TV you've just watched

[xxx1993]

And that's it for Shinobi no Ittoki and Yama no Susume: Next Summit!

[BIL]

> DO YOU HAVE ANY CONDOUM???
> no lmao
> I MUST GO SHOPPING

Awwwwwww yeeuhh. Chrisseh got he groove back, mahfuckas! Hansen returns from the wilderness, ready to stomp on chomo necks once more. His smouldering OLDMANFORCE is palpable, as he takes the pervs to task, at times to the floor - just like the good ol' days! ("SIR PLS")

Longtime fans (sup!) will know his Hansen VS Predator series, while producing worthy content, saw CH notably out of form; chubbier and grumpier than his razorline TCAP prime - and beleaguered by his own legal troubles, atop of that! He also boomered it up majorly with shitty DMCA antics, jeopardising his considerable goodwill amongst the fanbase - fortunately, we are a forgiving lot, and he cut that shit out promptly! It seems the man has shorn himself of distractions, and a good sixty pounds or so, and his new show TAKEDOWN has so far delighted we sick fucks!

Well, I'll talk to ya

[xxx1993]

Got done with Mob Psycho 100 III and Human Crazy University today. The latter was honestly a bit of a mess.

[xxx1993]

Watched Season 1 of Tulsa King.

[neorichieb1971]

Wednesday.

A netflix re imagining of the Addams Family focusing on the daughters school murders. I quite like it, better than I thought it would be.

[NYN]

Started Fargo: Year 3. The weird flavour is up, and I couldn't dig it more. What a bunch of odd ducks. Former chief Gloria being the competence center to latch on. The gal wasn't sure that the increase was to her liking. Waiting for the 3rd ep to turn her around or to tap out. And -lo!- the ep that is decisive is "Gloria in Hollywood", which is just a delight. Appearances by that jerk guy from A Serious Man and the always impeccable Ray Wise. So, since this ep was gratefully appreciated, the decisive one would be the 4th now. That's star-power!

Re-getting into Arrested Development, after watching only the first season some 3 years ago, impressed by the density of fast humour, somehow I didn't follow up. Got seasons 1, 2 and 3 in a usefull box edition, to finish it. My favorite dumbass is Gob, the magic failure; wondering what that says about me now?

What about the following seasons? Worthy enough?

[GaijinPunch]

You're hitting some high caliber stuff for sure. I loved Fargo Season 3. Might need to hit it again. Arrested Development 4-5 are tough sells. I thought 5 was better than 4. Both of them have their moments but take a while to get going.

[BryanM]

I dunno if I'll bother watching season 3 of The Orville. From what I've seen it looks like it's gonna be "plot" heavy and that's.... that's not what I'm on board for. The grimdark and war/conflict stuff is supposed to be a garnish, not a main course..

[neorichieb1971]

Last of us to EP3
Queen of the south to EP5

Enjoying both.

[NYN]

I loved Fargo Season 3. Might need to hit it again.

"Baby, we are sympatico to the point of spooky!"

The gal left the show after ep 4. I can't blame her. Mr Varga being the offender mainly. I am fascinated of what is shown, yet there are some uncouth moments concerning bodily fluids. Not too squeamish myself, mind you, but some take the urinal cake here. Though I think it's all in service of the content. The things that are stated in grand speeches by the invading party are rather ugly about the human condition. Tough stuff to "entertain" folks with high quality Tv that way. To the point of Huh, it's subversive? I call that major risk and I am glad for it.

[GaijinPunch]

Probably me wanting to secretly marry Carrie Coon makes me a bit bias. Fun Fact - she lived less than a mile from me in Chicago and never came and visited. I will always hold that against her.

[lilmanjs]

I have been watching Frasier and MacGyver on blu ray. Frasier has some extras but MacGyver doesn't. Even though there's a fair bit of SD inserts for MacGyver, that show looks amazing when its HD footage. As does Frasier. Really puts the dvd and streaming releases to shame for looking so awful. How did we cope with those first 3 seasons for so long in such awful quality?

[Randorama]

Going through The Expanse.

