go around. Now if I saw Melvin Potter in the credits, then I'd say he might get one. It could happen though...

Yeah, I guess Melvin probably is gonna be who winds up making it. Maybe Matt will ask him after the Defenders.

 

[TheVileOne]

It's July 24. Review embargo is over, and yes I saw screeners for The Defenders. Unfortunately, I can't get into storyline specifics. But, yes, it's good. It's very good.

Here's my official review.

 

[guitarsingerguy]

It's July 24. Review embargo is over, and yes I saw screeners for The Defenders. Unfortunately, I can't get into storyline specifics. But, yes, it's good. It's very good.

Here's my official review.

4 episodes? That's pretty standard for screeners right?

 

[TheVileOne]

It varies.

Defenders is only 8 episodes, so that's half the season. For comparison:

Daredevil S1 - five of 13 episodes
Jessica Jones S1 - seven of 13 episodes
Daredevil S2 - seven of 13 episodes
Luke Cage - seven of 13 episodes
Iron Fist - six of 13 episodes
Defenders - four of eight episodes.

 

[guitarsingerguy]

Nice write up Vile. It's basically everything I was expecting. I'm super glad to hear Weaver is excellent. I wanna ask a specific question. If you can't answer it I obviously understand.

Spoiler

Is this building towards the Beast of the Hand essentially being the big bad? I know Weaver has cancer or something and Elektra is her lackey, but there has to be more to Weaver than her simply being a human with a master plan, huh?

 

[guitarsingerguy]

It varies.

Defenders is only 8 episodes, so that's half the season. For comparison:

Daredevil S1 - five of 13 episodes
Jessica Jones S1 - seven of 13 episodes
Daredevil S2 - seven of 13 episodes
Luke Cage - seven of 13 episodes
Iron Fist - six of 13 episodes
Defenders - four of eight episodes.

Ah ok...so they usually try and give you about half the season it seems?

 

[TheVileOne]

Ah ok...so they usually try and give you about half the season it seems?

Again it varies. Sometimes half or a little more. Sometimes less.

With Luke Cage I was surprised we got the reveal up to a certain character's death.

I think the issue with Iron Fist, despite it's obvious flaws, is that the show started so slowly. The other shows did not. The screeners basically cut off as it started to get a lot better, and that's why the reviews were bad.

I think if the reviews were based more on the rest of the season, the show wouldn't have been received so poorly with its reviews.

 

[pixen]

This is so cool and I'm super jealous of you. Happy to hear you enjoyed it though. Especially when I agree with a lot of your opinions on the Netflix shows. Will I be a happy Elektra fan once I watch the first 4 episodes?

 

[guitarsingerguy]

Again it varies. Sometimes half or a little more. Sometimes less.

With Luke Cage I was surprised we got the reveal up to a certain character's death.

I think the issue with Iron Fist, despite it's obvious flaws, is that the show started so slowly. The other shows did not. The screeners basically cut off as it started to get a lot better, and that's why the reviews were bad.

I think if the reviews were based more on the rest of the season, the show wouldn't have been received so poorly with its reviews.

So, Vile old buddy...what's the chance I can get that question answered, hmm???

 

[pixen]

So, Vile old buddy...what's the chance I can get that question answered, hmm???

I'm not sure if he will. I'm pretty sure your question is too spoilery compared to one that's a simple yes or no like mine.

 

[TheVileOne]

I can't discuss anything specific to the episodes beyond what we've seen in trailers and clips. It's good so far and I can't wait to watch the rest.

 

[KevTravels]

What's the budget of the series?

 

[Pennywise]

It's July 24. Review embargo is over, and yes I saw screeners for The Defenders. Unfortunately, I can't get into storyline specifics. But, yes, it's good. It's very good.

Here's my official review.

Great review!!

 

[Bruce Malone]

What's the budget of the series?

Wouldn't be surprised if it's around what a DD season is since it's 8 eps instead of 13.

More bang for the buck.

 

[pixen]

Wouldn't be surprised if it's around what a DD season is since it's 8 eps instead of 13.

