Author Topic: What's your favourite TV program of the moment?  (Read 333858 times)

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Offline 8ullfrog

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Re: What's your favourite TV program of the moment?
« Reply #1560 on: December 19, 2019, 11:23:14 PM »
Rick and Morty has been catching a lot of poo for not surpassing itself for a while, but that was all proven to be cowpoo in Rattlestar Ricklactica.

Honestly I feel like they're making more the show they want to make rather than deliver to expectations, but with Rattlestar, they kicked the wheels off. It was nuts and fantastic. Interestingly enough, the previous episode - Claw and Hoarder: Special Rictim's Morty seemed like it was trying to make the audience uncomfortable, which is an interesting direction to go to.

The Mandalorian, I was honestly done after the first arc, so, three episodes? I mean the fourth one was good, but I felt done.

I've been putting off the last two seasons of SG-1 to try and wait on six to catch up.

Offline 6pairsofshoes

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Re: What's your favourite TV program of the moment?
« Reply #1561 on: December 22, 2019, 04:16:21 AM »
Just finished season 4 of the Expanse in which we learn that people are either total dicks or noble and this sad tendency persists no matter where they might take it.

I was sort of sad that the infrastructure on Illus excluded the ultra cool subway system.  The tragedy of this series is that the engineering of the vanished aliens a) totally kicked ass and b) was insufficient to prevent their extinction.  I was also sorry to see Miller go.  His persona afforded an interesting exploration of the unplumbed depths of that vanished civilization.  I guess it's back to SG1 and Mrs. Maisel or something. p.s.  Murdry was really overwritten in the tv series.  He's a total homocidal maniac and all he missed was a big old Snydley Whiplash moustache to wrap around his finger while laughing maniacally.  The guy in the book was a little more nuanced.
« Last Edit: December 22, 2019, 04:19:53 AM by 6pairsofshoes »

Offline 8ullfrog

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Re: What's your favourite TV program of the moment?
« Reply #1562 on: December 22, 2019, 04:33:48 AM »
I tried Witcher, and nope.

 I didn't even hit the annoying bit.

The swordplay is fantastic, I was very happy with the final killing sprint, but the stuff with Cintra bored the golly out of me. I understand Ciri is like the darling of the entire book and game series, but I never played Witcher. I didn't like her, I didn't like Cintra, and it felt like I was being dragged away from the show I wanted to watch whenever those naffs were on screen.

Now I hear the series is non chronological, and like, that's too clever. Like, Reservoir dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, I put it aside and just live with the mish-mashed sequence.

But a series? No, they win, they're too clever for me.

I didn't even bother with Westworld S2 after I heard how bent and clever it was.

Expanse just looked like the failed red faction pilot to me, paintballers with rayguns and 24 scary lady as grandma jack bauer. I suppose the whole "time is a flat circle" came around, since she's the one doing the torturing in expanse.

Offline 6pairsofshoes

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Re: What's your favourite TV program of the moment?
« Reply #1563 on: December 22, 2019, 07:09:09 AM »
I tried Witcher, and nope.

 I didn't even hit the annoying bit.

The swordplay is fantastic, I was very happy with the final killing sprint, but the stuff with Cintra bored the golly out of me. I understand Ciri is like the darling of the entire book and game series, but I never played Witcher. I didn't like her, I didn't like Cintra, and it felt like I was being dragged away from the show I wanted to watch whenever those naffs were on screen.

Now I hear the series is non chronological, and like, that's too clever. Like, Reservoir dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, I put it aside and just live with the mish-mashed sequence.

But a series? No, they win, they're too clever for me.

I didn't even bother with Westworld S2 after I heard how bent and clever it was.

Expanse just looked like the failed red faction pilot to me, paintballers with rayguns and 24 scary lady as grandma jack bauer. I suppose the whole "time is a flat circle" came around, since she's the one doing the torturing in expanse.

I haven't seen Witcher, but I did watch the second season of Westworld.  I have not read the book, but it seems consonant with the premise of robots/replicants get pissed and want their own lives theme that we saw glimpses of in Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep).

I was puzzled by your comments re:  The Expanse.  Maybe because I've never seen 24.  I checked the Wikipedia to see who "grandma" might be, but the actress who plays Chrisjen Avasarala, UN Deputy Undersecretary of Executive Administration, Shohreh Aghdashloo, doesn't appear in the cast of 24, so I'm left scratching my head.  Maybe you are confusing her with someone else?  There are actors who look alike that I often confuse in other series, so I can see how it might be possible.

