User reviews

When you watch bad science fiction, it can be nearly as mesmerizing as watching excellent science fiction. I've probably watched 'judge dread' as many times as I have 'the man from earth', or 'chronicles of Riddick' as many times as 'the color of magic', for very different reasons obviously. The problem that I am left with in the show, is that it isn't entirely bad. The bad parts are funny, like the line "2000 light years away, that's at the end of the universe." Wait, what? It is kind of disturbing that the writers thought that was true. or did they? are they intentionally writing bad dialogue to be funny? I'm not sure. But, make no mistake, the writing is terrible, intentionally, or not, which if you are in the mood, is actually bad enough to be funny. Some people are saying the rest of it is bad, and I disagree. Makeup, graphics, staging, and cgi are all done fairly well, there are points where you can see they clearly didn't have the money to make it perfect, but this isn't the hobbit or star wars, it is a low budget TV miniseries. All of the aforementioned areas seem authentic, and well done, if not perfect. Where it gets weird is that I almost feel bad for the actors. You see moments where acting talent comes through, and no matter how talented you are, you can't make dialogue that isn't researched or thought out, which often reads like stage directions, into Shakespeare, you just can't. Normally in bad scifi you get terrible actors like vin diesel in chronicles of Riddick, or Stallone in judge dread, but some of the actors here actually have some level of talent, detracting from the humor of it. When you hear Vin Diesel respond to the line 'how do you get eyes like that?' with 'you've got to kill a lot of people' it is almost transcendently terrible. When you hear Joe Flannigan of stargate atlantis fame say that it is 2000 light years to the end of the universe, that just breaks your heart a little. If you are looking for advice on whether to watch of not, I'd say give it a go for a good laugh. I for one will probably keep watching for that reason.

I would suggest that you go into this show thinking of it as more of an SF "cartoon" than a high concept SF show. There is some ok stuff going on in this show here and there, but its not Black Mirror, and unfortunately, it seems like the writers for this show are more like "professional" writers than they are genuinely imaginative. The successful pieces only happen occasionally, and even then, it's never quite as compelling, or even as weird, as it should be.

I have nothing against pop SF that is more candy than science, but with this in mind, this could have been a better show if they had perhaps found better writing. The ideas behind most of these episodes don't feel fleshed out or well constructed. In fact, many episodes feel like they are padding out the stories in order to fill the time requirements. Sometimes the show does hit a cool note, but if you compare this to other SF shows doing a similar thing (Black Mirror, Electric Dreams, or even Dimension 404) this seems the least inspired, which might seem perplexing to some, because the writers for this show are supposed to be some of "the best" comic book writers in the industry. Well, this is misleading. Most of these writers are well known comic book writers, but rarely does that equate to being the most inspired or creative, unfortunately. They are just names that everybody knows because they have been around for so long.

Metal Hurlant was originally a hugely successful adult comic book/magazine that hit its height of popularity in the late 70s and through the 80s. The magazine has managed to stay around in one form or another, and most of these episodes are taken from material that is relatively new. Originally Metal Hurlant was never really a high concept venue as much as it was an experimental venue. It thrived on trying new ideas and had a huge span of variety in style and substance. It was punk rock and edgy, entirely unconcerned with PC politics or standards of professionalism. It thrived because of it's willingness to explore. The rebel spirit that was a pervasive part of the independent comic scene in those days is really all but dead, across the industry as a whole, which is much more focused upon the abstract concepts of professionalism and sell-ability than being motivated by compelling creativity. You would think that this should essentially be the same thing, but in fact it isn't, and its a mindset that produces different results.

This show sometimes peeks through the window of the past and find some of that original glory, but it too often feels more sterile than it should. I get the sense that the producers of the show wanted to capture something of the old days for a new generation, but the material just doesn't pull out enough mystery or surprises.

