"Watchmen" is a story that really catches the eye so that no detail is lost. Damon Lindolof It has opened a new universe of vigilantes, bringing in new characters and adding their touch to a dark USA haunted by racism. The premiere of the series kept me euphoric from the beginning of the episode to the end credits. It really is one of the best series that debuted in 2019.

Perfectly matches the moral ambiguity of the graphic novel. In that, we "followed" Rorschach, a grievously flawed individual as he attempted to unravel 'we-have-to-burn-the-village-to-save-it' plot hatched by know-it-all New World Order types. In the 80s, when the cold war nationalism made moral choices unambiguous Watchmen made a profound statement for the semitones of real life. Today's reality is no less unambiguous, but instead of opposing nations bristling with nuclear weapons, in American politics, we find an internal "cold war" between the "red team" and the "blue team." Today's Watchmen echoes the ambiguity of the original, with the battle, rather than an external "alien" threat, is an internal struggle. Again, neither side is entirely virtuous: white supremacists are in open rebellion, but are confronted by a brutal and anti-democratic police state. This is no "liberal fantasy" and it certainly isn't "fan service." There are certainly some themes that have been trodden quite a bit recently -- Man in the High Castle and Handmaid's Tale are similar dystopian imaginings, but in both of those, there is a clear "good guys" and "bad guys" -- even if the individuals on either team may be complex. In "Watchmen" we follow the State ruthlessly hunting down a terrorist organization, but are appalled at the ruthlessness, deception, propaganda and banal bureaucracy that are the means to that end. The cinematography is stunning, acting is quite good and the detailed world-building gives me hope for the series. I just hope the same thing doesn't happen as I saw in Lost. I loved the first few episodes, but halfway through the first season I could tell they were just "making ish up as they went along." I told all my friends it was a waste of time and they would be disappointed, and was sad to find that borne out. I'm optimistic that HBO will deliver on the promise of this series in a way ABC never could.

Longtime fan of the comics. I loved the worldbuilding and the universe 30ish years after the original story. People saying it is too political should probably go watch Avengers. Watchmen is built on dissecting American politics and history. Also, people saying that it's a "liberal fantasy" seem to be outing themselves as complicit with white supremacy. Anyway the level of detail is uncanny. Every moment of the show, from the interrogation in the pod, to the radio show on in the car hint at possible plotlines and mysteries. Between Lindelof's work on The Leftovers and the world building in this episode I have complete faith that this will be one of the best shows this year. I'll end on the note that opening w/ the Tulsa massacre was genius and I hope it sheds much more light on the event. Everyone should go do more research on it.

Typical Lindelof. He created a mess of ideas, concepts, scenes, characters and, worse, story, just like in Lost and Leftover. Lindelof expects the viewer to be versed in the original Watchmen storyline as if this were some kind of Bible (for instance when some apparently important characters are thrown in, others probable superheroes ?, with panda mask, red outfits or girl pilot without any form of exposition, ever-evil-Jeremy Irons...) . Thankfully for him and the viewer, it is supported by a superior technical prowess in cinematrography and editing. And that is the only reason to continue watching this silly entertainment. While the Leftovers could be considered at best as some kind of post-modernist raving poetry, where some interesting ideas and beautiful scenes could be reflected upon here and there amongst a "sea of red herrings", he is here limited by a source material and a narrative that he tries to eschew . Unfortunately he lacks the maturity and the clarity of a true artist, that is the ability to transcend restrictions and limitations (here the source material) to create a unique and profound vision. Rather, in this first episode, he gets bogged down in racial politics and a childish "what if..." and comes up with a painfully tortuous world building that is paradoxically simplistic at its core (blacks rule America while whites are a disfranchised minority - no words on Latinos). This feel very sophomoric and idiotic. What a waste!

This show has nothing to do with the comic or the movie adaptation. The name is just used to get you to watch this **** and lure you in. But with a story and writing this awful I have doubts that anyone stays for a second episode.

Hamfisted woke garbage that wine aunts and affluent liberals will pleasure themselves to.

Nothing like the original graphic novel. pRogressive WOK politics and not worth the watch