She isn't scary, in particular, she's reluctantly in power and trying to prevent things from going wrong (like wars, etc.) as one of the higher ups at the U.N.  That's one premise I never really got, the idea that the UN would ever be in a position to run a world government.  Anyone who dreams that up is a starry eyed optimist who never had any experience with the actual organization.  But Avasarala is a beautiful older woman who curses a good deal and is relatively effective in parrying power plays by her male counterparts and higher ups.

There are people who end up in power reluctantly, usually the good guys, and then there's people who for whatever reason-- blind drive for power, or misguided group identity (nationalism, ethnicity, etc.)-- who end up pushing against the greater good for selfish reasons.  It's an effective projection of geopolitics into the future.  There's mad scientists and people trying to advance humanity via unethical medical experiments, etc.  And then there's stuff that happens when we end up encountering the remains (technology, materials, artefacts) of a long vanquished alien civilization.   A great deal of the plot hinges on those encounters in the larger context of human expansion into the solar system and beyond.

I think it took me a while to warm up to it, kind of like Game of Thrones, but I ended up reading the series of books and found that it pretty faithfully follows the plot trajectory of those in the show.  Maybe you might give it another chance.  Or not.

Offline 8ullfrog

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Re: What's your favourite TV program of the moment?
« Reply #1564 on: December 22, 2019, 07:14:27 AM »
https://24.fandom.com/wiki/Shohreh_Aghdashloo

Honestly, I feel bad that her and Alexander Siddig, bothered with 24.

Honestly,  I spend far too much time reading fanfic, and I'm STILL mad that I've yet to see a doctor Bashir (DS9) Doran Martel (GOT) fic.

Shohreh Aghdashloo though? She bad mang, I wouldn't want to piss her off.

Like, I'm a polite dude, most people like me IRL, but I'd be scared if I met her.

And holy golly was she wasted in that lousy star trek movie where Chris Pine rode a motorcycle.

Like, she's fantastic, she scares the poo out of me, and I'd respect her as an Admiral.
« Last Edit: December 22, 2019, 07:22:15 AM by 8ullfrog »

Offline 6pairsofshoes

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Re: What's your favourite TV program of the moment?
« Reply #1565 on: December 22, 2019, 06:28:04 PM »
Thanks for the link.  Like I said, I've never watched 24.  I like Homeland and would be inclined to check it out if it is anything like it.  I don't think Homeland has come back yet for another season.

I'm in the middle of baking a bunch of cookies right now, so I have to cut this short.

Offline 6pairsofshoes

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Re: What's your favourite TV program of the moment?
« Reply #1566 on: December 23, 2019, 02:55:00 AM »
I just finished the Man in the High Castle.  The ending was satisfying, although those screen writers attacked the book like a Marylander with a tableful of steamed crabs.  They picked every bit of meat and possible plot development they could out of it.  There was lots in the series that never appeared in the book.   The book was not nearly as optimistic.

I seem to be finishing up lots of stuff lately, novels, tv shows, etc.  That means I'll be tossing about for new stuff to watch in the new year and I'm open to suggestions.

Offline goldshirt*9

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Re: What's your favourite TV program of the moment?
« Reply #1567 on: December 23, 2019, 08:05:20 AM »
Have just watched The Witcher 8 episodes
Not Game of Thrones, knew nother about it except a game but number 1 son told about everything.
Quality OK good effects and acting OK
Just OK

Offline 8ullfrog

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Re: What's your favourite TV program of the moment?
« Reply #1568 on: December 27, 2019, 09:10:47 AM »
I got downvoted on reddit for saying Witcher is too clever for me.

Specifically, I can deal with a non-chronological timeline for a movie, say pulp fiction, I'll even suspend my anger for two, in the case of Kill Bill.

But a series with a fucky timeline? No, the author is asking too much of me, and is now plonking into the timestream.

I didn't say that on reddit, I simply said that such a thing is too clever for me and I won't watch it.

But yeah, it's authorial bless'ed masturbation.

I didn't even watch Westworld S2 because I heard they played with this and the old chestnut "unreliable narrator."

And like, I'm actually perfectly cool with an unreliable narrator, so much as a set narrative is in effect!

If everything is out the window, golly it, it's wank!


Mandalorian got me back off how bad I've heard the last skywalker is. I won't spoil it here, but if anyone wants to know, the pre release spoilers were all true.


