Cynical gamers weren’t too shocked by the recent revelation that the Halo streaming series was cancelled due to poor ratings. There was so much promise this time around for the Showtime-produced program, but after two seasons, it simply didn’t work out. Will the Master Chief EVER receive goodwill by filmmakers to release a truly excellent big-screen adaptation of the massively popular video game series?
As a lifelong gamer whose XBOX devotion stems from the original 2001 release, Combat Evolved and has lasted through 10 game completions (getting every single achievement with plans to start even more), I was incredibly disappointed with the program. My enthusiasm quickly diminished for its future prospects when the cybernetically enhanced super soldier, John-117 (played by Pablo Schreiber), quickly removed his helmet during the series premiere! In the course of mere minutes within the very first episode, the filmmakers decided to do something that has never been done within the history of its 14 games, so I really don’t feel any sympathy for losing this show.
It was Halo in name, only.
A collaboration between Microsoft Studios, Amblin Entertainment and 343 Industries, why didn’t someone — anyone — stand up for the fans, demanding this series stay true to its original source material? And there’s a whole lot of it, outside of the games. So many novels have been dedicated toward building an ongoing backstory for this futuristic military science fiction storyline. One convincing person is all that should have been needed within that writer’s room, realizing there would be backlash. And serious, it was.
While that first episode set a ratings record for Paramount Plus (although no actual numbers of viewers have ever been given), word quickly spread that this was not your father’s Halo. This was something else, entirely.
One could argue the distribution method was flawed from the start, as Parmount Plus isn’t the biggest of streamers and the program should have had a bigger and better broadcast home, but I’d argue that fans had their doubts about it from Day One of its announcement. Quite simply, the helmet issue isn’t the only problem for disgruntled fans, as the show quickly changed its overall lore, so many never truly tuned in from the start.
“Don’t make a girl a promise you can’t keep.”
For Season 1, the Halsey family drama takes center stage, along with the repercussions of child abductions. I can’t say that I would’ve focused on these primary plots, but the costumes and the vehicles looked great. Covenant forces looked bad — and I mean really bad! The reported budget for each episode was $10 million with a total cost of $170 to $200 million per season, but the only way to distract from the piss-poor CGI was to show these aliens with an incredibly shaky and out-of-focus camera. That was immediately noticed.
While there was a hesitance to rely upon too much artificial intelligence, Cortana’s relationship with Chief is also questionable, to say the least. This happens, in part, once the Spartans remove their “pellets,” which are meant to suppress the soldiers’ emotions, leading to bad decisions, which is how John is relieved of active duty and forced to clear a psychiatric evaluation. Doesn’t this sound like the most un-Halo-like story to give long-time paying fans of the franchise?
I really didn’t want any of it, but I did manage to watch 12 of the 17 released episodes during a free preview weekend. If that didn’t excite you, then the cramming of all-new characters into the storyline to make it all seem feasible only adds to the on-screen trauma. And why wouldn’t the “demon” have sex with a prisoner of war? Shouldn’t that also be considered a war crime against our hero?
“Find your faith, Spartan. I have seen your death. It comes soon…”
Not everything is truly terrible about this series. Capt. Jacob Keyes (Danny Sapani) is just as good an authority figure as Dr. Catherine Halsey (Natascha McElhone) is terrifyingly manipulative. The disfigured Spartan-II candidate, Soren-006 (Bokeem Woodbine), is by far the most sympathetic character here, even though he went AWOL. John doesn’t drink alcohol, and the ongoing joke is that he doesn’t eat, either (which is never shown). And, honestly, it wasn’t until the fifth episode of Season 1 where an extended, frantic battle broke out and for the very first time, the show felt somewhat similar to playing the original Halo game on its Legendary difficulty level. I actually rewatched these scenes multiple times in appreciation.
“We have something the enemy does not… we have heroes.”
Good or bad, this version of Halo depicts soldiers doing soldier-like things. As much as it removes the heroic veil from the main character and attempts to depict him as just another human suffering the irrational, residual side effects of a monstrous physical and mental rebirth, there are underlying conspiracy theories within UNSC that I wish the series could have — and should have — focused upon even more, instead of spending so much time with the anti-UNSC rebel, Kwan Ha (Yerin Ha) and other unnecessary characters.
Some green screens are obvious, poorly integrated into the background — I’m not sure if that’s a fault of the filmmakers involved or the budgetary restrictions, which were already very high. Developed by Kyle Killen and Steven Kane, I hope these filmmakers forever lose access to bringing life to anything else related to the Halo properties in the future. They really did a disservice to the franchise.
While the Halo 4 short film wasn’t perfect, comparatively, it feels superior, even though this one’s got a mega budget, which guarantees nothing, but more money spent. Featuring a space pirate, bounty hunters, desert witches and rebels in a galaxy far, far away, this wouldn’t have been such a bad series if it firmly focused on the side characters of the Halo Universe, much like Forward Unto Dawn, and didn’t mess with the already-established mythology, going against the game series and highly superior novels.
Creators Killen and Kane gave it their best shot, but this does feel like too many cooks in the kitchen of creating something special. It doesn’t help that 343 Industries, the current producers of the video game series, has had a couple of misfires recently. The high bar that was originally set by the Bungie team feels like it’s been dropped to the ground level for everything currently Halo related.
I hate to admit it, but some new blood could be well served in bringing new adventures to Master Chief et al. The creators at Microsoft have lost their way with Halo in all of its formats, which feels like a never-ending dumpster fire.
While Season 2 felt like an improvement for this show, it still wasn’t great. And it was too little, too late.
The fate of the series is currently up for grabs, as the show’s producers attempt to shop it around to different networks and outlets, but I’d like to see this version of the franchise to end. While Jen Taylor returns to her original role in voicing Cortana, not bringing in Steve Blum to voice the main character was an absolute casting misstep by this fan. The character’s physical portrayal could have been a bodybuilder, a wrestler or a former professional athlete who didn’t have any speaking roles, but that ship has already sailed.
I’d recommend giving it a few years before shopping The Fall of Reach concept to Amazon Studios. That way, a streamer with a real audience can handle an even bigger budget to showcase a story that doesn’t heavily rely on super soldiers. The human nature aspect can rightfully focus on humanity’s last stand against an impossible-to-defeat enemy, while cranking up the drama. This is the epic 26th-century conflict that I’d rather see, with Spartan-II super soldiers weaving into and out of the stories as needed.
Take a note, Microsoft Studios. Why don’t you listen to the fans (for once) and stop wasting so much money by releasing inferior products!