Posted in: HBO, Max, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, max, opinion, Watchmen

Watchmen: Why Today's The Day to Check Out Both Best Adaptations

Here's why today is a great day to check out HBO & Damon Lindelof's Watchmen series and Warner Bros. Entertainment's animated adaptation.

If there was ever a day to enjoy the two best takes on writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons & colorist John Higgins' comic book classic Watchmen, today would be that very day. Why? Because you can catch both of them on the same streaming service! Wait… was there another reason? First up, we've got HBO & Damon Lindelof's Emmy Award-winning Regina King-starring pseudo-sequel spinoff/remix – the one that everyone spent months taking metaphorical dumps on. Until the first episode aired. It's amazing how excellent ratings and strong critical reviews can shut down a whole lot of trolls. The series would go on to win 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Best Limited Series, King for Best Actress for a Limited Series, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series (the most for any show in 2020) – and also one of BCTV's top shows for that year.

And let's not leave out Warner Bros. Entertainment's animated adaptation with "Chapter 1" having just hit Max. Produced and directed by Brandon Vietti from an adaptation by J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5), the two-chapter animated take does an amazing job of bringing Gibbons's artwork to life, with an all-star lineup of voice actors and Straczynski deftly walking that thin line between respecting the source material and offering a uniquely new experience. What follows is a rundown of our original reviews of Lindelof's HBO series, followed by an official trailer and behind-the-scenes look at the how "Chapter 1" of the animated adaptation came to life.

Watchmen: Bleeding Cool's HBO Reviews & More

Bleeding Cool praised how powerful the Nicole Kassell (Castle Rock)-directed series premiere "It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice" was, while "Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship" kept the momentum going by deepening the conspiracies at play. Jean Smart's Agent Laurie Blake took center stage in "She Was Killed by Space Junk", elevating the tension while serving as "devil's advocate."

"If You Don't Like My Story, Write Your Own" introduced us to Lady Trieu (Hong Chau), saw Angela (Regina King) look to Looking Glass (Tim Blake Nelson) for help when things started hitting too close to home and revealed how Adrian (Jeremy Irons) "trains" new servants as his escape attempts continued We learned Wade Tillman aka Looking Glass' "origin story" (and possibly his final days) in "Little Fear of Lightning", as Agent Blake places Angela under arrest but not before she goes "nostalgic."

Angela comes to understand her true past and the truth about "This Extraordinary Being" Will (Louis Gossett Jr.), a truth that starts with the formation of the Minutemen. "An Almost Religious Awe" brought with it the major reveal that Dr. Manhattan has been with us the entire time, and he's a major part of the Seventh Kalvary's plan.

With the penultimate episode "A God Walks into Abar," we were offered a look back at the seeds of Angela and "Cal's" tragic (and apocalyptic) love story – the heart of our series. This brought us to the season/series finale "See How They Fly," where the machinations of the Seventh Kalvary, Sen. Keene, Lady Trieu, "Calhattan," Adrian, Angela, and Agent Laurie come to a head – as the world of Lindelof's Watchmen comes to an end… and to a beginning (review here).

The voice cast for "Chapter 1" includes Matthew Rhys (Dan Dreiberg, Nite Owl), Katee Sackhoff (Laurie Juspeczyk, Silk Spectre), Titus Welliver (Rorschach, Walter Kovacs), Troy Baker (Adrian Veidt, Ozymandias), Adrienne Barbeau (Sally Jupiter, Silk Spectre), Corey Burton (Captain Metropolis), Michael Cerveris (Jonathan Osterman, Dr. Manhattan), Jeffrey Combs (Edgar Jacobi, Moloch), John Marshall Jones (Hooded Justice), Yuri Lowenthal (Wally Weaver), Geoff Pierson (Hollis Mason, Nite Owl), Kari Wahlgren (Janey Slater), Rick D. Wasserman (Edward Blake, The Comedian), Grey DeLisle, Kelly Hu, Max Koch, Phil LaMarr, Dwight Schultz, and Jason Spisak.

Produced and directed by Brandon Vietti from an adaptation by J. Michael Straczynski, the animated Watchmen sees Jim Krieg and Cindy Rago producing and Gibbons serving as a consulting producer. Sam Register, Larry Gordon, and Lloyd Levin serve as executive producers.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!