NBC's Constantine starts this Autumn

[Phyrebrat]

I had no idea this was in the pipeline, let alone so close.

Pretty excited about this, too. This autumn us going to be rather good for entertainment!

The trailer is here (although it's over 3 mins long!).

pH

 

[Juliana]

Premiere is October 24th here in the USA; not sure about UK?

Looks interesting. I know absolutely zilch about the character apart from what I read on wikipedia, which should be refreshing. Zero expectations.

Now to juggle that with all the other series I'm attempting to watch at the moment!

 

[The Bluestocking]

I am very much looking forward to Constantine. Hope they can pull it off - the Keanu Reeves film version was the pits...

 

[ctg]

I am very much looking forward to Constantine. Hope they can pull it off - the Keanu Reeves film version was the pits...

I've seen the pilot already. A few ago actually, and I can tell you it's much, much better than the film version, but it's not as good as the original comic. Just next best thing after that, and I can also tell you if you love dark and mysterious Constantine then you will love this one. That's a promise.

 

[The Bluestocking]

I've seen the pilot already. A few ago actually, and I can tell you it's much, much better than the film version, but it's not as good as the original comic. Just next best thing after that, and I can also tell you if you love dark and mysterious Constantine then you will love this one. That's a promise.

Ooooooh! This bodes well! I'm looking forward to watching it this weekend!

 

[Jesse412]

Episode 1 "Non Est Asylum" I've been excited about this given the quality of NBC's other horror shows. I thought they nailed the creepy mood quite well and there's lots of interesting visuals. The casting is pretty good and it was nice to see Harold Perrineau and Jeremy Davies show up. Matt Ryan is spot on as John Constantine despite the not smoking. Loved seeing the Doctor Fate helmet show up. The preview for the rest of the season looks pretty good.

 

[ctg]

Matt Ryan is spot on as John Constantine despite the not smoking.

I'm fine with him not smoking. And I think it was network's decision to order non-smoking Constantine, but otherwise he is as crazy as you can expect. Funny thing is that Constantine comes out after all the other big shows, and it feels as if NBC made a decision to put it against Marvel miniseries like the DareDevil and IronFist.

 

[Alysheba]

This series started off really well. Way better than the Keanu Reeves movie. I think having him not smoke was a decision due to the fact that a lot of kids are now watching shows like The Walking Dead and other horror shows. Since smoking can't be on tv commercials I would imagine a network wouldn't want to have a main character used to influence it's audience. Very PC of them. While I would rather him be just like he is in the comic I can live without the smoking addiction. He has a whole other slew of things that make him as close to the comic character as possible. I am glad he's not just a pretty boy trying to play a tortured man.

 

[The Bluestocking]

Oooooh! Episode 1 was REALLY good! Matt Ryan and NBC nailed it!

 

[Juliana]

Watched Episode 1. I loved Matt Ryan and the exorcism scenes. Creepy angel was creepy and I'm a bit meh about the girl. Possessed dead people were a little too much for me (not much of a horror fan). So although I wanted to check this out, and I loved the main character, I don't think I'll be watching the show after all. Seriously, I'm such a wimp with scary things! My preteens watch the Walking Dead and I stay far away in another room.

 

[HareBrain]

So although I wanted to check this out, and I loved the main character, I don't think I'll be watching the show after all.

Maybe try the Hellblazer graphic novels, if you like Constantine himself? I'm a wimp with scary moving pictures but I'm fine (mostly) with static images and text. I've never had any problem with Hellblazer anyway.

 

[Juliana]

That's an idea, HB. And my son is quite into graphic novels right now so we can share...

 

[The Bluestocking]

I'm starting to wonder if I'm getting really accustomed to this sort of Horror/Supernatural/Urban Fantasy thanks to being a longtime fan of Supernatural, Sleepy Hollow, and Grimm (which I think are the nearest equivalents of Constantine playing on TV right now).

There are some Horror elements but a great big helping of Supernatural/Urban Legend elements too. Plus a wisecracking protagonist (or two), and a major tussle between Good and Evil.

What I can't watch, however, is American Horror Story and The Walking Dead. The former is just too much for me because it seems to love to bombard the viewer with depravity on screen - sometimes, it feels like the writers and producers just love shocking viewers for, well, the sake of shocking viewers instead of having the shocks serve the story, and it gets to the point where it's a little too much for me. The latter because, well, zombies and gore.

Or maybe I'm just a wuss?

 

[Juliana]

See, I can't watch stuff like Supernatural. I don't mind gore (GoT for instance), it's the creepiness. X Files used to give me nightmares!

 

[The Bluestocking]

See, I can't watch stuff like Supernatural. I don't mind gore (GoT for instance), it's the creepiness. X Files used to give me nightmares!

Haha! We may have overlapping tastes in books, but we're diametrical opposites in what we can/cannot tolerate on TV.

I do love a good supernatural story - the really effective ones really give you the creeps and engage your imagination (and yes, I do "suffer" from an overactive imagination... ).

But gore, screaming - Oh dear God, screaming under torture is the worst - too much gratuitous violence, and sexposition. That makes me hide behind the sofa or worse yet - turn off the TV...

 

[The Bluestocking]

Okay, back to the the thread - I really hope Constantine has a really good run this season and we'll be seeing several seasons of it. If they can get it right the first season, odds are that they'll continue getting it right (provided they really stick to the spirit of Hellblazer).

 

[Brian G Turner]

Oh! This is on Amazon Prime video!!

 

[ctg]

But gore, screaming - Oh dear God, screaming under torture is the worst - too much gratuitous violence, and sexposition. That makes me hide behind the sofa or worse yet - turn off the TV...

I don't think NBC will be able to stay completely out from adding gore and violence in this show as the cases Constantine goes through are quite horrific in detail. The first exorcism already showed producers ability to go over the board and dip in the deep end of the horror pool.

 

[BAYLOR]

Okay, back to the the thread - I really hope Constantine has a really good run this season and we'll be seeing several seasons of it. If they can get it right the first season, odds are that they'll continue getting it right (provided they really stick to the spirit of Hellblazer).

If it was on cable it would stand a better chance of having a long run.

 

[The Bluestocking]

I don't think NBC will be able to stay completely out from adding gore and violence in this show as the cases Constantine goes through are quite horrific in detail. The first exorcism already showed producers ability to go over the board and dip in the deep end of the horror pool.

Well, yeah, I know that, but it's context and application of those scenes to the story. I've read some of the Hellblazer story arcs and I could stomach it because it all comes together to make some pretty engrossing stories.

On the other hand, I stopped watching Game of Thrones because the killing and gore was just way too graphic and ubiquitous enough to cross the line into becoming gratuitous. I hear the books are worse with deaths scattered like cake sprinkles everywhere.

Splitting hairs? Maybe. But for me, there's a threshold for just how much graphic violence I can stomach and Constantine walks that fine line well like Supernatural, Grimm, and Sleepy Hollow.