Scavengers Reign (HBO Max / Animated SciFi Series)

[MeatHookGekko]

Scavengers Reign is an American adult animated science fiction drama television series created by Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner for Max, based on their 2016 short film Scavengers. HBO Max announced the series in June 2022, and its 12-episode first season premiered on October 19, 2023.

Synopsis - The series follows the survivors of the damaged interstellar cargo ship Demeter 227 who are stranded on Vesta, an alien planet bustling with flora and fauna but filled with dangers. The survivors start off separated in three groups: Azi and her robot companion Levi, Sam and Ursula, and the isolated Kamen.

Cast
Sunita Mani as Ursula, a crewmember in the Demeter's horticulture lab; stranded on Vesta with Sam.
Wunmi Mosaku as Azi, a cargo specialist on the Demeter; stranded on Vesta with Levi.
Alia Shawkat as Levi, a robot from the Demeter; stranded on Vesta with Azi.
Bob Stephenson as Sam, commander of the Demeter; stranded on Vesta with Ursula.
Ted Travelstead as Kamen, a crewmember on the Demeter who is struggling in his career and in his marriage with wife Fiona;
Alia Shawkat as Fiona, the Demeter's robotics engineer; and Kamen's estranged wife.

Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner created the original 2016 Scavengers short film for Adult Swim, where it aired as part of the Toonami block. The eight-minute animated short contains no dialog and depicts a pair of humans engaging in an intricate series of interactions with alien creatures. From 2018 to 2019, Bennett and Huettner expanded the concept into a series pilot that did not go forward at Adult Swim, though the show was later picked up by HBO Max. The twelve-episode series was produced over two years by Titmouse, Inc. and Green Street Pictures with a crew including international animators working remotely from locations including Mexico, Spain, Portugal and France.

Reception - The series has received critical acclaim. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an 100% approval score with an average rating of 8.5/10, based on 14 critic reviews. James Poniewozik of The New York Times called it "a lush, magnificent, hypnotic story of human survival in a place that feels, in a way that sci-fi planets only occasionally manage, truly otherworldly." Andrew Webster of The Verge deemed it to be "equal parts beautiful and brutal, and it might be the most original piece of science fiction of the year."

Scavengers Reign - Wikipedia

 

[MeatHookGekko]

 

[MeatHookGekko]

‘Scavengers Reign’ Might Be the Most Underrated Show of the Year

Max’s exquisitely animated sci-fi series employs astonishing world-building to create one of the most captivating genre projects of 2023....Scavengers Reign is the creation of Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner, TV novices who loosely adapted the show from a wacky eight-minute short they made in 2016. It follows the survival efforts of five main characters after their starship malfunctions and they’re forced to take escape pods down to the surface of a mysterious planet, Vesta Minor. The pods land far from one another, leaving three groups that are unaware anyone else survived: Ursula and Sam, a practical duo with technical know-how; Azi and her robot friend Levi, who transforms as Vesta’s fungi infect the machine’s hardware; and Kamen, who starts the show alone but soon forms a dangerous symbiotic relationship with a local predator.....

..... For Scavengers, the typical story beats come secondary to the astonishing world-building, which is among the most immersive and inventive I’ve ever seen. That distinction starts with Scavengers’ gorgeous 2D animation, which was inspired by the art of Moebius and Hayao Miyazaki, particularly the latter’s environmentalist masterpiece Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Vesta’s biology is illustrated with soft curves and vibrant colors, and the animation allows the real star of the show—its world—to flourish......Many alien planets in science fiction tend to suffer from a lack of variety. They often have just one or two different habitats, which host only one or two native creatures. This approach makes logistical sense, especially for stories filmed in live action ......In Scavengers, the five survivors are essentially the alien visitors in that scenario, while Vesta is a fully realized world with extensive biological diversity. Across 12 episodes, the characters traverse canyons and coastlines, mountains and forests, rapids and plains, each with their own color palette and community of creatures. Scavengers doesn’t just design an animal or two; it builds entire ecosystems......

.....Scavengers doesn’t shy away from horror throughout its 12-episode run, from the body horror of a trippy hallucination in the pilot to the psychological horror of isolation present until the very end. It’s obvious, in places, why the show’s creators cite Annihilation as another inspiration. Be warned that there is a fair share of (animated) gore and plenty of ooze and slime.....Yet for the most part, the apparent monsters the protagonists encounter aren’t villains, per se. They just want to protect their homes, or gather food, or propagate their species. It just so happens that the unfamiliar humans seem like home invaders or a potential meal......“Predators, prey, parasites, and symbiotic relationships are all normal in [a natural] ecosystem,” Buckelew told Gizmodo. “But once you put a human in the middle of it, it can be uncomfortable or appear evil, when it’s really just neutral.”

