TV you've just watched

A place where you can chat about anything that isn't to do with games!
User avatar
BIL
Posts: 18989
Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 12:39 pm
Location: COLONY

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by BIL »

Steamflogger Boss wrote:The Dirty Harry movies start to get pretty weak. First couple I remember being excellent though.
Yeah, the first is a classic renegade cop flick. It's impossible to separate it from its politics entirely, but as pro-cop/CLEAN UP TEH STREETS stuff goes it's fairly benign and universal. Disillusioned soul frustratedly pursues evil motherfucker while his whiny bosses tut about evidence procedure because Harry keeps stabbing and stomping his ass. I mean he was pretty sure he had the right guy! Image

The second (MAGNUM FORCE) has an interesting premise and agreeable film-making, but it's a bit overlong for what it is. Series rapidly slides into fans-only territory from there. I do like SUDDEN IMPACT's contrasts of idyllic daytime and hellish pitch-black nights full of bad stuff, and like Magnum Force it provides some interesting contrast to Harry's vigilante shtick. I can barely remember The Enforcer beyond an excuse for Harry to shoot the final boss with a rocket, and The Dead Pool fucking chokes balls, IIRC. Props for sticking to individual titles at least, those rock. Gran Torino is Dirty Harry 6: OLDMANFORCE, basically.
User avatar
GaijinPunch
Posts: 15646
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:22 pm
Location: San Fransicso

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

So apparently the new Batwoman show is pretty amazing... cruising at a nice 3/10 on IMDB. :|
RegalSin wrote:New PowerPuff Girls. They all have evil pornstart eyelashes.
User avatar
BIL
Posts: 18989
Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 12:39 pm
Location: COLONY

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by BIL »

What! I hear it's the smart and hip new superhero show that's got all the critics raving! :O HOW THEY LIE 2 ME AGAIN

"Episode 2: BATMAN catches LEX LUTHOR in a SUPER D.P. with BLUE BEETLE and IRON FIST"

I can see why it's not doing so well Image
User avatar
emphatic
Posts: 7917
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 3:47 pm
Location: Alingsås, Sweden
Contact:

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by emphatic »

GaijinPunch wrote:So apparently the new Batwoman show is pretty amazing... cruising at a nice 3/10 on IMDB. :|
Women will fix everything.
Image | My games - http://www.emphatic.se | (Click) I have YEN stickers for sale
RegalSin wrote:Street Fighters. We need to aviod them when we activate time accellerator.
User avatar
BrianC
Posts: 8859
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 1:33 am
Location: MD

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by BrianC »

A Batman related show even worse than the Nora Clavicle episode from season 3 of the 60s Batman where all the policemen in Gotham were replaced with bad female stereotypes? That was the last episode I watched and it wasn't even "so bad it's good" like the episode where Joker tried to become the big kahuna of the surf to take over the world.
User avatar
GaijinPunch
Posts: 15646
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:22 pm
Location: San Fransicso

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

One more episode to go for The Deuce. Probably the best thing on TV right now. It will be sad to say goodbye...especially since, quite expectedly, things aren't ending so well for most characters.

Started Watchmen. So far so good.
RegalSin wrote:New PowerPuff Girls. They all have evil pornstart eyelashes.
User avatar
emphatic
Posts: 7917
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 3:47 pm
Location: Alingsås, Sweden
Contact:

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by emphatic »

Really enjoying Treadstone so far. Basically it's in the Jason Bourne universe.
Image | My games - http://www.emphatic.se | (Click) I have YEN stickers for sale
RegalSin wrote:Street Fighters. We need to aviod them when we activate time accellerator.
User avatar
Xyga
Posts: 7181
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2013 8:22 pm
Location: block

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by Xyga »

GaijinPunch wrote:Started Watchmen. So far so good.
Watched the first two and am already bored. The only thing I knew about Watchmen is the 2009 film which I liked, but I don't dislike the show because it's different, rather because it's yet another of those shows starting several simultaneous character pseudo-plotlines without revealing anything scenaristically useful, just bits, leaving you willing to know more...but it's never coming, or not until 8 or 10 episodes if not 2 or 3 seasons.

