... for demolishing my productivity today and leaving me desperately wanting a second season, right now!
For those that don't know, the Umbrella Academy is a Netflix original series which premiered on February 15th, based on the comic book of the same name by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá. It centers around a dysfunctional super powered family, brought back together by the death of their estranged adoptive father; only to find themselves tasked with preventing an impending apocalypse.
I'm actually not much of a binge watcher, and really don't follow many series or watch many movies! I attribute that mainly to the fact that when I do, I like to really focus on the material before me, so I'm far more inclined to put on something for "background noise" while I do other work and tasks. That means I tend to have crappy 80's sitcoms and movies I've already seen a million times on screen more often than I'll choose to invest the time in something new.
I had only a passing familiarity with the Umbrella Academy comic book, and had seen a lot of good reactions online from friends regarding the Netflix series, so I decided to give it a go. The last series I put time into was probably Stranger Things, and true to form, I followed a similar pattern with my Umbrella Academy viewing. I was able to keep it under control for the first couple episodes. Episode one on the first night, episode two on the next. A couple days passed and the next time I sat down to watch I moved through episodes three and four. A couple more days passed leading me to a day off... and bam, the boulder of story and interest was hurtling down the hill too fast for me to stop. There went episodes five through ten and the first season is done!
Truthfully, I knew I was hooked right from the opening sequence, but I just managed to exercise greater discipline until the charm of the characterization and relentless plot points wore me down. But if you have a Netflix account, do yourself a favor and at least watch that first sequence and decide for yourself. It's a perfectly framed introduction to the ensemble cast of characters against the backdrop of a gorgeous violin medley of Phantom of the Opera music. It conveys so much information and sets the tone of the series wonderfully right from the start.
This isn't a structured review by any means, nor are there any spoilers. Suffice to say by the combination of my clickbait title and my opening line... I loved it and am eagerly awaiting more. I'm hard pressed to find anything negative to say about it. Rather than rack my brains for negativity, I'm more inclined to go check and see if anyone has shared a music playlist of all the great tunes found throughout the show. (I'm sure some ambitious music loving fan has already!)
It's clear that music is part of the heart and charm of the Umbrella Academy, and this story has plenty of heart. Music's role is no surprise as series creator Gerard Way is a musician, well known for co-founding the band My Chemical Romance. Whether it's a quirky backdrop to an intense action sequence, an emotional moment, a fun character building scene, or a combination of all three... there's a wide mix of genres and memorable music moments to be found. They might just make you want to get up and dance!
I know I'll be reading the comic book in the near future as I await more episodes of the adaptation to appear on Netflix. How about you? Did you watch the series or read the comic? Planning on checking it out? I love to hear your thoughts in the comments... but try and keep it spoiler free!
Ok, ok... now I gotta get back to work. But of course, Captain Marvel is going to take a chunk out of the weekend... sigh, there's just too much good story out there nowadays! But that's not a bad problem to have...
-Bryan “the Imp” Imhoff