Mando is some badass poo.

Like I watched the first three, and was done. It's a great, self contained narrative, you could leave it there.

Episode 4 introduced Gina Carano, and she's boss as golly here. I considered 4 like, kids playing with action figures. It was good, but not really what I look for in a series. It kind of put me off the show.





But post Christmas, I came back. 5 was somewhat sad, in that bad things happen, and they didn't have to.

6 was bad. ass. I saw the devil man, and thought, that's very Fred Gwynn / Clancy Brown.

IT WAS CLANCY BROWN.

And then of course, Billy Burr. Talks mad poo on star wars, and delivers an absolutely respectful character.

Like, Benecio del toro was in the second one, last jedi? And he may as well have been the squirrel from ice age, looking for a walnut, for the absolute poo performance he turned in.

Like, my mindset is that benecio del toro hates star wars, and when he had the chance to poo right in the franchise, he took it.

Unlike the Mandalorian, where EVERY guest star sells it, nobody winks. Giancarlo Esposito shows up, and he's as scary here as he ever was in Breaking Bad.

Carl Weathers clearly LOVES THIS poo, and sells his character well. I hated him in 3, and in the last one, I'm worried about a guy I wanted dead.

One other neat deconstruct Mando did, A lot of the time, like with video games, the bad guy will have a glowing weakspot.

Well in mando, they turn that back, something I have NEVER SEEN.

The bad guy finds the glowing weakspot on the good guy, and kicks the bless'ed poo out of him.

Boss. As. Hell.

Offline 6pairsofshoes

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Re: What's your favourite TV program of the moment?
« Reply #1569 on: December 30, 2019, 11:53:12 PM »
Watching the new series of Mrs. Maisel.  It's ok.  Moderately entertaining, but very predictable.  The Crown, with Olivia Colman, sort of harsh transition from Claire Foy as the Queen, but I guess I'll get used to the forced diction, etc.  Princess Margaret has turned into Helena Bonham-Carter and is becoming a hard bitten drunk.   Wow.  Her husband doesn't seem to like her much.  Crack out the popcorn.

Soon, I'll get tired of this and go back to science fiction so I can catch up with 8ully.

Offline smokester

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Re: What's your favourite TV program of the moment?
« Reply #1570 on: January 04, 2020, 04:48:49 AM »
We started on the second series of the Lost in Space reboot and I'm beginning to accept the modern take on it that is far more serious in tone. There are too many people in it for my liking as it comes across more like The 100 than The Swiss Family Robinson.

Enjoying it nonetheless.
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Offline goldshirt*9

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Re: What's your favourite TV program of the moment?
« Reply #1571 on: January 19, 2020, 01:10:33 AM »
As I have stated a few times I dont do TV a lot but Ross Kemp in Belmarsh prison was interesting if not managed.

Offline 8ullfrog

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Re: What's your favourite TV program of the moment?
« Reply #1572 on: January 19, 2020, 04:51:44 PM »
I'm gonna have to spin the DVD drive up soon, 6 is catching up with me.

I like the character Cam Mitchell in S8, and that's about it. Vala became grating extremely quickly, she probably should have been a one-off. The Ori plot never fails to disappoint, it's kind of a drag.

Offline smokester

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Re: What's your favourite TV program of the moment?
« Reply #1573 on: January 25, 2020, 11:30:07 AM »
Started on V-Wars as it seemed right up my street. Provisional verdict is that it's far enough away from The Strain for it so feel vaguely original, but lacks to impressive FX that the Strain had so it also seems like a poor relation.

Lots of gory fun does it for me tho'.
Don't put off until tomorrow, what you can put off until the day after.

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Offline 6pairsofshoes

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Re: What's your favourite TV program of the moment?
« Reply #1574 on: January 26, 2020, 12:00:25 AM »
We are re-watching, for the third or fourth time, Trailer Park Boys.  Season 1: ep. 4 is hilarious.  Ricky gets shot twice and his pot brownies end up in unintended places.  Julian gets lectured by his "grandma" about drinking excessively, and Mr. Leahy gets reminded that he's not a cop any longer.

Some neighborhood kids decided to take advantage of the occasion of the Lunar New Year to set off a chain of firecrackers.  It was pretty loud.  It reminded me of the bottle throwing kids in Trailer Park Boys.
« Last Edit: January 26, 2020, 12:17:33 AM by 6pairsofshoes »