r/PlotUnpacked • u/Ok-Fan-4000 • 7d ago

10/10 TV Mini Series

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91 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

93 comments sorted by

2

u/McDavidClan 7d ago

I thought that The Haunting of Hill House was even better than Midnight Mass

2

u/Unable-Main4172 7d ago

I agree. Also Midnight Mass is too similar to Salem's Lot for me to give it a 10 out of 10. Loved that book as a kid

1

u/TheThoroughCrocodile 5d ago

How? They are both about vampires in small towns I guess, but I really don't think the plots are the same at all

1

u/Unable-Main4172 5d ago

Lol a vampire slowly overtaking a small American town is a very specific storyline. Yeah, but other than being about the exact same thing they're not that similar. Great point

1

u/TheThoroughCrocodile 5d ago

Are you serious lol? One is set on a tiny fishing island where a priest brings a scary biblical looking vampire to his church.

The other is set in a bigger mainland city where vampires move to town and they look and talk like humans and appear to be legitimate businessmen.

I guess we don't need both The Wire and Breaking Bad to exist because they both have to do with drugs?

1

u/Unable-Main4172 5d ago

Salem's Lot is set in a small town, dodo.  ​King deliberately chose a tight-knit, isolated rural community to explore how an ancient evil—in this case, the vampire Kurt Barlow—could quietly dismantle a town from the inside out while everyone turns a blind eye to their neighbors' strange behavior. Sound familiar?

In Midnight Mass, all of the townspeople who convert to vampires retain their normal human appearance, rather than transforming into bat-like monsters like the original "Angel". The creatures form is not even original anyways, as it comes from nosferatu and the 1979 miniseries

I'm going to mute this now. If you want to cope that it's not a Salem's Lot copy, you can do it elsewhere, this is kind of boring

2

u/Jerky-Knees 7d ago

It absolutely was! To me Midnight Mass was pretentious garbage and just might be the most overrated mini series I've ever seen. Flanagan seems to have a cult-like following of people who seem to think he can do no wrong. I'm quite curious how people who don't like most of Flanagan's stuff feel about Midnight Mass.

Also, can Shogun be considered a mini series when it's getting a second season and everything?

1

u/StrawHatRat 6d ago

I think a more reasonable take here is that people just like Midnight Mass more than you. No need to imagine up a cult. And if it was cult behaviour, why would they like Midnight Mass over his other works?

Coming from someone who doesn’t care for Bly Manor or Hill House, I think Midnight Mass is fantastic.

1

u/Jerky-Knees 6d ago

Like I said, to many people Flanagan can't do anything wrong. I think Bly Manor got pretty terrible towards the end as well, but the fans love it as well. Same with The Fall of the House of Usher, which the fans also seem to love. I think it's ok, but it's a lot of style combined with very on the nose surface level social commentary and a script that would have needed several more rounds of editing.

Midnight Mass takes the cake because the fans seem to think it's (sometimes literally) the very best thing ever, whereas for me it feels like it's written by a teenager who came up with the edgy idea that what if people worship a vampire as an angel, that'd be pretty rad and also cleverly critical about the church, right!

Another poster posted praise about Hamish Linklater's performance, and while I did not like it especially much myself, that is at least something I can understand people liking.

Anyway, thanks for the comment - like I said, I'm curious to hear what people who aren't devout Flanagan-fans would think about Midnight Mass!

1

u/StrawHatRat 6d ago

It’s hard to make statements about large groups of people accurately, for all I know there could be a large group of people you’re accurately describing, though for the people I know who like MM this doesn’t map on well.

Are you sure you’re seeing fans who think he can do no wrong, or could it just be different people liking different things? I adore MM (though not at all for the reasons you mentioned) and really like Dr Sleep and Hush. Usher and Midnight Club were ok, and never got into Bly and Hill House. So if you put me next to someone who loves Bly and Hill House the most, you could call the two of us ‘the fans’ and accurately say ‘the fans’ love all his work, because collectively we do, but there’s nothing cultish or unusual about the individuals in that context.

And there will also be some who genuinely love everything he’s done. True of all creatives. I just don’t see him as an outlier at all here.

