General TV Discussion

Just finished first season of The Deuce. A precinct drama about the titular, vice-riddled area of central New York in the early 1970s, it's pretty full on in its depiction of monetised sleaze, but if you aren't put off by the subject matter, it's a very entertaining series with a top notch cast.
 
Finished The Punisher. It was consistently good throughout and I liked how grounded it felt compared to so much of Marvel's other output, but, I don't know, there was never any point where I stopped and thought 'this is something a bit special'. There's also a particular sequence that I thought wasn't so much a cheeky nod to cancelled Jon Bertnthal series Mob City, as lazy plagarism. Bernthal is spot on though - after a while with the show, you can't imagine anyone else being Frank Castle.

Off the back of that one, I also sampled Daredevil. It's quite good; the action is suitably crunchy and the cast keep it believable, but after watching three episodes in a row, I don't feel any great need to continue with it for now.
 
Professor Irony said:
Off the back of that one, I also sampled Daredevil. It's quite good; the action is suitably crunchy and the cast keep it believable, but after watching three episodes in a row, I don't feel any great need to continue with it for now.
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It gets better as it goes along, and the second series is where Punisher and Electra were introduced. The first season starts to feel more "Daredevil" towards episode seven or something and ends well.
 
Finished S1 of Mindhunter. Doesn't bring anything too revelatory to the table, but it's a well acted, good looking period crime drama about the nascent FBI behavioural science unit and their attempts to identify the newly christened 'serial killers'. I particularly liked the soundtrack, even if some of the choices were a bit on the nose.

[FBI agents interview an imprisoned murderer]
"PSYCHO KILLER, QU'EST-CE QUE C'EST..."
 
re - watching Boardwalk Empire. I absolutely love everything about this show, the characters are complex and well acted, the setting is interesting and vibrant. Definitely my favourite tv show ever, I even like it more than game of thrones.
 
Been watching some ABC Family tv show with my Mum called Switched at Birth lol. I'm like obsessed.

I have 4 episodes of The Following Season 3 left now. I heard a lot of people weren't happy with how its ended which makes me sad, if it leaves me feeling empty I won't be happy.
I haven't even finished Dexters last season yet. Think I was maybe 2 episodes from the end?

Anyone seen Prison Breaks newest season? I'm not feeling it enough to give it a chance.

American Horror Story however, I am excited for the first time in years. Getting Jessica Lange back was smart. I love how they have got the Harmon family back too.
 
Been watching Atypical on Netflix. I really like it, but I can see too much of myself in the main character. What with the understanding these days, it makes me wonder what my life would've been like if I was born a few decades later and would that be for better or worse....but it is was it is. Recommended anyway (the program - not my life).
 
I've been watching Madmen on Netflix and I've been loving it. It always sounded boring, a show about 60s New York ad men, and I assumed it just glamorised and glorified the culture of cocksure, swaggering high powered suits. Sure it probably does glamorise it a bit (these guys drink and smoke incessantly and yet always look absolutely great), but really it's a show that's just about life in general, life both then and now. It highlights the rampant misogyny and unhappiness of corporate work places, and capitalism in general, but without ever really seeming to shout any message at you, most of the time it leaves it up to the veiwer to think about and figure out. The subtly and quality of the writing is absolutely top draw, and the characters are great. Watching almost anything else on TV now seems disappointing in comparison.

On series 4 now, and it does get pretty repitive, but I'm fine with that and I'm just happy to check in on the characters every now and then to see what they're up to.

It's also remarkable that a show this slow, cerebral and nauced was commissioned for 7 series! Fantastic stuff.
 
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Dawn of the Final Day. Pre-release critical reviews are looking good, and it's still Milch writing, so I have high hopes. Still an absolute travesty that Deadwood was cancelled when it was, with all the loose ends left hanging, but it will at least provide an ending for a show that deserved so much better.

Naughty words warning, obviously, it's Deadwood.

 
Just watched episode 6 of season 6 of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. What an excellent episode, sort of reminiscent of Inception with Fitz and Simmons trapped in a mind prison together experiencing each others memories and fears.
 
I see their is a The Dark Crystal series coming out on Netflix at the end of the month,

Even though its a Prequel series, would it be best watching the 1983 film first?
 
Patient-X said:
Just watch it anyway, it's a great film, Muppets do Lord of the Rings 😀 The 4k release is a stunner.
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Its a good interesting fantasy film though the weakest element is its main protagonist. Given we're used to anime, that's nothing new!

It was a real passion project for Jim Henson, he put himself at great financial risk to make it happen.
 
Giri / Haji on the iPlayer. If you like cops, British gangsters and the Yakusa then this show has them all rolled into one show. Interesting story playing out in London and Tokyo, I won’t say anymore as it’s totally worth watching.
 