My recommendation is to at least try it, and skip the weaker episodes. There is some ok stuff here and there, especially if you like SF, but don't expect the cutting edge.

i have a pretty high tolerance for science fiction, even goofy campy science fiction, heck i liked lexx, but this the some serious dreck. a few of the episodes rise up towards mediocrity... sort of like a bad episode of the 80s show "tales from the dark side", with obviously telegraphed twist ends and sub par acting but at least a decent narrative structure and look. the others look like they are plays written and produced as class assignments for a middle school creative writing class and acted by people banded from normal TV for gross incompetence. i'll admit some of the problems may be from the source material, i remember the magazine when i read it in the 80s had a tendency toward ham handed plots and obvious twist endings, but you would think the producers would have at least cherry picked their story lines from the publications long run of issues.

SYFY is showing Metal Hurlant Chronicles = Heavy Metal ( yes, the French mag ) anthology stories. Production, acting, script all on par with standard SYFY channel fare like "Sharknado". I figured it would look cheap, that's not an issue. Sure, the acting is weak, but with ads, it's only 18 minutes of story.

Come on – they can't tell a story that holds together for a mere 18 minutes? No, they can't. ONE stupid twist ending is okay. TWO is pushing it for a 12 episode series. Doing that same "fooled you" trick ending in every god-damned story is just ridiculous. These are not stories – they are only set-ups and punch lines.

This doesn't even come close to storytelling, it's more like random juxtaposition of sci-fi & fantasy elements. The Twilight Zone did that, but they had a moral and Serling knew how to write a play in 3 acts.

Not happening with Metal Hurlant.

This TV show is a kind of punk version of the 50s classic "Twilight Zone". The stories told are out of short stories found into "Métal Hurlant", a very important comics and science fiction magazine published between 1975 and 1987 (and also in the US under the name of "Heavy Metal"), where it was possible to read people like Druillet, Moebius, Wrightson or Corben. Two animated movies have been done : Heavy Metal and Heavy Metal 2000. The "Metal Hurlant Chronicles" is made of short episodes : stories and actors are never the same ones. The cast is quite surprising, with American and french actors. There are only six episodes (making seven stories, as one episode is sliced in two different stories) and the result is quite fair, even if the special effects can seem a little cheesy, but it might be on purpose, as it is naive and funny science-fiction.

Back in the 80s this would have been heralded as something quite special, and possibly even, cutting edge. Unfortunately, although still entertaining, this is poorly executed and a real missed opportunity.

I've been a fan of the Heavy Metal magazine ever since the early 80s, and although it could be regarded as sexist, misogynistic, puerile and overly graphic, especially today, it still has been the spawning ground for some pretty state-of-the-art stories and artists. The late great Jean (Moebius) Giraud being one of many that were ported over from Metal Hurlant to Heavy Metal.

This is why I find it sad that the Metal Hurlant Chronicles is so bad. The stories are hit and miss, some a lot better than others, the acting verges on laughable and the special effect.... well, some of those are not too bad to be fair.

To be totally honest, the first season was not too bad, and did have some pretty good stories. But the second season.... what the hell happened...!?!?!?!?!? The stories and acting took a nosedive. At the end of most the episodes I sit there thinking "Is that it????!!!!???" No clever twist or sting in the tail. Just a dull end to a dull story. I watched the episode "The Second Son" last night. Truly awful.

So my advice would be: > Switch your mind back to 80s thinking. > Maybe have a beer or 2. > And only watch the first season.

For the sake of nostalgia and that the first season is passable, I'll give it 4 stars.

My wife and I tore through these episodes pretty quickly. They were quite enjoyable and we made a game of trying to guess the "twist" endings. Most of the time, the twists had twists! In one episode, the twist was there wasn't a twist! Being a half-hour show also also eliminated the padding that you would have gotten with hour-long episodes. I also thought the series had pretty good special effects for a low budget effort. It succeeded in capturing the flavor of Heavy Metal magazine and it looked quite different than anything else on TV. I hope SyFi or some other network picks it up. It's great news that the producers are making a second season.

Very disappointing mini-series consisting of 6 short episodes, each with a duration of only 25 minutes. The poster looks nice but it's not leveled by the content of the movies. The proposed shorts are uneven in quality and certainly not worth the title named after the great French magazine "Metal Hurlant", from which unfortunately is nothing left but the title. The psychological introduction and positioning of the main characters are so superficial that it is hard to emphasize with them. The actors are not convincing and badly directed, everything is below the average, including the point of views of the camera, the editing, the special effects. My advice : don't spent your time or money on that season.