Dropped Legion because of that too, all you get is a succession of weird scenes and charater moments, mixed with an alternance of raw or emotional display of their either pathetic or awful personalities and experiences, not really bringing any flesh or quality to the story at all, it's like tons of character scenes because the real story is so short, so thin it could all be told in a couple of hours.
Crap it was the same with Dark when I think about it, and I could probably shove a couple more shows there.

With all the 'netflixation' of TV these years I'm afraid we're seeing a pattern appear, like there was a single script behind all Hollywood blockbusters, maybe it's the same for TV now.

PS: o shit, it's by the guy who made Lost ? the greatest waste of TV air in history ? fuck I'm not watching another episode of Watchmen.
Strikers1945guy wrote:"Do we....eat chicken balls?!"
User avatar
GaijinPunch
Posts: 15646
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:22 pm
Location: San Fransicso

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

Xyga wrote:or not until 8 or 10 episodes if not 2 or 3 seasons.
Lindelof has said this 9 episode season is the only one he's doing.
PS: o shit, it's by the guy who made Lost ? the greatest waste of TV air in history ? fuck I'm not watching another episode of Watchmen.
He redeemed himself w/ The Leftovers. Then again, if you want your stories nicely packaged up for you, probably not the best thing to watch.
RegalSin wrote:New PowerPuff Girls. They all have evil pornstart eyelashes.
User avatar
it290
Posts: 2542
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 1:00 am
Location: polar malortex, illinois

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by it290 »

Hoo boy, I think Watchmen is hot garbage so far (2 episodes in). I like the Jeremy Irons bit (mostly for the campy humor), but the rest feels like it's just trying to shoehorn some other random story about race in America and the failings (maybe? not clear what they're going for yet) of neoliberalism into an IP that has very little to do with those things. I don't know exactly what I expected from a contemporary sequel—the Rorschach connection is the most logical component—but it comes off as pretty scattershot so far and there's very little exposition as to why the contemporary police are tracksuit-wearing communists and dues in panda masks and shit. Additionally, the soundtrack is a mishmash of poorly done '90s throwback themes and the editing is all over the place. I do like that they're using the original's storytelling technique of cutting back and forth between different POV characters and timeframes but the rest is barely working. I'm keeping an open mind but so far my thoughts are that this could have been a decent series on its own but is terribly lame and hobbled as a Watchmen show.
Image
We here shall not rest until we have made a drawing-room of your shaft, and if you do not all finally go down to your doom in patent-leather shoes, then you shall not go at all.
User avatar
BrianC
Posts: 8859
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 1:33 am
Location: MD

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by BrianC »

Finished watching 60s Batman. The silly Joker Surfing episode was actually my favorite of season 3. Crazy that the series ended on an episode with Zsa Zsa Gabor (and a mediocre one at that), though the premise of her stealing secrets from millionaires was interesting and reminded be a bit of the Batman TAS episode with Hugo Strange.
User avatar
Xyga
Posts: 7181
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2013 8:22 pm
Location: block

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by Xyga »

it290 wrote:Hoo boy, I think Watchmen is hot garbage so far (2 episodes in).
Yeah, and with The Boys recently aired, on the same 'superhero dark comedy/drama' subtopic, this Watchmen starts already utterly defeated IMO.
Strikers1945guy wrote:"Do we....eat chicken balls?!"
User avatar
GaijinPunch
Posts: 15646
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:22 pm
Location: San Fransicso

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

it290 wrote:but the rest feels like it's just trying to shoehorn some other random story about race in America and the failings (maybe? not clear what they're going for yet) of neoliberalism into an IP that has very little to do with those things.
As the original was occurred in height of the cold war, they mulled over something that people could actually relate to today. People are just not afraid of nuclear war any more.
RegalSin wrote:New PowerPuff Girls. They all have evil pornstart eyelashes.
User avatar
GaijinPunch
Posts: 15646
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:22 pm
Location: San Fransicso

