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schneefinkI'm a big fan of the Murderbot books, so I was looking forward to the show, especially after I started hearing that it was good. The plan was to watch it all at once with L, since season one isn't very long. It took a while to find the time, but it became more urgent when I had a meeting scheduled with a client who I talked about the books with last year and who'd asked me how I liked the series on our first phone call this year ^^
L and I started watching together, but L didn't like it very much so I watched the second half on my own. And after watching the show I reread all of the books, and then I read a lot of fic.
I enjoyed it! I didn't like the very first scene because that wasn't how I'd imagined it somehow (in hindsight, not sure why I had such an immediate averse reaction to that scene in particular); but that somehow helped me immediately separate show-verse from book-verse and then I could accept all the other changes more easily (well. most of them) and overall I had a good time.
I'm very glad I waited to watch until the first season was done, considering how short the episodes were, with very effective cliffhangers too.
PresAux: I really liked that we got to see the humans be more, well, people, all the things MB didn't care to mention in its written narration because it's just not that interested in them. And I liked that they shrunk the crew, made it easier to keep track of them, sorry Overse and Volescu. I liked that they had their own rituals, though I did admittedly roll my eyes once or twice at them being very hippies. And the casting was very good.
Mensah: I liked her overall. At first I really didn't like that she already gets panic attacks here, before Exit Strategy even happens, but maybe they're planning to make changes to her backstory too, idk. What I still don't like is the excursion early on where Mensah goes off on her own to explore the anomaly, that seemed uncharacteristically, unnecessarily and irrationally reckless and careless.
Gurathin: I really like his history as a corporate spy, that's very cool. And I really liked him downloading MB to rescue it at the end. I even liked his devotion to Mensah as the one who got him out of his previous existence. But him going into her empty rooms to sniff her pillows was just really weird and I really wish it hadn't happened, because what. Why.
Sanctuary Moon: Sanctuary Moon! That was so much fun, I loved it. I loved that we got to see scenes, and I loved the direct references and how MB is clearly influenced by it.
Leebeebee: I really liked her addition to the plot. It gave good insight in what life in the corporation rim is like, the scene with her threatening the crew is very tense, and I also really liked the crew's reactions to MB shooting her and MB's reaction to their reactions.
MB itself: MB was ...fine? Good. I liked the internal narration we got and I think they did about as well as they could have. Mostly what struck me when I reread the books was that book!MB is funnier, but I can see how that would be very hard to adapt.
I'm glad season 2 is confirmed! I'm very curious how they'll continue plot-wise because it seems unlikely that they'll just continue for the next two novellas without PresAux. Maybe they'll shorten Artificial Condition and Rogue Protocol, have the PresAux side build-up to Exit Strategy at the same time, and then end with Exit Strategy, I think that could work well. (And then Network Effect as season 3 if they get one, probably skipping Fugitive Telemetry or only using bits of it, possibly.)
I really enjoyed rereading the books afterwards, too. I'd forgotten a lot about the early books, it'd been years since I read them and I really enjoyed them again, especially Rogue Protocol and Exit Strategy. I also really enjoyed reading Fugitive Telemetry right after the others, gives it very nice context, especially for the interactions with Ratthi and Gurathin. And even though it hadn't been that long since I read it, I'd forgotten how much I love Network Effect. The "you betrayed me to save your crew" especially, mmm, delicious. And 2.0! And Three!
System Collapse was also very good, and seems especially relevant in light of today's gigantic fake news problem. They got lucky in that they got there first and the other side didn't have time to counter, and MB knows it.
Really looking forward to the next one, announced for next May.
The same client - my client, and that word sounds different even in that approximate context now ^^ - recommended I read Project Hail Mary next so that is next on the list - after a bunch more MB fic, most likely, because I'm enjoying those a lot.
L and I started watching together, but L didn't like it very much so I watched the second half on my own. And after watching the show I reread all of the books, and then I read a lot of fic.
I enjoyed it! I didn't like the very first scene because that wasn't how I'd imagined it somehow (in hindsight, not sure why I had such an immediate averse reaction to that scene in particular); but that somehow helped me immediately separate show-verse from book-verse and then I could accept all the other changes more easily (well. most of them) and overall I had a good time.
I'm very glad I waited to watch until the first season was done, considering how short the episodes were, with very effective cliffhangers too.