The initial previews of the show really looked promising, however, after watching the first few episodes my opinion has lowered drastically. The show is full of poorly rendered special effects, bad acting and plastic actors. Story lines look like they may get better over time, but for now they are unremarkable and not compelling enough to hold my interest.

The show seems to try to duplicate the Joss Whedon gem, Firefly, but falls short due to poor production value and bad writing.

Not going to go into any spoilers or specific information, but suffice it to say that I will more than likely just wait until I can Netflix the series rather than sitting through the network showing, so at least I can spare myself the pain of the commercials.

Hopefully, like Farscape, the series will improve over time. But for now it is looking like it is made by the same team who makes those "SyFy made-for-TV-movies".

When a cheap looking Sci-Fi show comes around that I never heard of, I immediately fear the worst. Mutant Hurlant Chronicles came along- toting a big cast with recognizable names like Michael Jai White (Black Dynamite) Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner) Michael Biehn (Aliens) and John Rhys-Davies (Raiders Of The Lost Ark) I thought there might be a chance that it could be good. I was wrong. Based on the popular comic of the 80's, Heavy Metal, each episode is it's own story with a different cast that takes place on a different planet. This idea I love because it gives the viewer a new story every episode, the only problem is that almost every episode sucks. Bad writing, acting and special effects make it seem like something that would air after Sharknado on Syfy. (Fitting considering it's the same network.) Another problem is how they end each episode, there always has to be some type of M. Night Shyamaian twist that more often than not you see coming a mile away. One positive thing I can say about the show is that it looks great on Blu-ray.

This French series (shot in English) adapts stories from the "Metal Hurlant" magazine, which eventually became "Heavy Metal" in the U.S. Director Guillaume Lubrano helms six 25-minute episodes with the common thread being a metal/rock meteor (the Metal Hurlant) screaming past each of these alien worlds before each story.

"King's Crown" has peasants on a floating rock of a planet engaging in a combat tournament to determine the new king. Two of the better combatants are Michael Jai White and Scott Adkins. "Shelter Me" has a girl (Michelle Ryan) waking up in a bomb shelter and being told by a man (James Marsters) that he saved her before a nuclear war. Soon she starts doubting his story. "Three on a Match" has three men (Craig Fairbrass, Dominique Pinon, and Eriq Ebouaney) battling for space on an escape pod. "Red Light / Cold Hard Facts" is an episode split in two and was apparently the pilot that Lubrano shot to get the series greenlit. "Red Light" focuses on a prisoner (David Belle of the BANLIEUE 13 series) fighting a guard (French MMA fighter Cyril Diabate) while trying to escape a high-tech prison; "Cold Hard Facts" has folks in the 24th century discovering a 20th century cryogenic patient that they resurrect. "Pledge of Anya" has a young warrior sent by his master (Rutger Hauer) to the planet Earth to destroy a "dragon." Finally, "Master of Destiny" focuses on a intergalactic hunter named Hondo (Joe Flanigan) who sets out on a quest to find a planet where the alien race can tell you when you are going to die. This one might gain the most interest from fans as it adapts a story co-written by Alejandro Jodorowsky back in the day.

Being not all that familiar with the source material, I still found this to be a fun series and got through the two and a half hours quickly. Lubrano has definitely chosen some good stories to adapt. Sure, you'll see some twists coming a mile away, but others not so much. He also has a pretty great visual style and some of the space shots are great, esp. for a low budget series. Another thing I liked was his casting as he got some good familiar faces in there (although I doubt Hauer was ever on set with anything but a green screen) and I'll never complain about seeing White and Adkins face off. A second season has been greenlit so look for that.

Very crappy . Every episode is different . and tells small stupid stories that have absolutely nothing to do with one another except a meteor going past a planet . whoopee dew. Very boring . I watched all the first 6 episodes. Which is season 1 BTW . Science Fiction channel is losing it . They canceled Warehouse 13 but this crap is airing . There is not a lot to review about this. It doesn't have a story. Its has ,no main characters and no plot. The intro to the series is very deceiving. At first I thought I was going to be watch a hot woman kicking some bad guys butt. HAd nothing to do with the story as well. Just made up randomness .