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

The Deuce finished up last night. At a total of 3 seasons everything felt like it came to a natural close. Rewatchable if you can handle all of the tragedy again. Some amazing sets. Gonna be hard to fill that gap.
RegalSin wrote:New PowerPuff Girls. They all have evil pornstart eyelashes.
User avatar
it290
Posts: 2542
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 1:00 am
Location: polar malortex, illinois

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by it290 »

GaijinPunch wrote:As the original was occurred in height of the cold war, they mulled over something that people could actually relate to today. People are just not afraid of nuclear war any more.
Yeah—I think race and the late capitalism clash of neoliberalism and fascism are perfectly fine choices for a Watchmen sequel; it's just that I also expect some level of metanarrative/critique of hero culture (which is also a super relevant topic in today's media culture), ideally a novel/innovative take, and that hasn't really shown up so far. To Xyga's point, The Boys does it a lot better. Watchmen (at least so far) seems to idealize the masks in a somewhat uncritical way. There's definitely more nuance there than I'm giving it credit for and I'm sure more of that will show up as the series progresses, but I'm not impressed so far.

I think Reznor's soundtrack really does it a disservice, too—it's bombastic in a way that recalls the Snyder film that this series is ostensibly making fun of, but the show is really executing the same action beats in almost the same way.

edit—also, although this is not what I specifically would want and I'm sure some of this ground has been covered by the comic sequels (I haven't read any of them), I think the success of Chernobyl shows that people are still really fascinated with the nuclear era and I doubt anyone would be complaining about a show that follows up on the events of Watchmen post-dimensional incursion event. Setting it in 2019 means they have a lot of lost ground to cover in worldbuilding terms. Why is there a random Communist hero as a member of the Tulsa police force? I'm sure there's an explanation having to do with the US and USSR coming together to guard against the alien menace per Ozzy's plans, but none of that is covered in the show, and we're supposed to just intuit what happened based on our knowledge of the comic. I'm not saying this should be like Batman or Spider-Man where they have to recap the origin story every fucking time, but a little 'these are the events that have transpired in the last 3 decades' primer would have been nice.
Image
We here shall not rest until we have made a drawing-room of your shaft, and if you do not all finally go down to your doom in patent-leather shoes, then you shall not go at all.
User avatar
Stevens
Posts: 3799
Joined: Thu May 01, 2014 11:44 pm
Location: Brooklyn NY

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by Stevens »

Started Wu Assassins. Was skeptical - I like Uwais, but don't generally love fantasy. This seems to strike the right balance so far. I'm three episodes in and the first three are pretty strong.

It's Iko Uwais beating people up, Marc Dacascos beating people up, and some other people I am not familiar with doing the same. The choreography and camera work during said fights is Raid quality and everyone is pretty convincing. In fact the whole show feels like a movie, but without the gore from other post Raid/Raid 2 movies.

So far so good. I hope it keeps the level of quality up and doesn't overstay its welcome.
My lord, I have come for you.
User avatar
kitten
Posts: 1102
Joined: Mon Mar 20, 2017 1:26 pm
Location: プププランド

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by kitten »

i've finished star trek tng and star trek ds9 this year and enjoyed both tremendously. i ultimately wound up enjoying tng more for a variety of reasons, but i think most of all its enduring sense of optimism. the episode 'all good things' is truly an utterly superb topper and i think seeks to make a really compassionate case for humanity as a thing that deserves to continue persisting.

ds9, on the other hand, just got relentlessly dark and stewed in it constantly. the dominion war was really not that rich a well and i feel it poisoned the show and took away so many opportunities for the absolutely wonderful characters to just fucking breathe. it also ended on a really superbly bad episode that said very little and spent so much of its last season trying to justify a character replacement that should have never happened. still love the show, felt my affection probably peaked around season 4, though season 6 probably had the individually strongest episodes.