PresAux: I really liked that we got to see the humans be more, well, people, all the things MB didn't care to mention in its written narration because it's just not that interested in them. And I liked that they shrunk the crew, made it easier to keep track of them, sorry Overse and Volescu. I liked that they had their own rituals, though I did admittedly roll my eyes once or twice at them being very hippies. And the casting was very good.
Mensah: I liked her overall. At first I really didn't like that she already gets panic attacks here, before Exit Strategy even happens, but maybe they're planning to make changes to her backstory too, idk. What I still don't like is the excursion early on where Mensah goes off on her own to explore the anomaly, that seemed uncharacteristically, unnecessarily and irrationally reckless and careless.
Gurathin: I really like his history as a corporate spy, that's very cool. And I really liked him downloading MB to rescue it at the end. I even liked his devotion to Mensah as the one who got him out of his previous existence. But him going into her empty rooms to sniff her pillows was just really weird and I really wish it hadn't happened, because what. Why.
Sanctuary Moon: Sanctuary Moon! That was so much fun, I loved it. I loved that we got to see scenes, and I loved the direct references and how MB is clearly influenced by it.
Leebeebee: I really liked her addition to the plot. It gave good insight in what life in the corporation rim is like, the scene with her threatening the crew is very tense, and I also really liked the crew's reactions to MB shooting her and MB's reaction to their reactions.
MB itself: MB was ...fine? Good. I liked the internal narration we got and I think they did about as well as they could have. Mostly what struck me when I reread the books was that book!MB is funnier, but I can see how that would be very hard to adapt.
I'm glad season 2 is confirmed! I'm very curious how they'll continue plot-wise because it seems unlikely that they'll just continue for the next two novellas without PresAux. Maybe they'll shorten Artificial Condition and Rogue Protocol, have the PresAux side build-up to Exit Strategy at the same time, and then end with Exit Strategy, I think that could work well. (And then Network Effect as season 3 if they get one, probably skipping Fugitive Telemetry or only using bits of it, possibly.)
I really enjoyed rereading the books afterwards, too. I'd forgotten a lot about the early books, it'd been years since I read them and I really enjoyed them again, especially Rogue Protocol and Exit Strategy. I also really enjoyed reading Fugitive Telemetry right after the others, gives it very nice context, especially for the interactions with Ratthi and Gurathin. And even though it hadn't been that long since I read it, I'd forgotten how much I love Network Effect. The "you betrayed me to save your crew" especially, mmm, delicious. And 2.0! And Three!
System Collapse was also very good, and seems especially relevant in light of today's gigantic fake news problem. They got lucky in that they got there first and the other side didn't have time to counter, and MB knows it.
Really looking forward to the next one, announced for next May.
The same client - my client, and that word sounds different even in that approximate context now ^^ - recommended I read Project Hail Mary next so that is next on the list - after a bunch more MB fic, most likely, because I'm enjoying those a lot.
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Date: 2025-08-31 12:29 pm (UTC)I think they had to get Mensah out of the hab so that they could have that long awkward conversation between Gurathin and Murderbot. Otherwise it wasn't all that necessary.
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Date: 2025-09-01 10:20 pm (UTC)Possibly, but I wish they had found a better excuse. Ah well.
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Date: 2025-08-31 01:23 pm (UTC)eta: Gurathin's role was a delight
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Date: 2025-09-01 10:23 pm (UTC)Gurathin's role was great. (I anticipate that he'll be the character that'll be hardest to keep TV and book character separate in my head instead of cherry-picking my favorite parts.) I forgot that he hasn't even met ART yet in the books! Something else to look forward to.
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Date: 2025-08-31 09:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-09-01 10:26 pm (UTC)I'm glad you enjoyed it so much because I've very much enjoyed your thoughts and fic for it :)
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Date: 2025-09-10 05:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-09-01 03:08 am (UTC)I didn't love everything in the show, either, but in general, I really, really enjoyed it - such a wonderful, warm show. <3
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Date: 2025-09-01 10:29 pm (UTC)Though there's of course a possibility that they'll switch things up and do e.g. Worldhoppers next season, guess we'll see ^^
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Date: 2025-09-02 12:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-09-03 12:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-09-07 09:31 am (UTC)I really liked the casting of the PresAux crew, especially Ratthi, though they also feel "younger" than their book counterparts somehow. Less experienced dealing with Corporation Rim issues?
Giving Gurathin that Tragic Backstory(tm) and having him save Murderbot at the end while risking his own brain = catnip for me 😁. Though yeah, the pillow-smelling scene squicked me. Deleting that from my memory post-haste.