I've just polished off Season 4 of Boardwalk Empire, which I've been watching at a rate which has probably not been great for my productiveness elsewhere.

This show really was not what I expected. It's much bigger in scope and the way all the different plot lines weave together and around each other is really quite something. The writers must have employed pin boards the FBI agents (though it was just the BI back then, I think) in the show would be jealous of. I certainly didn't expect from the synopsis that a show ostensibly about prohibition era gangsters in Atlantic City would also criss-cross the United States featuring so many historical underworld figures including Stephen Graham's wonderful Al Capone whose introduction is one of many great little "ah-ha!" moments so I'm loathe to spoil it.

As far as the real-life gangsters go, while their stories are still engaging (helped by some truly excellent actors) and awash with period charm, I also know how most of them are going to end up so have often found myself more invested in the stories of some of the show's invented characters - Prohibition agent turned accidental member of the Chicago Outfit Nelson Van Alden particularly, whose comedy of errors could have been a show all of itself. With all the disparate plot threads though, I found I couldn't help but pick favourites and wish the action would go back to certain characters and stop dwelling on some I found a bit too slow or uninteresting. The plots involving Gillian Darmody in particular (an invented character whose main role was being the mother of another invented character and who ceased to be of any real importance at the end of season two) had started to drag something terrible by season four. Also a thoroughly horrible person, all I was really interested in was seeing her get her comeuppance, which took far too long to arrive.

Overall though, it does a very good job of balancing the known historical events and creating suspense via the fictional elements and characters whose fates aren't so certain. At times it's been quite shocking, and has done an amazing job of creating a cast of characters I find myself really rooting for, hoping for their downfalls or being concerned for their futures. That's the kind of world these characters (and real people) inhabited, one where any kind of brutality could befall them at any moment, deserved or not, and it is quite edge of the seat stuff.
 
Amanda Lorian, Episode 1

8900 seeds and counting, this is why you can't lock the rest of the world out on day one any more, Disney.

Firstly, yes! The creative team behind The Mandalorian actually remembered aliens other than Chewbacca exist and play a part in the world of Star Wars outside of just being set dressing. That was nice to see, as was Werner Herzog, but he always is. It's early days yet - First episodes are almost always scene-setting, but from what I've seen I'm very hopeful for this series. It's exploring a time period not much is yet known about away from the central conflicts of the trilogies, and while it's obviously trying to feel familiar (my own personal favourite reference: one of Salacious Crumb's relatives being roasted on a spit) it also feels satisfyingly different. This is a positive observation I'd also make of the previous animated Star Wars series' (Dave Filoni of The Clone Wars and Rebels directs this first episode) so that bodes well, I think. We were promised a space Western, we got a space Western. It looks like Star Wars. It feels like Star Wars. Roll on Friday.

I am fascinated by the several professional reviewers who have complained about the main character constantly wearing a helmet because they're unable to emotionally connect with a character who doesn't have a visible, emoting human face (I don't ever recall that being a criticism levelled at any of the droids in Star Wars or say, Darth Vader). Personally I've been able to emotionally connect with inanimate objects since I was a small child (sometimes moreso than with people) and also have an imagination, so this was not a barrier to my enjoyment.
 
The Mandalorian - Episodes 2-4

Enjoying this a whole lot. It’s very thematically tied to Lucas’ original inspirations for Star Wars, Westerns, old TV serials and the Samurai genre. Just as Lucas took inspiration from Kurosawa, so Favreau and co. Have quite obviously taken inspiration from Lone Wolf & Cub, which should certainly make it of interest to a few people here. In doing so, it also incorporates a major theme of Lucas’ films (which he’s discussed in interviews) of relationships between fathers (or father figures) and sons. In their own ways, Obi-Wan, Yoda and Vader (spoilers) were all father figures of different kinds to Luke, just as Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Palpatine were all father figures of different kinds to Anakin. The Mandalorian feels like a natural progression of this theme, and I look forward to seeing where it goes from here.

This also got me thinking about the newer movies, and it’s interesting to note that with the exception of Solo (which I do still think is the most reminiscent of the OT) the older, male mentor figure to a younger male character isn’t really something that’s explored beyond being presented as something which has already failed or had negative consequences off-screen (Han, Luke and Snoke to Kylo). I wonder if people didn’t perhaps even subconsciously become so used to that dynamic being an important part of Star Wars that when it’s missing, they feel it even without realising quite what it is that’s not the same. It’s also interesting to note that from what we know of Lucas’ treatments for the ST, his version would have showed Kylo’s fall to the dark side, restoring that father-son link between him and Han and Luke.
 
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