The Hardy Boys (2020) - General Discussion

[jewel21]

I finally got around to finishing Season 2 yesterday. I preferred Season 1 but Season 2 was a decent season. I'm just not sure I want to deal with Frank not actually being Frank because, well, I don't care for Frank, heh. But maybe I'll get super antsy and worried Joe as a result and that could be appealing. I do love me some Joe. I missed his interactions with Biff, though. She was off in her own storylines much of the time with Phil. And while I enjoyed Phil, I'm hoping for Biff and Joe to be endgame, which I admit is a weird thing to say about 12 year olds, heh. 

[88Keys]

On 1/22/2023 at 9:55 AM, jewel21 said:

I finally got around to finishing Season 2 yesterday. I preferred Season 1 but Season 2 was a decent season. I'm just not sure I want to deal with Frank not actually being Frank because, well, I don't care for Frank, heh. But maybe I'll get super antsy and worried Joe as a result and that could be appealing. I do love me some Joe. I missed his interactions with Biff, though. She was off in her own storylines much of the time with Phil. And while I enjoyed Phil, I'm hoping for Biff and Joe to be endgame, which I admit is a weird thing to say about 12 year olds, heh. 

Season 1 felt more like a Hardy Boys story to me.  Season 2 was kind of insane lol.  And hey, maybe you will like Frank better when he's not himself.  I think Evil!Frank could be really interesting.  How long before Joe figures it out, or has he already?  Something about the way he looked at Frank during that last episode makes me think he knows something is up.  You think Fenton will even notice that Frank is different since he's never around anyway?  🙄

I don't mind Biff and Joe ending up as just friends, because they always seemed kind of like brother and sister to me anyway.  But I do miss their scenes.  They were great together.  

[jewel21]

6 hours ago, 88Keys said:

Season 1 felt more like a Hardy Boys story to me.  Season 2 was kind of insane lol.  And hey, maybe you will like Frank better when he's not himself.  I think Evil!Frank could be really interesting.  How long before Joe figures it out, or has he already?  Something about the way he looked at Frank during that last episode makes me think he knows something is up.  You think Fenton will even notice that Frank is different since he's never around anyway?  🙄

I don't mind Biff and Joe ending up as just friends, because they always seemed kind of like brother and sister to me anyway.  But I do miss their scenes.  They were great together.  

Yes, Season 1 was more of a straight up mystery. Season two was nuts but I still enjoyed it. 

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Joe has already caught on, he's pretty sharp. Fenton is useless and probably won't realize until the second to last episode, heh. 

I'd be fine with more Joe and Biff scenes in general as well.

[88Keys]

It's weird that they made Fenton that way for this show, because in the books he is considered an excellent father.  Admittedly he is gone a lot because of his work but he still seems to care and to have a real connection with his sons.  First season Fenton I can kind of understand; he was dealing with a lot of grief, too.  Second season Fenton seems like a completely different person and has almost no connection to his sons.  It's so weird.

Speaking of the books, watching this show inspired me to finally check them out.  They are about what I expected, as I grew up reading similar teenaged detective books.  I did find some Easter eggs that the show has put out that I thought were interesting.

Stratemeyer Global- The books were originally created by Edward Stratemeyer and published by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. 

Paul McFarlane- The books were written by a series of ghostwriters under the name "Franklin W. Dixon."  Leslie McFarlane was one of the original ghostwriters and one of the most highly regarded.  His family says he came to hate the characters and the series.

"Demon's Paw"- One one the books is called "Mystery at Devil's Paw"

Also, in season one, when Frank and Joe are in the attic looking down and listening to their father and Ms. Kahn talking about Laura's death, it appears to be a nod to this book cover.

  

 

EDIT: And Vanessa Bender, the Demon Queen in season 2.  Vanessa Bender is the name of Joe's girlfriend in the Hardy Boys Casefiles series.  The "HARDY BOYS" logo for this tv series also looks exactly like the logo for the "Casefiles" series of books. 

Edited January 26, 2023 by 88Keys

[88Keys]

I did some searching to see if the season 3 release date has been mentioned yet.  Nothing so far, but I did find this snippet about the upcoming season, from this link https://premieredate.news/tv-series/6786-the-hardy-boys.html 

"The third season picks up where the shocking events of Season 2 left off. The Hardy boys and their friends dig up even more secrets, conspiracies and threats as they piece together their great-grandfather's long-lost map and race against time to uncover a powerful ancient relic before it falls into the wrong hands."