I started reading the books (2011) because I had geek students telling me just how original the series was. I enjoyed reading them until book 7 or so (Persepolis Rising?) because the authors have developed a very complex fictional world (ok, galaxy) and are skilled enough to blend different genres into the narrative structure, as well as offering all these intense portrayals of major and minor characters.

By the seventh book, I waited until the series was officially over because the echoes of all the previous SF ideas the authors were re-interpreting was a bit too strong (see final trilogy). This a typical series in which the authors drop the initial premise due to their world-building goals, but also drop quite a bit of the themes that made the series fascinating in the first place (but hey, "cold war in space" is Gundam Zeta or C.J. Cherryh's books, among others; it was acceptable in the '80s). The books and novellas sometimes read like RPG world-setting supplements (or books based on RPGs, with their lengthy world-building sections), but I have been geek and teen, so it is a feeling I can handle (...and anyway anything by Jack Vance and similar authors was 10 times worse).

The show is a second draft of the series, as it features minor and major changes, but aptly maintains the core strengths of the book series. I decided to watch this after re-reading the books and completing the series, so I am currently through season 4. I like how the series uses the novellas as part of the overarching narration and enjoy the various (minor) plot changes.

Some actors are meh for me (e.g. the Holden guy), but I like the ladies in general. The women portraying Chrisjen Avarasala and Bobbie Draper give excellent renditions of the characters, though the Draper lady (Frankie Williams) seems too short for the part (geek joke - in the books she's described as being over 2 mts and 100kgs of pure muscle, due to her Pacific Islander ancestry).

I love all the accents - though it feels like Belters all hail from Greater London and/or Commonwealth nations with less frequently heard accents. I would have liked more work on the Belter creole, but the books are also lazy on this aspect. All good fun, and it's nice to discuss about it with the students who suggested me the series (who are now workers with families...time flies!).

I'm tempted to post more comments on the books, but we have a specific thread for that, don't we?

[vol.2]

Going through The Expanse.

I watched all of it. I was upset when they cancelled the show short and had to do the rushed ending, although I guess we're lucky that we at least got any ending at all.


I agree the Holden guy is very meh. I never hated him, but his presence often felt at odds with the nature of the show being focused on many different groups and subplots. It was absolutely strongest (stronger) in the beginning because Thomas Jane fucking rules and totally carried the show until his departure. And it felt weird to then have the central focus of the show become the crew of the Rocinante, but only sort of. It was made clear to us that they were sort of "taking over" as the central group in the show, but they often slipped way out of the spotlight in favor of sub plots, and Holden's character was really weakly developed (notice I said "weakly" and not "under" developed, because there was a lot of dev, it just wasn't very good).

I can see how this approach would work well in a serialized book format, where we can view short stories of the galaxy, but it all gets smooshed together in the TV show as they remove all those barriers between vignettes that tell the audience where and when to shift their focus. It was messy.

[Mischief Maker]

Well the thing with the Expanse is that, like the initial Dragonlance novels, they're literally AARs of tabletop RPG sessions put to the page.

Spoiler

The shock beheading death of Shed was because the player for his character in the original game session had to drop out.

[vol.2]

Well the thing with the Expanse is that, like the initial Dragonlance novels, they're literally AARs of tabletop RPG sessions put to the page.

oh shit. I had no idea. There are a lot of things that make a lot more sense now.

Record of Lodoss Wars was also like this. (more or less)

[neorichieb1971]

I watched Expanse till the end. I felt the whole thing was a bit strange I didn't feel it ended in any satisfactory way at all.

They started that kid/alien healing storyline and then just ended it lol.

[XoPachi]

Its strange that theres an officially produced, somewhat adult Mappy cartoon featuring DigDug, Skykid (Blue Max) and some other dead Namco characters. Weirder still that its not bad. Like at all.

[xxx1993]

Its strange that theres an officially produced, somewhat adult Mappy cartoon featuring DigDug, Skykid (Blue Max) and some other dead Namco characters. Weirder still that its not bad. Like at all.

Didn't that show reference Magnum P.I. of all things?

[GaijinPunch]

Going through Veep again when I get a few moments when I need to just chill. Just as hilarious as it was the first time.

[XoPachi]

Didn't that show reference Magnum P.I. of all things?