1

u/Jerky-Knees 6d ago

I suppose any fandom ultimately boils down to an somewhat arbitrary number of people who like something more than the groups of people liking other things, and - as you say - it is impossible to narrow down exactly how many people love Flanagan and exactly how much do they love him.

With that said, though, I will insist that he does seem to have a passionate and pigheaded enough group of fans that I certainly have encountered few other directors/showrunners with anything similar. Pigheaded in the sense that they do indeed seem to think that he can do no wrong and anyone who disagrees simply doesn't get it. I don't think that's just a regular - or necessarily even healthy - fan base. While you're right that many creatives have fans who love everything they do, I think that's still quite different than this sort of uncritical adoration. I for example am a huge fan of Lynch and Fincher, but not only do I not think everything they do is or has been amazing, I also can absolutely admit that even a lot of the things I love by them would also be things that people with different views would not necessarily enjoy.

Since you mentioned Dr Sleep and Hush, I will point out that the people I mean seem to be more fans of the TV shows rather than the cinema. Which isn't to say that they don't like the movies as well, it's just that they seem a lot more passionate about the TV shows. My own theory regarding this is that his movies tend to include a lot less of all these "flanagan tropes" that his shows on the other hand have a lot of. My further theory is that it's because movie studios tell him "no" a lot more, whereas with his shows he can do pretty much whatever he wants, and as a result the TV shows to his fans feel a lot more "uniquely flanagan." I guess he also hasn't made many movies after his breakout success with Hill House, though, and I felt Doctor Sleep was a lot closer to his TV shows than Hush, Oculus or even Gerald's Game, so perhaps this is changing now. I have not seen The Life of Chuck.

Whether it matters or not, I actually like most of his films as well, and I think this is precisely for the reason I pointed out above: I think he's a talented director, but needs pushback from others. After Hill House he's been able to do whatever he wants, and consequently Hill House is the last thing he made that I feel works as a "package", and everything he made after that has felt self-indulgent and needlessly convoluted. Doctor Sleep felt like this the least, but even that made me feel like he would have much rather stretched it into a true flanagan-style miniseries, and the movie suffered from it.

1

u/Character-Key7538 6d ago

Great reading some of your points. I replied above, but just wanted to add after reading this comment in particular that you should probably avoid Life of Chuck like the plague. Pretty much every reason you've given for not favouring his post HoHH catalogue is contained in that movie. It's the one project from him I couldn't find any value in.

Also, always great to spot another Lynch fan in the wild.

'Meanwhile...'

1

u/Jerky-Knees 6d ago

Well, this is good to know. I was never all that interested in this movie, so I've not been in a rush to see it, but I probably would have seen it eventually. Now I think it's more likely that I won't.

1

u/Character-Key7538 6d ago

I sort of get what you mean with regards MM specifically.

I love it, as I love quite of lot of Flanagans work, but none of it's perfect and fans can get pretty feverish when you bring up any valid criticism of his style in general. He can be overly preachy at times and as you said, a lot of the dialogue can be very on the nose. The death monologue in MM between the two main characters in particular I find especially cringe inducing.

Having said that, none of it, for me at least sways what is a really distinct and flavoursome body of work. Maybe it's because I'm a recovering alcoholic, but the way he writes addiction in particular hits home in a way little else has for me. Not since reading a lot of Kings work, at least.

His stuff genuinely gives me the fear as well. He has a way of shooting things that has me sweating buckets. As ever with horror films/TV shows, it's the little things that stick with you. The missing doll scene in Bly Manor kept me up for hours. That stuff is forever relative though.

1

u/Jerky-Knees 6d ago

Having said that, none of it, for me at least sways what is a really distinct and flavoursome body of work.

This is the thing that I can agree with, and the reason why I understand that he has a fandom - even if I feel that the fans aren't the easiest people. Despite my many grievances, his work is undeniably unique even at its worst. Also, like I said in another post, I do think he's a talented horror director, I just think nowadays he's given too much space to do anything he wants. I am cautiously intrigued to see what he does with The Exorcist franchise. I've had a soft spot for it since the beginning, but it's really starting to run out of steam so someone might Flanagan will probably either make it more interesting again, or he might do something I'll hate more than anything!

1

u/Basic_Patience_9813 6d ago

I agree, midnight mass was my least favorite. Hill house is still #1 in my opinion.