....You should watch Scavengers Reign if you like Studio Ghibli films or bright colors or animation more broadly. You should also watch it if you like nature hikes or Planet Earth or trips to the zoo, or if you like sci-fi world-building or space horror or alien adventures. Scavengers Reign might have come out of nowhere, but it’s a shining star in its genre and a brilliant execution of an original idea.

‘Scavengers Reign’ Might Be the Most Underrated Show of the Year

 

[Otomofan]

Never heard of it.

I like the production design and colors....reminds me of Moebius and bandes desinee. I don't like the character design though. Voices kinda annoy me too.

Might be good to take an edible and watch it with the sound off and some music playing.

 

[chrisstbh]

Gonna start this tonight, looks cool.

 

[chrisstbh]

Man this show is weird, but beautiful and intriguing.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

Man this show is weird, but beautiful and intriguing.

It's got interesting world building. The planet itself is it's own unique character, which is something that got me invested. The show bible had to include the logistics of an entire eco-system, which opens up a lot of creative potential.

IMHO, it's got some structural problems and some of the characters are a bit rough. There is also more than a strong hint of misandry present. But all in all, it took a lot of risks, which is kind of refreshing in current times. I'm interested to see where they take the series in the future.

 

[Otomofan]

I started watching the original short and what I saw was amazing, and had no dialogue. I turned it off immediately cause it looks like the PERFECT thing to watch while zonked out of your mind on substances, so I'm gonna save it for a special occasion.

If the regular series maintains that level of artistry, I'll for sure watch it the same way, with the sound off and with some Floyd on in the background or something. I have no interest in bland voice actors mucking up and distracting from what looks like an amazing visual experience.

Perfect example....remember how insanely amazing and perfect the original Aeon Flux shorts were on Liquid Television? Flawless artistic expression.

Then when they expanded it to 22 minute episodes and added dialogue....it just was never the same.

 

[chrisstbh]

It's got interesting world building. The planet itself is it's own unique character, which is something that got me invested. The show bible had to include the logistics of an entire eco-system, which opens up a lot of creative potential.

IMHO, it's got some structural problems and some of the characters are a bit rough. There is also more than a strong hint of misandry present. But all in all, it took a lot of risks, which is kind of refreshing in current times. I'm interested to see where they take the series in the future.

Yeah they did a really great job at making the planet feel alive and diverse but also alien and dangerous/mysterious.

Is this their first actual production outside of their own stuff? Cause if so it’s pretty impressive.

 

[BeefEaster]

This show is like watching someone's fever dream. Nothing really makes sense, but they do it with such purpose that it seems like it does.

 

[Otomofan]

There is also more than a strong hint of misandry present.

Oof. You were NOT kidding.

That undisguised nastiness was hard to watch.

It's a shame. This could have been BRILLIANT. And there were moments that were nothing short of absolute genius. But before long the wonder and adventure and creativity to a back seat to the very ugly and obvious obsession with identity politics that soiled what should have been an utterly groundbreaking project.

It's almost like attitudes have shifted since this went into production and it's already a relic of the prevailing thinking just a few years ago.

White man bad? Check.

White man very, very, very bad? Check.

ALL men weak, incompetent, or downright evil? Check.

Women strong, stunning, compassionate, intelligent, brave? Check.

Strong black lesbian godlike in her skills and virtue? Double check.


Ugh.


I think it was overly long. This could have easily been half the length. I'd have preferred half the episodes but with a higher budget for smoother and more fluid animation.

I was utterly hooked the first 6 episodes or so, but the story took very predictable and dull and lazy turns. If only they could have focused on that wonder and unbridled sense of creativity and exploration they showed in the original short film and the first several episodes.

My favorite scene was where Ursula (another character without a single flaw that never did a single selfish or unvirtuous act) had that moment of "communion" with the life force. Of course, the big stupid toxic male she was with just brushed it off, cause MEN, amirite?

If someone were to do a fan edit removing the dialogue and just showing the complexity of the intricate world the showrunners built, that would be something I'd revisit. As of now, I feel no reason to ever watch the whole thing again. I'll for sure watch some of the more elaborate scenes again.

 

[abake]

Hadn't paid attention to this, but it looks very cool.
The style of the animation reminds of Moebius and the great stories of Heavy Metal in the 70's and 80's.