The Terminal List

[HaydenLane]

Didn’t read any comments so maybe I’ll be on an island here. The first book was pretty damn good, and they got progressively worse from there (but not so bad that I’ve stopped reading, I just finished the latest installment two weeks ago). Each one seems to be more of an advertisement for tactical/hunting gear companies than the last, and Carr treats the reader like an idiot, over-explaining and repeating shit constantly. He beats you over the head with his beliefs instead of crafting a story that makes you see things his way.

I had fairly high hopes for the series, thinking they would rein in some of the advertising and overt politics, and they kind of did, but the story just falls flat. That, and the dialogue just feels absurd at times.

 

[desertrat1979]

Should be a disclaimer….loosely based on the book by Jack Carr.

Overall I was disappointed. It’s entertaining but not true to the book. 8 episodes wasn’t enough to tell the story effectively.

So I watched a podcast interview that Jack Carr did with Chris Pratt. Something I noticed in nearly every advert, interview or reference to the Amazon show was that it is an "adaptation" of the book. I know this post has aged a bit, but I think its worth the perspective. One of the main reasons movies and shows are rarely like the books they're based on is there is simply just too much detail and information. Movies would be 7 or 8 hours long and a series would be 30 episodes when being based off a novel. Some changes they made were silly, but there was a reason behind it. Money probably being the chief decision maker.

The character is loosely based on the author, a SEAL sniper. He even admitted he's a "gear queer" from when he was on the teams. So it would be expected that a lot of his books are oriented in that direction. I thought the books were great and when you consider a no name author getting some decent actors to do an adaptation of his first novel on one of the largest streaming services... I mean yeah, it would have been nice if some other details were kept. But all in all, neither the books or the adaptation were disappointing. I look forward to True Believer and especially Savage Son on the screen.

 

[kellogg2185]

These are fiction novels for entertainment, not classic literature for scholars. As far as the gear goes, he promotes any bit of gear that he used and liked, or that his fellow SEALs now produce. Winkler tomahawks, HFB knives, Hooten Young whiskeys and cigars, and so on, have all had a skyrocket in sales due to him. Good on him for helping out his buddies, as well as other manufacturers of pieces of kit, vehicles, books, etc. that he promotes in his books, podcasts, annual gift guides, etc. just because he likes them. To each their own, but I have absolutely both the book series and the Amazon series.

 

[6.5SH]

The second video series started on Prime; "The Terminal List: Dark Wolf". The first episode wasn't very engaging IMO.

 

[91Eunozs]

Agree…. Second series is kind of m’eh so far, and the plot lines feel forced, but it’s better than most on actual firefight and gun handling stuff. A lot better actually.

Entertaining, and worth watching IMHO.

 

[SilentStalkr]

So I checked this out the other night and felt like overall, it sucked. I mean I hate to say it but I said it. And it took 2 years to come up with this? It’s not even something that should take years of effort imo. There isn’t a lot of special effects or anything of the sort so I don’t understand why it takes them years to produce these things. I mean years for a mediocre 8 episodes. Maybe I’m just spoiled cause I grew up in a time of where we got weekly 1 hour episodes of stuff as kids that imo was a lot more creative/engaging than stuff today. Anyways, the only episode that seemed somewhat interesting so far was the 3rd. I’ll withhold judgment of the entire series until the end as maybe it’s just a really slow start but so far, it kind of sucks and I really think it’s because they are trying too hard. It’s like it’s trying to be Seals and John Wick at the same time and doesn’t do either of them very well. Just my take. Your exp may differ. I hate it because I love Jack Carr and the books but this specific series round is in need of some help. I wonder if he was on set with the one and if they had any consultants?

 

[E. Bryant]

I'm not real clear why we needed an entire prequel series to flesh out the backstory of some dude who died in the first book instead of just getting season 2 of the main storyline, but I'll probably still watch this.

 

[Bobalos]

The issue with the long period of time for season 2 is that Pratt was not available.

Why season 2 is not as good as season 1.... I have no idea. But it is quite mediocre.