I'm unfamiliar with MPI. But I know they had the Time Crisis duo pop up.

[xxx1993]

Didn't that show reference Magnum P.I. of all things?

I'm unfamiliar with MPI. But I know they had the Time Crisis duo pop up.

Which duo? Because there's many duos in Time Crisis.

[Randorama]

Re: The Expanse. Yes, when reading the first book I had this strong impression of "RPG tie-in" (see previous post of mine), so I am not surprised that you mention this, MM.

I need to watch the last two episodes of season 6, but so far I get the impression that they want to cram as much material as possible in case they could somehow finish the adaptation.

I Agree with NeoRichie and Vol. 2 on this version of Holden (the book version is a bit different but also very...shonen manga, i.e. "righteous and shallow protagonist").

Also, season 6 really feels messy, when compared against the books...which however also suffer from "sequelitis", since the authors were forced to expand and dilute the story world's premise to satisfy the fans: the third trilogy is really a collection of space opera's cliches and familiar tropes.

I'd also say that the books have a better pacing: chapters present clear-cut vignettes focused on a given character's viewpoint (e.g. "#11: Holden", and the story is narrated from Holden's viewpoint; "#12: Miller", from Miller's viewpoint), and plot's progression is usually brisk and cohesive, even in the third trilogy.

Some characters and events are definitely better developed in the show, though: ErrinWright and Mao (the corrupt U.N. guy and the corporate overlord) are zero-dimensional in the books, the U.N. president appears only briefly, the whole election sub-plot (season 5) is absent...whence the "second draft" comment (well, third: AAR->book->show).

Truth to be told, I am quite liking the show but unsurprisingly I prefer the original source: simply put, I prefer to read. Certainly not the most definitive SF or original series ever, but I was surprised when I discovered that I could enjoy a tv series, to be honest. The Kiwi/Samoan accent from the Bobbie Draper's actress helps a bit





Fun tangent: some friends of mine are playing the tabletop RPG and even invited me to play online (i.e. via videocall); it should be interesting to play a session at 4 am, due to time zone differences (i.e. I am abroad, they're back in Italy).

[vol.2]

I'm rewatching Dragon Ball. It's just as good as I remember it. Getting close to the appearance of Lunch.

[NYN]

Finished with, and I am stumped by Arrested Development. If I weren't against lists at all, I would compose one of my favourite dumbasses and the scene that did it. Next to King GOB and Mr F, it's to my mind the greatest duo in this crew: Lucille and Byron a.k.a. Buster a.k.a. Buddy. One word: MOTHERBOY!! So deadpan, it's a mercy for anyone who knows this actually exists.

A quick exchange from season 3 that stuck with me:

Buster: "Lindsay is my new mother, Mother!"

Lucille 1: (mockingly) "Maybe you should marry her!"

Buster: (yelling) "MAYBE I WILL!!"

I now kind of dread s4 and s5. Tough own act to follow.

* Oh Mother, I needed Wiki to spell out to me that Jessica Walter is the psycho in Play Misty For Me. Didn't connect.

[GaijinPunch]

The best part about AD is your favorite characters tend to change depending on your mood. I definitely float between Tobias (obviously!) Gob, and Lucille 1... but they're all amazing. Some excellent guest stars as well. Bob Einstein as the surrogate lives rent free in my head. I should go back over these. True gems.

[NYN]

Yeah, the faces to discover. Glad I rewatched s1 again, to catch the one ep with Bob Odenkirk. Is it just me or is Lindsay a bit less amusing, compared to the other crazies? Maeby or Surley just like you say: one looney for every mood. Oscar or George Sr...

[GaijinPunch]

I think Lindsay has her place. Not as hilarious as the rest but she brings some stuff to the table as a hot but ridiculous spoiled brat.

[Air Master Burst]

Yellowjackets is back and still fucking amazing, s2e1 does not disappoint. I don't know if it's the best show currently running but I can't think of a better one. Weekly release schedule is agony though, might be better to wait for the season to end and then catch it all on the free trial.

[XoPachi]

This counts. Leave me alone.

https://youtu.be/ZJM1JtZ8lmQ