A Sci-Fi Masterpiece Despite Alan Moore's Disapproval

HBO is home to some of the best TV shows of all time, among them a nine-part sci-fi masterpiece that has pissed off its original author. HBO has stood out for its high-quality TV shows covering different genres, and though it has mostly succeeded with drama shows like The Sopranos and Succession, it also has notable sci-fi TV shows.

Sci-fi shows like Westworld, The Last Of Us, and His Dark Materials are some of HBO’s best, but there are other great shows that have gotten lost among the rest. One of them is Watchmen, a superhero drama limited TV show created by Damon Lindelof and based on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ comic book series of the same name.

Watchmen is one of HBO’s most acclaimed TV shows of the 2010s, and even though it pissed off its original author, it remains one of HBO’s greatest sci-fi masterpieces.

HBO’s Watchmen Show Is A Sequel To The Original Comics

As mentioned above, HBO’s Watchmen limited series is based on the comic book of the same name, but it serves as a sequel to it. As such, the show is set 34 years after the events of the comics, in an alternate version of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2019, where vigilantes are no longer seen as heroes and were instead outlawed due to their questionable methods.

In 2016, a white supremacist group inspired by Rorschach’s journal and known as the Seventh Kavalry, attacked the homes of various police officers from the Tulsa Police Department. Now in 2019, one of the survivors, Detective Angela Abar (Regina King), attempts to catch the Seventh Kavalry, while in the middle of two competing plots to kidnap Doctor Manhattan.

HBO’s Watchmen TV series holds a near-perfect critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes of 96%, with critics praising its writing, themes, visuals, performances, and its approach to its source material, as well as how it expands it. However, despite all the praise it received, Alan Moore isn’t fond of it at all.

Why Alan Moore Doesn’t Like Watchmen Adaptations

A hooded hero in the Watchmen TV show. — A hooded hero in the Watchmen TV show

Watchmen was praised by critics and general audiences, but it didn’t (and at this point never will) get the approval of Alan Moore. Back in 2005, Moore asked for his name to be removed from all movies based on his work (via The Comics Reporter), including the then-upcoming Watchmen movie, directed by Zack Snyder.

In 2022, in an interview with GQ, Moore revealed that Lindelof tried to reach out to him when the Watchmen TV series was in development in a letter that he described as “neurotic rambling.” Moore let Lindelof know that they shouldn’t contact him at all, explaining that he had disowned the work due to the industry making changes that had nothing to do with his work, yet they were associated with it.

As popular as the Watchmen adaptations have been, the truth is that the main point of Moore’s comic book has been lost. The movie, in particular, was very violent, while Moore’s comic is more anti-violence, with political commentary and satirizing superheroes. Moore has every right to be dissatisfied with how other artists have interpreted (or misinterpreted) his works, even if some of them, like HBO’s Watchmen, were very good.

HBO’s Watchmen Stands Out From Other Comic Book Properties

Watchmen cops wearing yellow masks and batons.

While comic book adaptations usually cover serious topics, they rarely go deep into them, whether due to their focus on the more action/superhero side of their stories or to avoid potential controversies. That wasn’t the case with Watchmen, which heavily focused on power, corruption, racism, trauma, and other social and political issues.

Daredevil looking unimpressed in the 2015 Netflix show

HBO’s 96% RT Superhero Masterpiece Is Better Than Any DC Or Marvel Show

The influx of Marvel and DC shows over the decade still haven’t topped this 2019 gem from HBO.

Watchmen is character-driven, gritty, and blurs the lines between “good” and “evil”, inviting the audience to question the ethics of superheroes. Of course, one of Watchmen’s strengths is its cinematography, with high-quality visuals that make it different from most superhero adaptations. While Moore’s feelings and opinion are definitely valid and understandable, they don’t make HBO’s Watchmen any less great.

Source: The Comics Reporter, GQ.