The Metal Hurlant Chronicles is a good series. It is similar to The Twilight Zone telling six different stories. After seeing all six, I like the series very much. The stories have different themes and are good. Each one makes a person think. The producers hope to make more episodes telling new stories. I personally enjoyed Joe Flanigan's episode. The story was really good and Joe's acting was great. Hopefully, the series will be seen in the US. Right now, it can be seen in Europe on different networks and different channels. The series has been released on DVD and Blu-Ray in France. The producers are working on releasing the series in Australia on DVD and Blu-Ray

I wish there was a network where all the Sex & Violence heavy shows could go hang out and jerk off together.

There is room for sexual content in Science Fiction to be sure. The nature of graphic novel to film usually means that the Jessica Rabbit/Surgically altered female characters become more human/less plastic filled sex toys (as in the film treatment of Lara Croft story lines where Angelina wore some bra fillers to make her boobs look bigger) The kill & screw scenes of these Sex & Violence festivals are certainly, filling a fetish need for a lot of basement dwelling males, but they are sucking up marketing and promotional dollars that could be spent making GOOD Sci-Fi that a wider audience can enjoy.

I can't even watch this show without imagining a creeper neighbor boy drooling over the silicone boulder tits and the violent fantasy of tossing women around like garbage before and after you've violated them. Nice message to send to a world where ONE IN FOUR WOMEN IS RAPED...FOR REAL.

The story line is weak, the special effects are left overs from a mishmash of prop warehouses from the 1980's and I'm waiting for the Lost In Space era robots to say, "Danger Will Robinson! Gratuitous sex and violence ahead!" UGH. I've watched my one and only episode of this crap show.

It's pretty bad when you've only got about 22 minutes to fill and your show drags. This is basically a bunch of fighting and boasting with a tiny bit of story and a twist ending. You could probably edit this down to a mildly interesting 5 minutes. I don't see any possibility that any series that can make something this tedious could possibly produce anything worth watching.

I cringed for ten whole minutes. Ten minutes that have been lost from my life forever.

This review contains no spolier. They are all in the first episode.

I really enjoyed this series. First off it's anthology which I do appreciate and next it was entertaining. I miss it

Honestly, How much do people get paid for posting positive reviews for this show? I swear this garbage is about the worst sci-fi ever. Loaded with bad acting, and I mean bad, cliche plot lines, horrible special effects, It really shouldn't even be called special effects it should just be called effects, they suck that bad. I really feel bad for the creators of this content, wait a minute no I don't. They obviously suckered somebody into buying this crap. I am begining to think I should start making content because it would be way better than this stuff.

I'm baffled by this series. Two of them. Some episodes featuring actual actors. Utterly baffling, utterly pointless. Some of the worst acting, admittedly being forced to use the worst scripts but still... how could you? Do NOT watch this. It is not "so bad it's good". I suspect a large amount of French involvement, just a feeling. Rutger how could you?

I stole this off t'internet because Kelly Brook was in it. I assumed she was in all of it, but this is an unconnected series of vague scifi episodes about ... stuff.

Worse than The Northman. Worse than Alien Covenant. Worse than American Gigolo. (Those are the three worst films that spring to mind) Oh yeah, worse than Yellowstone. See I included a series.

It's entirely possible, though I doubt it, that this show improves after the first episode. I do know this however, you one try at making a first impression and this show fails spectacularly at that.

It barely deserves 1 star, if I could give it less I would.

The characters are too shallow, the scripts are not engaging and interesting to make it a cult movie.. It could be ok back in the 80's but way too weak for this millenium .

Every episode has a different gender just few of them are shi-fi in some shape or form, the fights are power rangers stile same as most of the script.

Um yeah just saw the episode with colonel shepherd. Um you can tell he was exceptionally uninspired by the writing. Not saying he was a great actor in stargate atlantis. But at least he committed to the role. The writing was so bad in that episode, I don't fault him. This is what you get when you have poor writing and direction. The rest of the crew tries to carry it, but no direction.