Jonathan Sitzman

Any creative team which seeks to follow in the steps of Jim Henson has to have some serious chops, and give reverent homage to the source material. The minds behind The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance bring all this to the table in spades. Taking visual and setting chops from a broad swath of fantasy both epic and contemporary (think Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter), but most of all sampling Henson's original visionary work, Age of Resistance manages to be both visually breathtaking yet remarkably consistent with the "puppet" feeling of the 1982 film. The way each character animates subtly evokes the movements of the old film's protagonists and antagonists, transforming those stilted and herky-jerky movements from the realm of puppeteering into a believable repertoire of gestures. The backdrops, of course, are as stunning as modern CGI can be. We've only watched the first episode so far, but we're totally hooked. An ensemble voice cast including Sigourney Weaver, Jason Isaacs, Simon Pegg and Mark Hamill rounds out the experience, and the plot seems consonant with the original film so far. I'm hoping the rest of the series bears out this level of quality. For episode 1 at least, I can give a very high recommendation for any fan of high fantasy.