[AnimeMania]

The Hardy Boys Season 3 (8 episodes) coming sometime in July 2023 on Hulu.

[88Keys]

On 5/21/2023 at 2:51 PM, AnimeMania said:

The Hardy Boys Season 3 (8 episodes) coming sometime in July 2023 on Hulu.

Where did you find this?  I've been checking for the release date for weeks now.

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, 88Keys said:

On 5/21/2023 at 3:51 PM, AnimeMania said:

The Hardy Boys Season 3 (8 episodes) coming sometime in July 2023 on Hulu.

Where did you find this?  I've been checking for the release date for weeks now.

Hulu Originals & Exclusives Summer 2023 Programming Slate

[88Keys]

9 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Hulu Originals & Exclusives Summer 2023 Programming Slate

Thank you!  How exciting!

 

[AnimeMania]

The Hardy Boys Season 3 (8 episodes) Wednesday, July 26, 2023 on Hulu.

[88Keys]

Some first-look images and a bit of plot teaser here  https://tvline.com/lists/the-hardy-boys-final-season-3-release-date-photos/hardy-boys-season-3-cast/

[AnimeMania]

Edited July 12, 2023 by AnimeMania

[88Keys]

That looks awesome.  Looks like they get George out of Frank early on, so they can proceed as a team for the rest of the season.  I was a little worried when I saw they looked like they were dressed for a funeral at first, but I assume that is Gloria's funeral.

Edited July 14, 2023 by 88Keys

[AnimeMania]

The Hardy Boys Season 3     July 26, 2023     Hulu

Episodes 1-8   Titles and Descriptions

Spoiler

S03.E01: A Strange Inheritance

When the gang learn the location of George Estabrook’s (Philip Craig) hidden Codexes, they must enlist the help of an unlikely ally to retrieve them before anyone else.

S03.E02: A Vanishing Act

Betrayed by one of their own, the gang struggle to understand the meaning behind George Estabrook’s map and are soon faced with a shocking quid pro quo. 

S03.E03: A Promise of Trouble

The gang join Callie at Rosegrave with hopes of saving Frank, but they’ll require the help of an old foe, and The Power of The Eye.

S03.E04: The Crash

With Frank back, the race is on to locate the third and final Relic, but the bad guys are hot on the Hardy Boys’ trail.

S03.E05: Revelation

After a shocking blow, the gang must divide and conquer to determine the identity of Deep Voice and get The Core back. 

S03.E06: The Spider’s Net

With the help of Drew, the gang make a daring plan to retrieve The Core, but their loved ones’ lives hang in balance.

S03.E07: At The Old House

The Hardy Boys get the thing they want most and must race to deactivate The Core before it’s too late.

S03.E08: A Wild Ride

As The Core’s true purpose is revealed, the Hardy Boys and their friends must band together to save themselves, and the world, from an unheard-of technology that could forever change life as they know it.

[bettername2come]

I just finished the second episode of season 3 and really enjoying it so far. The confrontation between George and Joe was good. A very satisfying and believable fight scene. I'm glad they didn't drag out the realization. I liked the goodbyes between Callie and Joe (and him telling the team to call Callie with the good news that Frank didn't break up with her). 

I'm amused that Joe is now taller than Frank. 

I don't know who he was playing but Rory/Ragman from Arrow was some guy in a suit. Which makes two My Babysitter's a Vampire alumni on this show.

I want to know who on the show decided they would not be using "codices" and would say "codexes" instead. I also was completely thrown by Drew listening to "None of Your Business" since it didn't come out until 1994 and I thought this show was pretty solidly set in the 80s. 

ETA: 

Okay, I finished and I don't want to make another post. Overall I liked the season more than season 2, would need to rewatch season 1 to tell that for sure. There were a lot of subverted expectations - setting us up for a Nancy Drew reveal, Laura seemingly returning from the dead, mind control setup leading to simulation reveal. I enjoyed Chet's insistence on not cutting off a hand when Joe would've totally gone with it. I'm more confused by the benefits to Drew of having everyone in a simulation. She doesn't exactly have a Matrix-style feeding machine set up for the planet, so I feel like they're all gonna die in a few dies. Bailee Madison made a good villain. 