More bang for the buck.

More bank for the lack of Scott Buck!

 

[TheVileOne]

The Netflix/ABC/Marvel deal was valued at $200 million for 60 episodes of TV. So that's approximately, $3.33 million an episode. We can't be sure how much was set aside for Defenders and how they divvyed it up elsewhere. For example, in Iron Fist it looks like they cheaped out in a lot of areas.

 

[Random490]

It's July 24. Review embargo is over, and yes I saw screeners for The Defenders. Unfortunately, I can't get into storyline specifics. But, yes, it's good. It's very good.

Here's my official review.

I was initially jealous that you got the episodes early but I was thinking is it better to get half the episodes now and have to wait a month for the rest. Or just to wait and binge the episodes all at your leisure?

The Netflix/ABC/Marvel deal was valued at $200 million for 60 episodes of TV. So that's approximately, $3.33 million an episode. We can't be sure how much was set aside for Defenders and how they divvyed it up elsewhere. For example, in Iron Fist it looks like they cheaped out in a lot of areas.

That definitely makes sense. I could see the first three shows going over budget and Iron Fist getting the short end just so they can be certain they'll be able to do all they want with Defenders. Luckily the second seasons are ordered separately meaning they'll have their own budgets and won't be pooled together. Plus with the huge success these series have been, I'm willing to bet they will each get a higher budget.

 

[TheVileOne]

I was initially jealous that you got the episodes early but I was thinking is it better to get half the episodes now and have to wait a month for the rest. Or just to wait and binge the episodes all at your leisure?

That definitely makes sense. I could see the first three shows going over budget and Iron Fist getting the short end just so they can be certain they'll be able to do all they want with Defenders. Luckily the second seasons are ordered separately meaning they'll have their own budgets and won't be pooled together. Plus with the huge success these series have been, I'm willing to bet they will each get a higher budget.

When it's this early, there's a definite sense of an itch you can't scratch, especially when you are watching Daredevil for the first time. You just want to get to those other episodes ASAP. So it's cool to screen the early episodes, but once they are done you are jonesing to get more.

Based on some of the setpieces for the second trailer of Defenders, there is that sense that they did spend some more on some of its setpieces.

 

[kguillou]

So...early reviews are in and they seem to be mixed. Ughhhh

The big complaint seems to be the show moves way too slow and takes forever to get to anything interesting and the characters interacting with each other, which is ironic since you'd think with 8 episodes this show would have a brisk pace.

 

[Bruce Malone]

With 8 episodes you need the hit the ground running from episode 1.

True Detective season 1 was a great example of 8 episodes that captivated you from episode 1.

No time really for a slow burn.

 

[kguillou]

I remember the early Iron Fist reviews saying the same thing about the pace, but there is no way in Hell this isn't 1000x better than IF. Hopefully after the first four eps the show hits full throttle for the remaining four, I think that would make the slow burn worth it.

 

[Faith_Cassidy]

Ummm... it's still early. I've only seen about 8 or 9 reviews and most of those are either positive or lean more positive than negative.

Anyhow, I never really base much off reviews but it's good too see some of them note Luke/Danny as a highlight. That's one of the dynamics I'm most looking forward to, along with Matt/Elektra and Misty/Danny.

 

[KevTravels]

They should have realized IF would have drastically needed a larger budget. If for nothing more, than the action sequences.

What's the budget for an episode of Agents of Shield, so that we can compare?

I believe Game of Thrones was at 10-15 million (even higher now with the massive salaries the cast have).

 

[kguillou]

Apparently the show focuses heavily on Danny, as opposed to the other three, and Danny acts as the Defacto leader, which is weird, because I definitely would've thought by default DD would be the central character and the "leader" of the group.

 

[Faith_Cassidy]

^^Given how DD S2 ended, it makes sense that Matt isn't driving the story, at least at the start. The clip that was released yesterday shows that he's not yet at a place to take on a leadership role. I suspect that seeing Elektra again is what will ultimately serve as inspiration for him to fully embrace being Daredevil again, thus becoming a more proactive member of the group.