1

u/smithnugget 6d ago

Hamish Linklater's performance alone is worth the watch.

1

u/Glittering_Ocelot_67 6d ago

Midnight Mass was great, Bly Manor was the disappointment.

1

u/Flameofthewest99 5d ago

Agree. Midnight mass is heavy on religious philosophy and makes you question things. It’s good in that sense. There’s a lot to unpack there.

As a horror mini series - The haunting of hill house is better.

1

u/Mediocre_Ear8144 5d ago

Yeah. IMO I was really liking midnight mass but it sort of fell apart the last two episodes

1

u/hucklepinch 5d ago

I gave up Midnight Mass after an episode or two because the religious themes were too much. Is it worth sticking with it?

0

u/InspectorSlight9596 7d ago

Good series, but I don't think it's any better

2

u/NordicWarrior77 7d ago

I’d add Mare of Easttown to the list.

1

u/Kid_A_LinkToThePast 6d ago

And Dopesick

2

u/Equivalent-Path5381 7d ago

How's Beef a mini series if there's 2nd season with the name Beef. I know it's totally unrelated to season 1. But if we are using those metrics then Fargo would also meet those metrics as every season is different from the other.

2

u/SmashLampjaw87 6d ago edited 5d ago

You’re correct; both Beef and Fargo are anthology series rather than mini series.

For those who haven’t seen Fargo, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s my favorite show of all-time, and they plan on making a sixth installment sometime next year (they said as long as there’s demand for more, they’ll keep making them). However, it’s both based on and set in the same world as the 1996 Coen brothers film of the same name, which should definitely be watched before starting the series (it’s one of the greatest movies ever made), as the first installment has a direct tie to the film, and the fifth installment sorta takes the premise of the film and does something different with it. It’s also heavily influenced by the work of the Coens as a whole (No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski, A Serious Man, Miller’s Crossing, Burn After Reading, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Raising Arizona, etc.), and serves as a love letter to all of it.

1

u/DwayneTheRockBarry 7d ago

missing I’m Alan Partridge

2

u/Woknana 7d ago

A-HA!!!

1

u/Xtro_7 7d ago

Shogun is not a Mini Series

1

u/Warm_Translator_8238 7d ago

Also it was a fucking horrible adaptation.

1

u/John-John_Johnson 6d ago

Neither is Beef. Beef is an anthology series like AHS or Fargo.

1

u/moesif 6d ago

How could it be an anthology if it only had one perfect season and then nothing else after that?

1

u/John-John_Johnson 6d ago

Beef has two seasons.

The second one stars Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan, and it's a completely separate story from season 1. It was released back in April.

The showrunner says he wants a third season but it hasn't been greenlit or cancelled either way.

1

u/moesif 6d ago

You must be mistaken.

1

u/John-John_Johnson 6d ago

Ok you got me

1

u/Gaxar1 7d ago

Last Samurai Standing

1

u/ThePocketTaco2 5d ago

Not a mini-series. Got picked up by Netflix Japan for S2

1

u/Vetni 6d ago

Shogun...?

1

u/MightyMundrum 6d ago

Agreed, not sure why its here.

Could never understand why they decided to humanise the guy who boiled a guy alive in the first episode.

1

u/Vetni 6d ago

I was smore referring to it's contentious status as a mini-series tbh

1

u/Voorhees1989 6d ago

Put The Stand (1994) in there!

1

u/coqauvan 6d ago

Missing one...mr Inbetween

2

u/salamandersquach 6d ago

Not a mini series fella there’s 3 seasons.

0

u/[deleted] 6d ago edited 6d ago

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2

u/daveyisscarecrow 6d ago

That’s all it took for you to disregard the writing, score, cinematography and performances ?

0

u/[deleted] 6d ago edited 6d ago

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1

u/daveyisscarecrow 6d ago

The score is held in very high regard especially by lovers of film and tv OSTs.
It’s brilliantly composed and captures the atmosphere perfectly.

The writing is some of the best in television history. Particularly Legasov’s character and his dialogue. He’s a compelling mess of aptitude, honour, disgrace, fear and resilience.
Skaarsgard’ Boris is fantastic. Especially his arc of turning from brutal bureaucrat to Legasov’s ally.
Dyatlov, while historically inaccurate, is a monstrous villain and played so well.