i'm watching voyager now and mother fuck it is awful. i just watched the episode elogium last night, in which a literal two-year old (in the body of a twenty year old actor - but who is literally only two years old) wants to fuck her 40-year-old caretaker and have a baby.
~Imagination and memory are but one thing, which for diverse considerations have diverse names~
Image | Image
~*~*~*~*~*~* If there's a place that I could be ~ Then I'd be another memory *~*~*~*~*~*~
User avatar
Steamflogger Boss
Posts: 3075
Joined: Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:29 pm
Location: Eating the Rich

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

Just skip Voyager. It'll be okay. ;)
User avatar
Xyga
Posts: 7181
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2013 8:22 pm
Location: block

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by Xyga »

I really enjoyed Voyager.

I even enjoyed Enterprise.

FUCK THE POLICE :P

No serioulsy each ST show has its ups and downs, even TNG has its fat share of crappy episodes, we should be way past idolization now IMO.

I'm way more worried about what's become of Discovery, and eagerly waiting for the Picard show even if a bit wary.
Strikers1945guy wrote:"Do we....eat chicken balls?!"
User avatar
Steamflogger Boss
Posts: 3075
Joined: Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:29 pm
Location: Eating the Rich

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

Xyga wrote:I really enjoyed Voyager.

I even enjoyed Enterprise.

FUCK THE POLICE :P

No serioulsy each ST show has its ups and downs, even TNG has its fat share of crappy episodes, we should be way past idolization now IMO.

I'm way more worried about what's become of Discovery, and eagerly waiting for the Picard show even if a bit wary.
I never did finish Voyager. I would agree TNG has some episodes that are not great. I don't think these are the kind of shows that lend themselves to binging. Might just be me but I prefer a slow burn with Star Trek due to its serial nature.

I never did even try Enterprise so I can't really say anything about it.
User avatar
kitten
Posts: 1102
Joined: Mon Mar 20, 2017 1:26 pm
Location: プププランド

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by kitten »

Xyga wrote:No serioulsy each ST show has its ups and downs, even TNG has its fat share of crappy episodes, we should be way past idolization now IMO.
each star trek definitely has its ups and downs (there are absolutely quite a few bad episodes of TNG - even the better, later seasons aren't exempt from a few stinkers), but using that to reduce how fucking egregiously bad voyager is - at least at the start of its first two seasons - feels ridiculous. voyager has only had one episode that i would call genuinely worthwhile and good so far, and that was projections, which stars one of the only competent actors and interesting characters on the entire show, robert picardo/the holo doc. it's also unsurprisingly written and directed by people who had done other quality ST episodes before voyager. braga very much seems like one of the show's better writers and also did emanations, which was pretty solid despite its heavy use of kim.

there's a lot deathly wrong with voyager almost immediately. the sets are (much) cheaper, they hardly ever write and balance a b-plot into episodes, half of the cast is irredeemably poor quality and pulled from people willing to act for much much less than sister shows, even the model for the ship is a smaller scale. chakotay's actor (who routinely complained about hating the show, and was far from the only cast member who complained) never puts any effort into his role and his native american consultant was debunked as a fraud in 1984 (yet they still idiotically picked him up). paris and kim are both totally unlikable, blank, and cannot act - they remind me of the lower decks episode cast on TNG. they have less idea of who janeway is than they did who picard is at the start of tng, and her character seems outright bipolar about decisions to adhere to her principles or not. neelix and kes' relationship (who i actually think are both decent characters on their own and at their best) is also one of the weirdest, most uncomfortable, most awkward things i've ever seen on television. the age gap between the actors (20 years - philips is literally twice as old as lien for about as long as she appears on the show) is strange enough, but the girl's character is literally fucking two years old, which the holo-doc even reminds her of when she can't make relationship decisions! everyone treats her like this weird object and paris fighting with neelix over who gets to fuck the baby is ugly as hell.

