Today I enjoyed: Halo.
The gamers among you certainly know the name and the universe on which this TV show is based on, but I do not. So I can only look at what Paramount did with the material, I cannot speak to how true they stayed to the source material. I will also not try to explain too much of who and what is going on. Either you already know, or you will learn while watching.
Halo - as I already mentioned - is based on the video game universe of the same name and follows Master Chief Pablo Schreiber and his squad of genetically augmented and heavily body-armored so-called Spartans, that are the last chance of humanity to fight back in a war against the alien race known as the Covenant.
And while this setup sounds like your average sci-fi battlefield flick, maybe even give you Starship Troopers vibes with the armors and aliens, it is something else. I think you have to like sci-fi in general or at least the Halo franchise, to get on board with this. But if you meet that criteria, you are in for a treat. This show has it all: Close combat, heavy weaponry, both alien and non-alien, epic battles, spaceships and even a huge space fight involving an armada of ships. And while this all looks pretty good, amazing even, I think the show shines even more in a different area.
Throughout the first two seasons (which is all that is available at the time of writing), we learn about how Master Chief and his squad of Spartans became to be what they are, taking quite some time to tell the personal stories of them, but also the people that enabled the Spartan program. We get to know at least enough about the world they live in and the ongoing war, as well as a few bits and pieces about the Covenant and their motivation. But what fascinated me the most, is the journey of Master Chief. I do not want to spoil too much, but he goes on a journey of learning who he is, where he came from and what his purpose is in this world.
To summarize: I really enjoy this show, as it ticks a lot of my boxes: It is visually striking, the characters are interesting and evolve throughout the show, I am fascinated by the story and I want to learn more about this universe. And most importantly: I felt entertained, and that is not a given these days.