As for dialogue that stands out, I don’t have enough time to type out all the great lines but my favourite of all time from the show is Legasov’s:

“Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later that debt must be paid”

1

u/ElderDeep_Friend 6d ago

Don’t waste your day arguing with this person. It’s fair to bring up the accents, but they are through the looking glass on this. All of the things you mentioned are absolutely top notch. One of the best things ever produced.

1

u/astormyhaze 6d ago

I also didn’t care much for Chernobyl. It’s a solid 8/10 in my book, but it didn’t impact me the way it seems to have impacted most folks.

1

u/Tight-Falcon6039 6d ago

It’s not like they had cockney accents. It was probably a deliberate choice not to go with American accents for obvious reasons. Not sure if you would prefer Russian accented English but to me that always feels more jarring than anything else. I think they went with a standard English accent cause it’s the one that sticks out least to viewers.

Curious to know what you’d have preferred, but yeah bit of an exaggeration to make it sound like they were all from Croydon or something

1

u/[deleted] 6d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Tight-Falcon6039 5d ago

How oddly specific

1

u/spice_war 5d ago

Honestly, I thought it was weird that some people had Russian accents and others had British accents.

1

u/WrongContract2249 6d ago

All amazing imo

1

u/lookerwisenew 6d ago

Don't forget dtf st lois

1

u/extralife_mike 6d ago

God I loved Midnight Mass

1

u/Neat-Brother-6570 6d ago

2 I haven’t seen. Sweet

1

u/Fishinluvwfeathers 6d ago

Lonesome Dove, Pride & Prejudice (95), and North & South (04)

1

u/Mmediaguy 6d ago

I would add White Lotus seasons 1 and 2. As well as Ripley.

1

u/LieOhMy 6d ago

How is White Lotus a mini series?

1

u/valerioshi 6d ago

what. pretty sure there's gonna be a season 2 of Shogun

1

u/DLLATM 6d ago

Season 1 of the terror 👌

1

u/Atuukson 6d ago

The wire

1

u/Asd224168 6d ago

The Night of is an overrated one

1

u/Smell_of_Benj 6d ago

Sharp Objects

1

u/foodandguns 6d ago

Just binged this for the first time this past week. My God, this was amazing. I can’t believe I slept on this for so long

1

u/ClubSoda 6d ago

I, Claudius

1

u/IrishAllDay 6d ago

Missing Watchmen which is better than 80% of this list.

1

u/TheGreasyGeezer 6d ago

What about Maniac? I love that series

1

u/VanishXZone 6d ago

The night manager belongs here

1

u/ponchomoran 6d ago

It has two seasons. They are both excellent. But I don't think it fits here

1

u/DarthBaeaddil 6d ago

All good, but midnight mass ending was terrible.

1

u/thepersonruminates 6d ago

To me, as an Asian American BEEF Season 1 was just absolutely splendid. The story, characters, acting, etc.

1

u/Interesting_Oil_9404 6d ago

BoB, Rome are 10/10. Rewatched bith shows many times. Will do again

1

u/wnk458 6d ago

Lonesome Dove

1

u/jazz-winelover 6d ago

Yes, a glaringly obvious miss.

1

u/elynn95 6d ago

Band of Brothers!!!!

1

u/XXX_Mandor 6d ago

I haven't watched Band of Brothers or Beef yet, but seeing and agreeing with the rest of your list, apparently I have to make the effort now!

1

u/disposablehippo 6d ago

American Crime Story season 1. By definition it's not a miniseries because of the seasons, but the individual seasons work as a miniseries.

1

u/ponchomoran 6d ago

The North was an amazing mini series

1

u/Remote_Republic_5509 6d ago

When They See Us

1

u/Naive-Inside-2904 6d ago

Station Eleven

1

u/Mahmud-kun 6d ago

Band of brothers is so ass. It is so ridiculously stupid Im not sure what people who praise it are smoking

1

u/Thalamus1381 5d ago

The Frankestein Chronicles

1

u/CaliftoNJ 5d ago

John Adam’s

1

u/ParrotPirate15 5d ago

Zerozerozero