Joe saying he doesn't even know what grade he's in anymore was a nice leaning on the 4th wall moment. 

I still feel like I've decided JB is alive. He looked dead yes, but they had to leave immediately, who's to say he couldn't have been revived. 

Edited July 31, 2023 by bettername2come

[88Keys]

I'm also two episodes in and I think it's vastly superior to season 2.  Or at least, it's moving more quickly.  I'm glad they realized Frank is not Frank so quickly, because I really wanted to see the team working as a whole and not spending the whole season fighting Frankengeorge (great name by the way).  

Quote

I'm amused that Joe is now taller than Frank. 

The actor playing Joe actually kind of looks like how I picture Joe from the books, now that he's older.  And that fight in episode 2 couldn't have realistically happened last season, since Joe was so much smaller than Frank.

I'm sorry, but I still don't care about Biff's birth mom and sister or whatever.  It completely takes me out of the action when she has to run off to meet with her.  I also find Trudy really annoying, even though she's the only one trying to be a reasonable adult.  And Fenton being wildly absent still bothers me.  He was a good father in the books but he barely seems connected to his boys now.

I'll come back with more when I finish watching. 

Edit to add the nod to the original series I found- the second Hardy Boys book is called "The House on the Cliff" and it is indeed "where it all started."  

Edited August 3, 2023 by 88Keys

[88Keys]

I finally finished this yesterday.  I enjoyed it immensely, even if there were some plot holes and it moved a bit too fast at times.  I felt like too much information was being thrown at me at times, and it was a little hard to keep up.

Episode 3 was a standout to me.  I watched it several times.  Frank and Joe's reunion was perfect, equal parts relief and frustration with each other.  The action was great and I liked the use of "Run to You" and "Raise a Little Hell," both done by Canadians.  

I was NOT expecting 

Spoiler

the death of JB

Like, I sat there with my mouth open in shock.  It also made me legitimately sad and for awhile I hoped it was a fake-out.  I felt like this had a lot of fake-outs and tricks, for lack of a better word, so it did make it hard to trust the show as a whole after awhile.  (The rewind in the last episode was ridiculous).

Episode 7 was a real gut-punch.  I figured something was up pretty early on because everything went so smoothly, but it was still heartbreaking the way it played out.  Last season I said I was upset about them bringing Laura back since her death was the catalyst for everything that happened here, but then they got me worked up for a big reunion.  Only for to not be real.  Poor Frank and Joe.  And Fenton.  I'm still confused as to how he was in the simulation the whole time, because there were things that happened that he shouldn't have known about (how did he know the DSA guy who got shot?), but I can let it go because this was still a fun ride with a lot of heart behind it. 

Bailee Madison did a good job as a villain, but I'm not sure we needed yet another villain, if that makes sense.  I thought maybe she was playing them from the beginning, but I didn't really expect her to be THAT evil in the end.  Her plan of having everyone in a simulation didn't really make sense and there is no way she could have known the long-term consequences, but I think she is the type who just likes to WIN in the end and have her own way no matter what.   Speaking of, anyone else think she is faking?  

Seeing the team all access the power of the Eye to defeat the core made me wonder if the power of the Eye isn't all evil.  Maybe it just brings out what you already are.  George was evil and greedy and the Eye amplified that, but Frank and Joe and the others weren't corrupted because they were good.  The montage of their friendship and family moments seemed to indicate that. 

Phil and Biff...meh.  I don't care.  Felt awkward and shoe-horned in.  I wish they had given Biff more to do besides search for her relatives and have awkward scenes with Phil.  I miss her and Joe's interactions from the first season.

I realize the show probably needed to end since the actors are all growing up, but I would be down for a follow-up tv movie in a year or two.  Maybe when the younger kids are juniors or seniors in high school and Frank and Chet and Callie are in college.  Drew could escape and come back as the villain.  

Easter eggs- Chet grabbing snacks in the second or third episode.  Chet is always eating in the books.

"The Yellow Feather Bar"- there is a "Yellow Feather Mystery" in the original series.  Actually one of the better ones, in my opinion.  

Drew going through the clock into the staircase- Reminded me of a combination of "The Secret of the Old Clock" and "The Hidden Staircase" Nancy Drew titles.