this interview with ron moore that i found - who admittedly isn't star trek's strongest writer, but one of the better ones and one with his screwed on pretty right - really tears into the show and goes over so, so many of its problems. TNG's cast had absolutely electric synergy and reportedly all love each other as best friends behind the set, ds9 had probably the strongest writing staff and some of the strongest direction in the series (avery brooks was apparently difficult to work with but kept everyone really in-line and was very respected), voyager has like... fucking, i don't know. i've read tim russ was the only actor who actually consistently enjoyed working on the show and kept everyone from getting into fights, and i've also read that garrett wang apparently constantly got really emotional (and was hilariously despised by rick berman - who is frankly a piece of shit, but c'mon, this is funny). its pilot also absolutely sucks. encounter at farpoint had problems but set a great tone for tng, emissary is the greatest star trek pilot of all-time and sold me on a show i hated as a kid, but caretaker has... the dude from the boxart for phalanx fucking everybody over to establish a premise they never, ever fully commit to?

i was told voyager was bad and went in with genuine optimism that maybe people - particularly my friend who hated it - were wrong, but i hate it nearly more than she does. it is borderline unwatchable television at times, and some episodes (without hyperbole - more than half) feel like actual suffering to get through. i get flashbacks to watching the netflix marvel shows because i had friends around to watch those with and am reminded of how completely insufferable that experience frequently was. i'm sticking it out in hopes that the show starts pulling together, but i know with the upcoming debut of seven of nine the show dips into weird titty fanservice territory that apparently drove mulgrew crazy. this show is a really, really serious mess and unless some genuine magic happens i think comparing it to any previous star trek is ridiculous. even if it pulls together, it's still heavily marred by the incredible corporate cynicism of not renewing TNG for another season because it cost too much and being the shitty b-team they assembled to continue milking the franchise. it, enterprise (which i can't judge yet, i hear it has some good eps), and the last tng movie are a huge part of what not only made the series unprofitable but killed the respect of one of the most arduously dedicated fanbases out there.
~Imagination and memory are but one thing, which for diverse considerations have diverse names~
Image | Image
~*~*~*~*~*~* If there's a place that I could be ~ Then I'd be another memory *~*~*~*~*~*~
User avatar
Mischief Maker
Posts: 4802
Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 3:44 am

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by Mischief Maker »

Those of you unhappy with Voyager should check out Babylon 5 and see a sci fi show that really transcends its low budget with great writing.

The first season is weak, but necessary because the whole show's plot is interconnected.

The final season can be safely skipped, the second-to-last season had a great, but rushed ending because the higher ups were threatening to pull the plug. But then after the whole story was rushed to completion, they greenlit an extra season so the final one is mostly filler.

It's also fun seeing Star Trek cast members playing completely against type.
Two working class dudes, one black one white, just baked a tray of ten cookies together.

An oligarch walks in and grabs nine cookies for himself.

Then he says to the white dude "Watch out for that black dude, he wants a piece of your cookie!"
User avatar
Steamflogger Boss
Posts: 3075
Joined: Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:29 pm
Location: Eating the Rich

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

Mischief Maker wrote:Those of you unhappy with Voyager should check out Babylon 5 and see a sci fi show that really transcends its low budget with great writing.

The first season is weak, but necessary because the whole show's plot is interconnected.

The final season can be safely skipped, the second-to-last season had a great, but rushed ending because the higher ups were threatening to pull the plug. But then after the whole story was rushed to completion, they greenlit an extra season so the final one is mostly filler.

