A little late to the party...
Danny: I skimmed the thread so not sure if you went back to it but FYI most people who liked the series weren't fans of the first two episodes.
Judy: I didn't find it distracting but that's me, we are all different. Someday maybe the general public won't find this type of casting as distracting, I guess we aren't there yet (not said in a judgmental way)
So I loved the series ... why?
well it's the first series I've seen that is family centered that doesn't have a damn annoying rebel kid that hates their parents or is a full outcast or whatever. Yes Will is a bit of an outcast but it's not because he's a Wesley crusher character (he's smart but he doesn't magically come up with every solution) and he's certainly flawed. Penny is hilarious, she and West steal most scenes they are in. Judy shows a real immaturity reflecting her position (doctor) that is logical considering her age, the mother has reasons for being a she----smurfette---, the husband is conflicted and trying to do the right thing for correct reasons, but through it all, the family core is actually refreshingly calling back to 50's values and it's welcomed. I mean, the kids are not all do-gooders who obediently do whatever they are told, because they certainly do not. But there is just a really good core family feeling from them that for me, worked...
Robot: I loved the Iron Giant inspiration with the robot, superb considering there's no clear way to portray emotion with its face. Special effects were great and although Dr Smith annoyed the crap out of me, there's also justification behind her fecked up behaviour (at least from her POV).
Altered Carbon: it's not perfect but I loved it, loved the AI guy (best lines) but overall, the show really went in a direction that is believable with it's subject matter. Seriously, if we ever find a way to more or less achieve immortality, I think the effect on religion and who gets to be immortal... it's pretty much what we see in this series.
Both shows: Man, Netflix is going to go broke on these shows. I never imagined any TV series (premium content or not) could ever reach the production values that we see here. You gotta figure the special effects and the fact they have to pay extras for the actors as there are no possible residuals means the total budget of both shows is north of 100m each. Just to show how expensive these shows are, "The Crown", a high production value show had I think a cost of 130m for the first two seasons.