It's also fun seeing Star Trek cast members playing completely against type.
Absolutely loved Babylon 5.
User avatar
GaijinPunch
Posts: 15646
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:22 pm
Location: San Fransicso

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

How can you nerds not have mentioned Battle Star Gallactica yet?
RegalSin wrote:New PowerPuff Girls. They all have evil pornstart eyelashes.
User avatar
kitten
Posts: 1102
Joined: Mon Mar 20, 2017 1:26 pm
Location: プププランド

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by kitten »

is the religious allegory in babylon 5 heavy-handed? i've heard it goes pretty heavily into examinations of faith, which i often enjoy star trek doing but don't know if i could handle for an entire show, especially if the production staff is mostly just WASPs.
~Imagination and memory are but one thing, which for diverse considerations have diverse names~
Image | Image
~*~*~*~*~*~* If there's a place that I could be ~ Then I'd be another memory *~*~*~*~*~*~
User avatar
Mischief Maker
Posts: 4802
Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 3:44 am

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by Mischief Maker »

It's not the main theme of the show.

It is from a christian viewpoint in the episodes where it does comes up, but one of B5's big things is subverting your expectations.

Unfortunately if I name the actual main theme of the show I'll spoil it for you. DO NOT CLICK THIS BOX:
Spoiler
Lord of the Rings IIIN SPAAAACE!!!
Speaking of heavy-handed christian themes in a sci fi show:
GaijinPunch wrote:How can you nerds not have mentioned Battle Star Gallactica yet?
Great first couple seasons, but ruined by scab writers during the strike.

Btw, Battlestar Galactica Deadlock is a really fun game right now thanks to a year's worth of heroic patches.
Two working class dudes, one black one white, just baked a tray of ten cookies together.

An oligarch walks in and grabs nine cookies for himself.

Then he says to the white dude "Watch out for that black dude, he wants a piece of your cookie!"
User avatar
Xyga
Posts: 7181
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2013 8:22 pm
Location: block

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by Xyga »

@kitten, alright, alright. :lol:
You know for me ST is just basic space opera, no matter if it's more or less cheap I don't take it too seriously, not nearly a trekkie, it's just space pulp and I enjoy the 90'sness that persists through TNG, DS9, VOY, and somehow even Enterprise (well that one's the weirdest, there isn't much to keep, and what's to has its own flavour)

@Galactica; nothing beats the original series, I mean first thing they land in an hypnotic SPACE CASINO (yes blasting disco!), and that's not even beginning a list of the fucked up stuff.
Haven't seen more than the pilot and a few eps, but I don't know between this and SPACE 1999 which show is on the hardest drugs.
Strikers1945guy wrote:"Do we....eat chicken balls?!"
User avatar
Steamflogger Boss
Posts: 3075
Joined: Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:29 pm
Location: Eating the Rich

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

Mischief Maker wrote:It's not the main theme of the show.

It is from a christian viewpoint in the episodes where it does comes up, but one of B5's big things is subverting your expectations.

Unfortunately if I name the actual main theme of the show I'll spoil it for you. DO NOT CLICK THIS BOX:
Spoiler
Lord of the Rings IIIN SPAAAACE!!!
This is...pretty much correct. I never thought of it that way before.

But yeah kitten I think you would enjoy it based on what you have posted and thus what I know of your taste/preferences.
User avatar
it290
Posts: 2542
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 1:00 am
Location: polar malortex, illinois

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by it290 »

This week's episode (3) of Watchmen was definitely an improvement thanks to Jean Smart. That said, I'm looking forward to the supercut of just the Jeremy Irons bits. He did a stupendous Hunter S Thompson this week.
Image
We here shall not rest until we have made a drawing-room of your shaft, and if you do not all finally go down to your doom in patent-leather shoes, then you shall not go at all.
User avatar
GaijinPunch
Posts: 15646
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:22 pm
Location: San Fransicso

Re: TV you've just watched

Post by GaijinPunch »

it290 wrote:He did a stupendous Hunter S Thompson this week.
I was having a hard time putting it into words but that does it justice. The "joke telling" was quite enjoyable.
RegalSin wrote:New PowerPuff Girls. They all have evil pornstart eyelashes.
Post Reply